Write Your Novel - Make Your Characters Real

One of the most important elements of any- Likes and dislikes
novel is creating characters that come to life in- Favorite music
the pages of your book. We've all experienced- Hobbies
the sorrow of finishing a book and realizing we- Strengths and weaknesses
have to bid farewell to a character in the novel- Special characteristics (movement, speech,
whom we practically felt we had befriended. Thenlaugh, and so on)
we wait anxiously for the novel's sequel so that- Favorite sayings
we can resume that friendship.- Idiosyncrasies
How does a writer create characters who appear- Birth date/ Sign of the Zodiac
to be made of flesh and blood?- Nickname
Although some authors prefer to come up withSix More Things You Can Do
the basics of their characters and then simplySix more things you can do when it comes to
allow them to reveal themselves as the storycreating your characters are the following:
moves along, a lot of experienced writers
recommend that would-be authors create1. Write what a typical day looks like for your
character profiles, at least of their maincharacter.
characters. How detailed you make your2. Create your character's backstory; even if you
character profiles depends on what works bestnever include a word of the backstory in your
for you.novel, if you know your character's past you'll be
What You Need to Know About Your Characterable to make him or her more convincing to the
Some of the things you'll probably want to jotreader.
down about your characters are the following:3. Create a profile for each of your characters
- Agesimilar to those of popular socializing networks
- Appearancesuch as Myspace, Twitter, or Facebook.
- Occupation4. Draw a family tree for the character.
- Income5. Make a sketch of your character so that you
- Educationcan get a better idea of what they look like.
- Marital status6. Research your character's job or career if it's
- Recent relationshipsdifferent from your own.
- Children / siblings