Characterization #1 - The Creation

Characters are the crux of any story. If you don't have good characters you don't have a story. The reader should feel like the protagonist is their best friend. If your protagonist suddenly died would your reader cry? Would you?

First of all, every character needs a name. You can go as in depth with this as you want. Some people look through online databases for meanings, other people pick a random first name out of the phone book and combine it with an equally random last name and some peope can just come up with names off the top of their head. No matter what your method is, you need to put a little thought into the name. It needs to fit the character and it needs to be somewhat familiar. I'm not saying name everyone Sarah, Emily and Michael but if you name your protagonist Nquphazn your reader will constantly stumble over it because they have no idea to pronounce it.
Here are some good name sites:
Name Generator
Meaning of Names
Baby Names
Names from Around the World
Last Name Meanings
Tons of Generators
Etymology of first names

Now that you have your name, we need to know a little bit about this character. Not all of this back information will actually make it into the story, but it's important to do so you'll have a well balanced, 3D character. What I've found really helps is filling out a character chart. This is a really good one. It's super, super in depth so if you can fill that out for your main characters, you'll be well on your way. :)

When filling out a character chart and getting to know your characters for the first time, it's important to make them well-rounded and realistic. It's really tempting to make your leading lady pretty and popular and rich and smart and funny and really athletic and nice and charismatic but who wants to read about her? She needs flaws. She needs things about her that make her not perfect because no one in the world is perfect. And if he/she has fifty good traits and only four bad ones, that doesn't make them well-rounded. They are a Mary Sue. Read more about that Here.

Something else that is kind of fun to do is if you have a pretty good mental image of your character and you have artistic ability, draw/paint/sketch/etc. them. If you're not artistically inclined (like me :)) find an actor/singer/model/etc. that you think looks like your character.

Want to make your character's really real?
Live with them.
Write journals from their point of view. Have conversations with them in your head. As you listen to music/watch TV/watch a movie/etc. think about what your character would think about it. How would your character react in various situations throughout your day. Think about them constantly. Make them real people in your head.


Homework:
Introduce me to one (or more) of your characters. Use the character chart as an outline if you want but I don't need to know every single one of those things. :) Make me interested.
I'll grade you based on how realistic they are if I would want to read/know more about them.
You can get four stars at most.

I have a few people in mind that I would absolutely love to introduce you to. I have one problem. I can only get in the Internet on my iPod because I don't have time to get on the computer during the day and I check TA and stuff at night. Is there any way I could PM you stuff about them or something to that effect, I'd rather be in-depth but typing on my iPod keyboard is pretty slow going...

That's totally fine. And if you want, I could copy it onto here for you. What ever works best for you! :)

that would be amazingly rad. I would love if you copied it onto here, thanks very much.

Got the first one. I'll post it right away :)

PMed to me

missmack123 wrote:

Kay Donovan is one of my characters that I'm pretty focused on right now. Hes got pale blue eyes and his natural hair color is light blonde but currently it's bleached to where it's white. He is 6'5" and plays basketball. Hes adopted and as a child was tossed around a lot between foster parents. Because of this, he has commitment issues and the only person he really loves is his adopted sister, Forrest Donovan. Later he does eventually fall in love with Shelly Whitmore.

I like that his name is Kay. It's kind of an unusual name for a male which is something I like. His past is good. I like that there's some problems in his past because that makes him un-perfect. The flaw is great because I can automatically see where problems will come up in this story. He loves someone but he can't commit.
I think Kay is definitely realistic. Just make sure he's got some good attributes too so that readers will like him. I'd totally be interested in reading this story.

Matilda is one of the two main characters in something I am working on. But goes by the name of Mat. She has dirty blonde hair that could do with a serious brushing and her deep blue eyes always reflect her mood. She lives with her steps Mum's husband so she is in no way related to him. Or his son William, and life with these two men isn't easy, she gets beat up a bit and treated as if she wasn't a real person but Mat is strong and knows how far to push things and when to let them lie to come back at a different angle and retaliate.

Amortentia wrote:

Matilda is one of the two main characters in something I am working on. But goes by the name of Mat. She has dirty blonde hair that could do with a serious brushing and her deep blue eyes always reflect her mood. She lives with her steps Mum's husband so she is in no way related to him. Or his son William, and life with these two men isn't easy, she gets beat up a bit and treated as if she wasn't a real person but Mat is strong and knows how far to push things and when to let them lie to come back at a different angle and retaliate.

