When you think about someone with the power of Water, do you think of someone who is calm and collected or fiery and pissed off? When you think of someone harnessing a mighty spell, do you think that the element was chosen?

Many of this comes from categorizing characters with said elements, which is what I'm going to talk about.

Now, I know you're probably asking why I chose this topic, but there is a good reason. How many of you know a Fire person who was calm all the time? Or a Earth person who was an airhead and never had two feet to stand on? Sometimes, we do. Sometimes, we don't.

Most of the time, you want to pick someone who has attributes to the element you wish to cast. For example, a person who has a fiery temper might have Fire as their element, or Wind. Someone who is calm and collected might have Water or Air. Someone who is into nature and on their feet in life might have Earth. Another who is greedy for power might harness Darkness. A woman who believes in faith might have Holy Magic. These are just some examples.

Next, think about how that person would use their magic. Would they use it foolishly? Would they only use it in times of need? Would they only use it if it was life threatening? Or are they scared of it? A lot of it depends on your character and their temperament in the book. Another helpful tip is to not give them all the cool spells at once. For example, the main character is not going to know how to summon a monster ten pages into the book if this is their first adventure. Or the priestess is not going to know how to cast a resurrection spell the first five pages if they are a new priestess. That is just unseemly and not realistic.

That is the next point of this: Make your characters realistic. I do not know how often enough I can stress this. Magic can be used in everyday life, if it is part of that character's living environment. You would not do this if they live in our time era. Casting a fire spell to light a pelt stove would be unseemly. However, it might be possible if you were stranded and had no lighter or no way to light the fire.

Have them have friends, or get into real life situations. No matter what genre you have, the main character is going to meet friends and have fights and things of that nature. Have one on one talks. Delve into their thoughts. Have them question things, wonder what their motives are. This all helps pick an element that you wish for this character, wether you think so or not.

When choosing an element, have them be true to themselves. Do not give them an element that does not match. A Fire person would not have water attributes. A Water person would not be pissed off all the time. Someone with Water or Wind would be cold, sad, or melancholy.

Now, if you're going to give two different elements, such as Dark and Earth, or Fire and Water, Wind and Fire, you want to think real carefully about why you are giving them two. A character might have a demonic family, hence inheriting those attributes, but having a family who also has Earth magic in their family. I would not recommend Fire and Water, as they tend to cancel each other out.

When you write a character with magic and the ingredients are mixed right, you could have so much fun writing with that character and, it makes things much easier.