So, you consider yourself to be a creative writer and you have a story to tell. You have a good idea for a plot and an excellent hold over the language you write in. But, you are facing a small problem—you don’t know how you want your characters to be like. This is a common problem faced by even professional writers.
When you come up with ideas for a character for your story, take a piece of paper and answer the following questions:
- What is the colour of their hair?
- What are their facial features?
- Do they have any skin disorders? If so, then how do they react to certain circumstances?
- What are their hobbies?
- Do they have any peculiar habit? Do they have a habit of repeating a certain word unconsciously?
- How does their face look like when they’re thinking?
- What is the colour of their skin?
- Do they have an obsession?
- What kind of people do they like to make friends with?
- Are they introverts or extroverts?
- What was their childhood like? Did they have any traumatic experiences that affect their present? Did they have a happy and sheltered childhood?
- Do they have a shy or a bold personality?
- What is their pattern of speech? Do they stutter? Do they have a peculiar accent?
Writing about each of your character helps you figure out who they are. This will also reduce plot-holes and you don’t have to keep thinking up new things each time you have a different situation or problem. This will unnecessary create problems and contradictions.
When you’re done with the personality, think up of a name that will suit this character the best. Or, if you want to add a humorous side to your story, you can have a name that completely contradicts the character!
I’m a panster, so I make all these up as I go. But I do make up them up. I actually have a document on my laptop for physical features and characteristic traits for a lot of my characters. If they have any magical abilities, those too will go in.
That’s all for to-day. See you in my next post!
Ananya's Scribbles Corner 
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