I’ve found that I’m drawn to stories with strong, memorable characters. I’ve received questions from readers, who would like to pen a novel, asking how I create my characters. Every author has their own method, so this way might not necessarily work for everyone, however, I hope my advice, doled out over the next few days, will help aspiring writers to create wonderful people that readers will remember for a long time.

First off, your characters have to be real to you. They can’t be make-believe people because if you think of them as unreal, then your reader will too, and you want to avoid that.

I usually start by thinking about the person I’m trying to create. I get a mental image in my mind of what this character looks like. Sometimes, it might help to get an actual picture of a person in a magazine or a catalog, that closely resembles the person you are trying to create.

I then think about this person’s thoughts, mannerisms, likes, dislikes, upbringing, etc. These things roll throughout my head for several days before I even start doing my character sketches.

More about this subject tomorrow….

Later!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com