Creating Characters  


	Developing characters

	To create life-like characters that readers believe in you need to 
	develop the powers of observation. You must take the time to study 
	people and how they interact with others. You must notice how they 
	speak and the gestures they make and understand what those gestures 
	mean. A person's mannerisms and body language very much indicates 
	what they are subconsciously thinking or feeling and the alert writer 
	should always be attuned to the subtleties of the body and mind.

	Creating truly believable characters can be daunting at first, but in time 
	the skill will become so natural that you start to feel intimately involved 
	with the character you invent. And so you should be.

	The following points should be considered when giving birth to characters.

	In the beginning of your writing career you might like to select your 
	characters from the glossy pages of weekly magazines. You find a 
	face which you described and to which you give a name and a life. Then 
	you send them on an adventure.

	Alternatively, you can fashion your characters after friends and 
	acquaintances, simply giving them a change of name. Be forewarned 
	though, if the person can pick themselves out in your story and you have
	portrayed them less favourably than they would have liked you may 
	a) lose a friend or 
	b) be faced with a libel suit. 
	So vary them more than slightly where possible and don't write a real-life
	story with only the names being changed.

			(First page of the article)

 




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