Characters: Characters are the people in a story, although sometimes, animals and inanimate things can be characters. Basically, a character is whoever or whatever is acting out the story.

There are Major characters (the stars) and Minor characters (the supporting cast). Stock characters are stereotypical, the town drunk, the high school cheerleader, the ruthless businessman, and most stock characters are Flat or Static, not developed, one-dimensional.

Major characters, on the other hand, are usually Round or Dynamic, developed, two-dimensional.

The Protagonist is the Main character, sometimes called the Hero/Heroine, whether they do anything special or not. The Antagonist is sometimes their rival, but could just be the character that plays opposite them, the other star.

Finally, when thinking about our characters, we need to consider their Motivation. What makes them do what they do?

How does the role of a minor character influence the major character(s)?

Name your characters consistently. For instance: If you’re writing a sci-fi story don’t start out giving your characters names like Doran, and Zorak, and then throw in characters with names like Bill and Bob. (Unless of course, they’re two different species.)

Before you start writing, know your characters thoroughly. Your main character should be someone the reader can identify and/or sympathize with. He or she should be near the top age of your intended readers. (One exception is in folktales.) Identify your characters with one or more telling details -- a physical trait, a mannerism, a favorite phrase. A complete description is not needed.

How to Create Well-rounded Characters

Well rounded characters need four sides:

General: What traits were formed by their heredity and environment? Something the character has no control over, but which adds a piece to the puzzle of who he or she is.

Physical: Readers like to picture the central character. What are their physical traits? Eye color, hair color, height, weight, build, body type and description, distinguishing marks or imperfections, voice, mannerisms, such as: posture, walk, habitual facial expressions, gestures, laugh, the entire physical package.

Emotional: Describe the character's mental or psychological traits. A part of their nature that helps show the kind of person they are. Is your character an introvert, or an extrovert? Do they have any quirks, eccentricities, bad habits, or vices? How do they handle anger? Depression? Joy? What are their turn-ons? Turn-offs?

Personal: Describe the character's social or ethical traits. These are complex character builders, which the person may or may not have any power over. Things like race, ethnic background, and religion.

Character is revealed by:

Action: This is when emotional responses are revealed. Show whether there is a difference between what the person does and what the person thinks. If someone is being kind: why are they being kind? Are they really kind, or are they trying to get something for themselves? You must show how the person feels about what he or she is doing.

Self-Discovery: Maybe the character thinks he is one way, but something happens to show him that he is not that way at all.

Characteristics

Physical: Let's make Bruce very tall. In describing him working on the truck, we can have him looking down at the top of the truck roof.

Appearance: This is not how the person looks but how the person appears. Bruce is messy. He has dirty fingernails and greasy coveralls.

Mannerism: Mannerisms are things people frequently do, usually subconsciously, without even thinking about them, or realizing that they're doing them.

Bruce may be lazy in general, edgy, takes offence where none is meant. He may crack his knuckles when he's thinking, that's a mannerism.

Habit: A habit is slightly different. Bruce may have a habit of getting to work late because he cannot pass up that second cup of coffee. Every day, he promises that tomorrow he won't have that second cup. But he always does. That is a habit.

Favorite expression: Some people have expressions they use frequently. These can reveal character. Bruce might often say, "unleaded gas smells terrible" but he might be more apt to say "unleaded gas stinks worse than a skunk with a mad on." You can see a difference in how you might see Bruce, depending on which expression he tended to use a lot.

Contrasting Characters

Foil: Strengthen the perception of your character's personality by having a contrasting personality type, or a character known as a foil, that is completely opposite to your character.

Bruce may be quiet. Maybe he goes to the diner after work and a noisy truck driver is sitting there drinking coffee. The noisy trucker talks non-stop, laughs loudly, calls out the window to people passing by, whatever. His purpose in this scene is to show how quiet Bruce is.

Names: Names have their own significance for us all. If Bruce's name were Brandon or Montgomery, you would probably have a different vision of him in your head.

Confession: What a person chooses to reveal in a confession and to whom, tells a great deal about the character. If Bruce confesses to a stranger at the diner that he wants to go to college, it reveals something different about Bruce than if he decided to confess the same thing to his brother.

Exposition: This is -- telling. Not a technique you should use often. We don't know anything about Bruce's boss. One thing we can do to get this information across is to have the waitress in the diner tell it for us.

"How is that boss of yours? Do you think that crabby old jerk will be happy about you going to college?"

Description: Telling again, but this time directly: Bruce was only nineteen but felt forty. He hated his job and had to force himself to go to work every day.

Minor Characters: Your minor character shouldn't overshadow your main character so only give him or her a single dominant character trait.

Flashbacks: Experts say flashbacks are dangerous, because they interrupt the flow of the present problem. However, the reader must learn about the protagonist's background somehow. Slip in a little info here and there...preferably through dialogue. Anything that interferes with the progression of the story is bad.

Points of Character

Physical: your readers must be able to picture the central character, their height, weight, hair, eyes, build, voice, mannerisms, such as: posture, walk, habitual facial expressions, gestures, laugh, the entire physical package.

