Character Development # 1

For those of you who already have a story in mind, but might not be so keen on your character, let's start some character development.

A couple things to remember when you're creating a character:
-Everyone is unique. Make sure your character has quarks
-No one in the world is perfect, so don't forget to add their flaws also
-Be creative. Your character is your chance to be someone you're not. Don't
be afraid to make them slightly evil or a complete super hero.

While names are important, it's not the first place I like to start. Here is a good starting point:
Age:
Race:
Location:
Living situation:

Once the basics are in place, I like to add information on like I am scultping a person. After I have the basic body shape, we need to add more clay for limbs and a face.
Gender:
Hair color:
Eye color:
Face shape:
Body shape:

Once you have a picture of your character in your head, start describing their finer details. Do they have a big nose? Are their eyebrows slightly unkempt? Literally list all their features from head to toe OR if you are so artisticaly inclined, draw a picture.

Now it's time for the finer things.
Clothing style:
Hair style:
Car (if they drive one):
Job/Schooling:
Family:

The exciting part, in my opinion, is to shape their personality.
Pet peeves:
Sense of humor:
Smart?
Likes:
Dislikes:
Introvert or extrovert?
Protagonist, antagonist?

This is your main character so get to know them. You may want to imagine their bedroom, and things like favorite color, band, book, television show, etc. Dialog is important in a story, so don't forget to give them a specific speech pattern. Perhaps they have an accent or they use words like "dude" or "like" alot.

A person is complex, so any little detail you can think of is that much more realism in your character.

After I've got a pretty good idea of who your character is, it might be easier to give a name, which we will go through in the next post.