The Writers Guide To Writing

Characters

Before reading this chapter, go back and skim through 'backgrounds' for tips on character growth, go on, I'll wait.

Done? Great, let's do the rest.

As well as character background, other aspects of your character are important, especially for your main characters and their right hands (best friends, hench men, minions etc).

I think every part of a character is important. Here are my reasons.

Looks
As we all know, society likes to tell people how they should look and care for their bodies. For this reason, especially is this is aimed at teens/young adults, your characters appearance is important, especially is set in our current date.

The way your character looks can either lead them to be confident, outgoing, extroverted (see: beautiful person) or shy, introverted, with low self esteem (see: plain or "ugly" person).

Of course, this doesn't always have to be the case, your character might not care for looks, but think about the type of person they are and what things would help to show them that way.

Also, I like diversity in my stories cuz I've grown up in a diverse community, so I like to keep track of the race and ethnicity of all my characters to make sure it's authentic.

Age

"Age is just a number!" They yell. Well age is also the difference between your character doing something illegal and not.

Also, think about maturity, a bunch of 16 year old dude bros are a lot more likely to vandalize your car than a group of mid 20 office bros with jobs/college.

Also if your books timeline spans a number of years it's good to mention age at various points so your readers can keep up.

Bilingual/multilingual

I may do a longer chapter on this later  but for now, a brief note. If your character speaks more than one language make sure you are at least semi fluent in their second language. This will help you to understand common mistakes (such as use of word in the wrong language or forgetting a word in one language) and make your character look more authentic.

Family

You must understand your characters family dynamic. Are they an edgy goth child whose parents just don't understand them? Are they a teenage girl who's brothers like to annoy her? Are they a mother with an unwanted child trying to make do?

It's important to establish what kind of relationship your character has with their family (and friends) to make for easier scene writing.

Disabilities

A characters disabilities and limitations will affect the way they react in a situation. Some examples

X is legally blind so he always needs someone to drive him

Y is deaf so sometimes needs to adjust her hearing aid because the noises are too loud or quiet

Z is paralysed from the waist down so, he has a full time nurse and his home has extra equipment to make movement easier for him.

No matter how minor the disability, it will affect your character in some way so don't just use it when you feel like it, it must be acknowledged. This can even include allergies etc.

Details of your character are important to remember for consistency and good character development. Make a list or a chart, draw a picture of them if you like (I can help with that) and bring your fantastic babies to life.

Love you all, Orange

XxXx