Personality: How does your character behave? introspective, extroverted, shy, aggressive, sense of humor, attitude toward life, toward people, toward self, toward things, places, etc.

Mental: What are your character's hopes, dreams, ambitions, attitude toward job, profession, situation? Be specific and remember, your character will grow and change in these areas

Interest/Tastes: music, books, art, sports, outdoor-indoor, clothing, residence, furniture, car, food, liquor, wine, etc.

Intellectual: What are your characters views on politics, religion, education, values, ethics, morals?

Emotional: What are your character's prejudices, likes, dislikes, male-female relationships, friends, enemies, positive/negative memories, positive-negative life experiences

Family: parents, siblings, extended family members, mate, lover, children.

Socializing Influences: Where was your character born and raised? One place or many? Were there social shifts up or down the economic scale? Education? Preferred habitat: that is, rural, urban, suburban, desert, mountain, ocean, etc?

Biographic Trivia: date of birth, birth sign, know as much about this character as you possibly can, fill in the blanks so that your character has a complete fictional reality.

The Four Types Of Characters In Fiction:

Central Characters: They are the focus of the story and are clearly described with their own distinct style in dialog and thought. Strong personalities.

Secondary Characters: play a major role in the action but are only important in their relation to the central character. They have names, personalities, and are described physically in some detail but not as detailed as the central character.

Minor Characters: may have names, perhaps one or two outstanding physical characteristics and may speak but only for some plot or setting purpose, usually play minor roles in the action and are used to move the plot along in some way.

Background Characters: they are more like setting. They have no names, their descriptions are quick and short and they usually don't speak.

Speech. Develop the character as a person -- don't merely have your character announce important plot details.

Characterization Through Action

Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives.

A character’s actions may be defined in two ways:

1) the ways he moves his body; i.e., the way he walks, his gestures, mannerisms, and his facial expressions.

2) the larger way in which he responds to internal conflict or external events.

Let’s consider bodily actions first:

Walking. Walking is a good indication of character because it is mostly an unconscious movement. The person’s mind is usually occupied with other thoughts, so the body is free to express itself.

What is your character’s dominant trait? Can you show this trait through his walking?

Suppose your character is a timid person. How would you show them entering a room?

You might say, “Ellen tiptoed into the room,” or “Ellen edged inside the door.”

Another character is bold. Rose might “stride down the hall with her heels clacking on the tile floor,” or, she might “bolt past the waitress and head for the ladies’ room.”

The strong verb in each example shows us how the person walks and gives us an indication of their character.

Avoid using forms of the word “walking” with an adverb, as in “Janet walked slowly to the diner.” Choose a strong, specific verb. Janet strolled to the diner.

Gestures. Gestures are largely unconscious movements and are good indications of character. Gestures include movements such as shaking a finger to punctuate speech, pushing one’s glasses up on the nose, running a finger around the inside of the collar, hair twisting, drumming fingers on a table, knuckle cracking, etc.

Imagine you are the person in the story. Act out his role in a scene and see what gestures come to mind. Observe the gestures of other people. An effective way to observe gestures is to watch television with the sound off.

Facial Expressions. Eyes are likely the most commonly used feature to indicate character. To show that someone is cold and calculating, you might say something like: “His eyes were narrowed slits as he surveyed the jewels worn to the party.” To show his honesty, you might write, “He looked at her with clear, unwavering eyes as he told her he loved her.”

Characterization Through Thoughts

Sometimes, a character says one thing while he is thinking another. A character’s thoughts can give important information about their past which will help us to understand them. Sometimes, knowing things that happened before the story takes place can make the character more believable: Bring the reader into your character's mind, to show them your character's unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.

The song reminded Kathleen of when she was a child. Would she ever experience such happy, carefree days again, she wondered?

A character’s thoughts can reinforce the significance of what is happening in the present:

“If I don’t go through with it,” thought Ellen, “Linda will never speak to me again.”

A character’s thoughts can foreshadow what might happen in the future:

Elliott thought about the party that evening. He knew Christine was looking forward to it. He hoped no one would mention the large account he’d lost that week. Elliott didn’t want Christine to think he was getting old and losing his touch.

Writers often ask if they should use quotes around the character’s thoughts. Use quotes if the thoughts are written in the first person:

Lily sprinted from the coffee shop to the bus stop, arriving in time to see the back of the bus disappear around a corner. “Why me?” she thought, “Why did I have to have that extra cup of coffee?”

Another more commonly used way to handle thoughts in the first person is to italicize them:

Lily sprinted from the coffee shop to the bus stop, arriving in time to see the back of the bus disappear around a corner. Why me, she thought, why did I have to have that extra cup of coffee?

When thoughts are in the third person, do not use quotes and do not underline:

Lily sprinted from the coffee shop to the bus stop, arriving in time to see the back of the bus disappear around a corner. Why did she have to have that second cup of coffee?

Keep thoughts relatively short, especially when they occur in the midst of action and dialogue. Remember, the story stands still while the character is thinking.