I like the name. I know a girl who's name is Matilda and she goes by Tillie, but I like the nickname you chose. I alreay think of her as a little bit tougher or more tom-boyish because she has a name that is more commonly masculine. I liked you description of her hair and eyes. I like the conflict you've set up here with the 'dad' and William. Just make sure she's got plenty of good and bad characteristics.

to finish off Kay, as you can imagine, he's as plenty of girlfriends, but he's not exactly a player. He treats them well, and doesn't use them for anything. He's just in it for affection, not forever. Him and his sister, Forrest, are extremely close, he doesn't really love his parents, as much as they love him, but he does love Forrest. She's his sun when its rainy and vice versa. They really lean on eachother even though she's a year older then him. A great deal of his description would depend on you knowing of the other characters in his life, which would take a long time and probably bore you to tears. I will tell you a little a bout Shelly, as she is crucial to him. Shelly Whitmore is the first girl he loves, but way before that...would be their meeting. Shelly is a rape victim. Kay talks to her only about a week after that happened to her so it takes a really long time for her to trust him at all. Over this time, just trying to be her friend, he falls in love with her, protects her, and is just there for her.

His love for her is best described in some of the lines from Paramore's "The Only Exception"

Maybe I know, somewhere
Deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways
To make it alone
Or keep a straight face
And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content
With loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk

You are the only exception

The character I’m most concentrated on these days is kind of an unusual one for me, so I’m interested to hear what you think. His name is Oliver Deschamps, and he’s nine. He’s unusually tall for his age, with short blonde hair and green eyes. His parents, while wealthy enough that they live in upper middle-class suburbia, are relatively absent, so he spends a lot of time with his grandmother and his twelve-year-old sister, Mia. He’s very sheltered, despite attending public school, and often says hurtful or insensitive things without realizing it. However, it’s a price some are willing to pay as he’s generally quite charismatic, eager to discuss just about anything and interesting when he does so. He also has an uncanny sense of direction, and spends much of his free time drawing incredibly detailed maps of places he’s been. They usually feature squirrels, his favorite animal. He's not particularly responsible, like most kids his age, but he's never really had to be. I could go on, but meh.

<3 he sounds adorable.

missmack123 wrote:

to finish off Kay, as you can imagine, he's as plenty of girlfriends, but he's not exactly a player. He treats them well, and doesn't use them for anything. He's just in it for affection, not forever. Him and his sister, Forrest, are extremely close, he doesn't really love his parents, as much as they love him, but he does love Forrest. She's his sun when its rainy and vice versa. They really lean on eachother even though she's a year older then him. A great deal of his description would depend on you knowing of the other characters in his life, which would take a long time and probably bore you to tears. I will tell you a little a bout Shelly, as she is crucial to him. Shelly Whitmore is the first girl he loves, but way before that...would be their meeting. Shelly is a rape victim. Kay talks to her only about a week after that happened to her so it takes a really long time for her to trust him at all. Over this time, just trying to be her friend, he falls in love with her, protects her, and is just there for her.

His love for her is best described in some of the lines from Paramore's "The Only Exception"

Maybe I know, somewhere
Deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways
To make it alone
Or keep a straight face
And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content
With loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk

You are the only exception

He still sounds great :)
Bonus points for Paramore!

time bomb. wrote:

The character I’m most concentrated on these days is kind of an unusual one for me, so I’m interested to hear what you think. His name is Oliver Deschamps, and he’s nine. He’s unusually tall for his age, with short blonde hair and green eyes. His parents, while wealthy enough that they live in upper middle-class suburbia, are relatively absent, so he spends a lot of time with his grandmother and his twelve-year-old sister, Mia. He’s very sheltered, despite attending public school, and often says hurtful or insensitive things without realizing it. However, it’s a price some are willing to pay as he’s generally quite charismatic, eager to discuss just about anything and interesting when he does so. He also has an uncanny sense of direction, and spends much of his free time drawing incredibly detailed maps of places he’s been. They usually feature squirrels, his favorite animal. He's not particularly responsible, like most kids his age, but he's never really had to be. I could go on, but meh.

I really, really like him. Part of me was sort of thinking of young Tom Riddle from Harry Potter and another part of me was thinking of Artemis Fowl (although I don't really remember those books too well).
Anyway, I think he's intriguing. He has plenty of good and bad to him and I think he'll be a very dynamic character.