Developing Characters or
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First of all, what genre of fiction are you writing? If it's a mystery or a tightly plotted suspense thriller, the characters may not need fleshing out in detail the way they would in a literary novel. However, if your plot is highly extraordinary, make sure your characters are as realistic as possible. Steven King's characters are usually ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. When we believe the characters in the book, we believe what is happening to them.
Start by getting to know your character. Design a detailed dossier for him or her, which includes the character's physical appearance, mannerisms, habits, motivations, and history. Not all of these details necessarily have to come out in the novel, but the more you know about your characters, the easier they'll be to write about and the more believable they'll seem.
Remember that readers need to know details about all major characters, not just the likable ones. For example, if one of the characters in the book is shady, why is this? What events from his past led to his present? Filling in these details will deepen your novel.
Most book characters are based in some part on real people, or composites of real people, that the writer has known in real life. Many writers begin with someone they've known in life and find that as the novel progresses, that character seems to 'take over' and is no longer the real person the writer initially envisioned.
Wherever your characters originate, be aware that they must have a motivation to act the way they do and this motivation must be evident in all their actions and dialogue. The number one rule of writing--show, don't tell--applies in developing characters. One of the most effective software packages, which help in developing characters that are well-rounded is WritePro. It takes the author step-by-step in the process of showing your character's nature rather than telling about it. Rather than saying, "Tom is slow-witted," showing how Tom is slow-witted by everything he says and does involves the reader.
Most writers introduce their character at a moment of change in the character's life. Rather than giving the details of how the character grew up, went to school, made friends, etc., jump into the character's life at the moment something life-changing happens. To see examples of this, read the first paragraphs of just about any good novel.
As you get further into your novel, you don't need to give all the details about your characters right away. In real life, we don't get to know everything about a person immediately, so we shouldn't expect this in a novel either. Getting to know people is a gradual discovery.
Some books are plot-driven and some are character-driven. If your novel is plot driven, the characters need to serve the plot. If it's character driven, the plot needs to serve the character.
For example, in the character-driven coming of age story, Catcher in the Rye, the plot is nearly as important as the character Holden Caulfield. J. D. Salinger formed the plot around the tormented teen. But in the plot-driven novel, the writer has a plot in mind developing characters to drive it. If the plot needs a character to find a murderer, the psychology and history of that character must fit. Remember that your book characters need flaws, however, which adds necessary tension to drive the novel ahead.
Characters are the building block of your novel. Spend time with them before diving in.
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