The hardest part of a story, I find, is making certain that your characters are real people. People who have flaws and strengths and who react and interact with the world around them. Making the balance between these flaws and strengths is a difficult task for many authors, which results in some stories feeling flat and unfinished by the time the tale is done.

There are ways that you can improve those characters. I have my own methods, but I'm certain their are others. As I am best familiar with what I do, (Well, I would most certainly -hope- so) I will focus on doing just that.

How, you ask, do I create a character?

First, I create a plot. But, that was yesterday's lesson. Now, you have your rabid monkies fighting Monkey-Hunter. For now, we will use him.

But, there are things missing. He has no name, he has no background. No history. Nothing that defines his personality. We just know the situation that we have put this poor bastard in.

Time to change that, huh?

Well, once I have determined I need a character, I give them a name. For our rabid monkies Monkey-Hunter, he will have the name Alexxin.

Why? I like how it sounds. Is this important? Yes indeedy. This is actually -very- important. There is more to a name than just random letters thrown together by the tapping of eager fingers. A name defines who or what a person is to be. What their personalities are, right?

Wrong.

If you like it, you won't get tired of typing it. Honestly, that is why I pick names I like. If I hate the character's name, I end up hating the character. This means I won't want to dig into their name, and thats that. End of a decent character. So, I say pick a name you can like.

Naming lesson 2: Pick a name that doesn't take you very long to type.

Ullithanlienanyashar the Bard, while having a very cool looking name, would SUCK to type repeated. Shortening it to Ulli is cool, easy to type. But, you will find yourself going “HUH? How do I type his full name? Gah! What IS his full name?” Then you waste time typing the name.

Ullithanlienanyashar would make a crappy Monkey-Hunter anyway. Far too much of a wussy. (Which is why I guess he is a bard, eh?) (And yes, it took me several times to type that right, and I'm STILL not sure I did...)

Now, we have building block one. Yes, kids, thats right. LEGOS time. We are building a structure. A building that must withstand our errors, our impulsives, and our pyshopathic tendancies towards character death and torture.

Once you have a name, you need to give them hair and eye colors. Descriptive terms, their type of body. Are they muscle bound beasts, or thin and lithe as the elves of olde? This will determine much about your character. Muscle bound beasts are no stranger to hard work. They have worked since the day they were born, and have no grudges against it. The pansies are not accustomed to that. Those who are skinny do enough just to get by, or do not have much in the way of food. (Or aren't put to the test too often. Nobles trained for sword work, for example, will be lithe and not muscular, they'll have some, but not much.)

Believe it or not, their appearance WILL matter. It will also shape how YOU view them. Create your character to look like the stereotypical pansy, and without care, he'll become the stereotypical pansy.

So, you have their names and their physical descriptions. Good. You're about an 1/8th of the way there.

Hey, don't groan, you're at the easy part.

Now, all you need to do is give them some history. The story behind how they got to be where they are. In the case of an epic fantasy, you usually start with a young boy (or girl!) that doesn't have much of one. So, you don't NEED much of one.

Honestly, you'll come up with half of this stuff as you write.

Now, you write. Introduce your character with their base personality in mind. Will they be shy, or assertive? Just keep this in mind, and you will find yourself adjusting to this personality.

Type with them long enough, and they will begin telling you their own histories. It is a gigantic puzzle. You can only make a few notes on how you want them to develop. The rest must be natural.

A few tips to help you along the way:

- Every comment matters. Odd, it may seem, but someone telling another they suck hurts. This hurt will carry through with them. You must store this hurt, keep it, and have it change them. Being told they suck by someone they trust is even worse. You must calculate this hurt into how they behave in the world around them.

Example, Alexxis is on his first Monkey-Hunt. He slays a rabid monkey with a bow (after all, you don't really want to play with it with a SWORD, now do you? Got Froth?) He misses his mark, only pinning the foul beast in the leg. His tutor, a not so nice man, rebukes him harshly.

What happens? Alexxis loses his confidence. This plagues him for future hunts to come. Squeeze this juicy tidbit until the milks run dry. This helps make a character real.

- Characters INTERACT with their environment.

Example: Alexxis shot the rabid monkey. The arrow pierced the beast, pinning it to the ground. It took three more shots to kill the frothing creature.

This is, unfortunately, quite bad. However, if we do this instead...

Alexxis crept through the dense shrubs surrounding the sun-lit clearing. Birds sang, a melodious tune that soothed the spirit. He did not allow himself to be distracted, however. His target, frothing in the center of the meadow, awaited him. Leaves rustled as he crawled on his hands and knees, dragging his bow behind him. Kneeling beside a massive oak, he notched an arrow, wood rasping against string. He swallowed, aim wavering as he shook nervously. Somewhere, behind him, his mentor watched....

Now, we have a more realistic character, showing us his uncertainties. Every scene needs to be reinforced by how Alexxis reacts to his environment.

- Characters come in all sizes, big and small.

Huh? What does that mean? Simple. Not every character will be as well developed as Alexxis. If they will never reappear again, do not give them a name. If you have many and names must be given, only work with hair color, eye color, basic clothing, Name and Base Personality. If you need stable characters (stable as in what house horses) now is a time to add this description into a file. They may come of use later.

- Characters, by nature, are not perfect. They don't speak perfection either.

Use ain't. Use cain't. Use huh? Er? Wha? Rats! Even curse, if need be. But try to make their talk different from one another. This will make it easier for people to associate speech with a specific character.

However, at first, don't worry so much about it. Just keep it at the back of your mind.

(Developing characters is a much more tedious task than plotting, eh? I agree.)

That is the basics of good character development. Yes, there is an advanced lesson on it, somewhere in the future. And yes, we shall see more of Alexxis the Monkey-Hunter. BWHAAHAHAHAA....

Take care, peeps.