How can you write a story without characters.  Your story plot is one thing.  But your characters can either make or break your story.  Stale characters make stale stories.   Boring characters, make for boring stories.  Hopefully we can remedy that.  I've compiled a nice little section on how to create vivid, believable characters.

I.  Character Development
     A. Gestalt (simpliest way)
          1. Take a person you know
          2. Write down the way you think of that person
          3. Then write the character

     B.  From a list chart
          1. Answer the following questions
              a. Birthplace
              b. Nationality
              c. Morals
              d. Ambitions
              e. Education
              f. Character flaws
              g. Habitual mannerisms
              h. Fears
               i. Frustrations
               j. Taste in sexual partners

      C.  Creating a character to suit the action
            1. People are what they do
                a. If someone is going to kill
                    1.) Needs to be someone to have the means
                          a.) Ability
                    2.) Motive
                          a.) Desire
                    3.) A role in life that places him/her next to the victim
                          a.) Opportunity
                    4.) Temperment
                    5.) Morality

II.  The three types of characters
     A. Main characters
          1. Has the problem to solve
          2. Generally wants something
          3. Tries to do something
          4. There is only one main character

     B. Secondary characters
          1. Other important characters
          2. Vital to story
          3. Along for the ride, but solve their own problems along the way
          4. Generally people close to your main character

     C.  Minor and bit characters
          1. Minor characters
              a. Generally have names
              b. Reader learns a little bit about them, but not much
              c. Villians are often minor characters
          2. Bit characters
              a. Aren't really characters at all
              b. Generally do their thing then leave
 

Some General Pointers On Character Development

How To Make Your Characters Function

• Your characters should have a set of walls
• Know the boundaries of those characters
• Cannot have your character react outside of those walls (out of character)
• Avoid stereotypes

• The hero cannot gun or harm an innocent person
• Once a character is established, once the wall are up, you can't just walk through them
• Your character must respond in character
• Test your character's ability. Take it the limit, but not beyond.
• If you start a situation, you should employ characters of appropriate dimension.
• Characters should believable.
• Characters make or break or story.
• Actions of your characters convey your story.
• Avoid stereotypes, don't offended your readers.
• A good characterization is to establish for the reader the relationship among the characters.
• Physical descriptions are not as important as personality traits.

Creaing Your Character's Identity

• Characters' identity? Names? Ages? Nationalities?
• What do the characters look like?
• What is their background? Family? Education?
• Put your characters in a setting.
• What do you characters think about?
• How do they behave, move respond?
• How do others react to what your characters say or do?
• What is their most unusual characteristic?
• What are their ambitions and emotions?
• What events in their lives motive them?

Some things to look for:

• How do people talk
• How do they walk
• Do they use their hands when they talk
• Do they have a lisp
• Do they stutter
• Do they walk with a limp
• What is their hair color
• Are they skinny
• Are they overweight
• Do they walk with confidence
• Do they talk to themselves when they walk

For my WGIA novels, my main character Stefanie is Jewish.  While that isn't a trait, it's a religion but it provides obstacles because of it.  She has to deal with prejudices.  The fact that she is a woman only enhances the problem to succeed.  She always feels she has to prove something because she is Jewish and a woman in a male dominated workplace.

* Author's Note: WGIA is a fictious German Intelligence Agency that I created for my series of novels and screenplays. None of my work has (or unlikely to be) been published...so don't ask me about it. <G>

The Character Sketch

• A single focus on the character
• Details about the character that help the reader understand the focus
• Character actions that help the reader understand the focus
• Character conversations that help the reader understand the focus
• Direct or indirect descriptions of the character

How did I know you were going to ask that.  List your characteristics of your main character that make him or her interesting or unusual. From this list, choose ONE idea of which you think you can build a character sketch on.

Still confused about this FOCUS thing?  I am to. Just go with it.  It's my impression that you take a single trait and build on that.

Example:

 
Stefanie is a Jewish woman from Munich, Germany.  I use the fact that is Jewish to show what type of problems she has to deal with.  Not only does she live and work in a country that executed millions of her people, she has to contend with anti-semtic culture that still resides in Germany among many of the citizens.  Her being Jewish makes her react to certain situations differently than what her Christian counterparts might react.

I built the character of Stefanie off the fact she is Jewish.  That is what focus means in my opinion.

(How about that for example...)

Also, one more thing -- Don't tell your reader about the character, show the reader.

Dialogue is important. (I didn't need to tell you that did I?)

Writing dialogue is sometimes trying.  Write as you talk. Try not to use complicated words (the kind that will make the reader search for the nearest dictionary).

• Show the speaker's exact words by enclosing them in quotation marks.
• Include spelling clues to indicate the type of dialect or speech patterns used by the characters.
• Produce natural sounding conversations by using short sentences and contractions, as appropriate to the character.
• You can include fragmented sentences to illustrate a speaker's exact words to enhance a style.
• Use phrases like, "he yelled" or "she snarled" to allow readers to "hear" the words in context of the situation.
• Use correct puncuation. Including: commas, end marks, and apostrophes as well as quotation marks.
• MAKE SURE YOU START A NEW PARAGRAPH WHEN A NEW SPEAKER STARTS. (I can't stress this part enough -- this is MAJOR rule of grammar).
• Include descriptions of not just of voice and expression but also of mannerisms and other non-verbal means of communication.

• What is the person's usual vocabulary? Does word choice suggest education or lack of it? Are certain words or phrases often repeated (like, "you know" or "um...").
• Are the sentences short and choppy or moderately long? Does the person answer "Yep" instead of "Yes, I think so..."?
• What type of voice does the speaker usually use? Does he/she shout, whisper, rasp, hiss or whine?
• Does the character occasionally use poor grammar?
• Does the person drop word endings? Instead of saying, "Walking along" they go "Walking' along".
• Does pronunciation reflect a dialect, words like "cain't" or "musta".

• How does a character stand or sit? Does he/she slouch or lean on a cane, prop chin in hands? How else can you describe posture?
• What does the character do with his or hands? (Think clean thoughts people!) Does he jab the air with a pipe-filled fist; does she unceasingly rub her thumbs together, worry with her wedding ring?
• How can you describe the person's eyes? Are they clear or cloudy, sparkling or dull? Do they peirce the listener or wanderer off into an undefined distance?
• What visual evidence is there of facial reaction to comments? A frown, a fading dimple,a grin, a cocked head, a dropped jaw?
• What visual evidence is there of other physical reactions to comments? A shifting of position, crossing of legs, folding of the arms, leaning forward?

This should about cover it for character development.  Make your characters interesting.  Make them fun. Make your villians the baddest, meanest people around.  Make your hero have that fatal flaw.  Make your hero's sidekick or partner ask a lot of questions... yadda... yadda...