The main idea of creating an Original Character is to push all the physical and intellectual characteristics you want for yourself onto an imaginary being. This creation will be your baby. Cherish it. Nurture it. Protect it. Don’t take criticism for an answer – that’s a personal insult to you and your creative powers.
Let’s get started.
1. Appearance
“Her thick midnight curls cascaded like a waterfall down her back.”
Haven’t we all read something like that before? This is a classic line in any well-written story. Follow it. Metaphor and simile will be your friends – use them to describe your character’s physical features, especially the eyes, lips, and hair. And again, here’s the fun part: if in reality you find yourself lacking in some aspect, now’s the chance to make up for it! Does your hair take forever to grow? Give your Original character a ton of luscious golden locks. Are your eyelashes short and sparse? Frame your character’s eyes with natural black falsies. Do you have some unwanted belly protruding from the waistband of your jeans? Bless your character with fast metabolism and six-pack abs. Slap on a clear, translucent complexion and make your Original Character smell like some enticing plant and you’re almost done!
But just remember to keep your Original Character interesting and unique. For example, give your character an indescribable eye color, like one that changes colors with his or her mood. Or give your character slit pupils. That’s always cool. Also, be sure to describe your character’s outfit in vivid detail, from the fingerless gloves to the Dr. Martens boots to the number of pleats in the #FFB7C5 miniskirt that stops six inches above your character’s knees. This helps your audience visualize your Original Character more accurately. Leave nothing to the imagination.
2. Personality
It doesn’t really matter what type of personality your characters possess as long as everybody likes them. Seriously. Your Original Character should be universally likable – therefore, no selfishness, arrogance, pessimism, or rudeness allowed. Your character should be an angel on earth. Actually, scratch that. Even if your Original Character is selfish, arrogant, pessimistic, or rude, it’s OK – just make it so that they’re universally liked anyway.
3. Skills
Let’s move onto your Original Character’s accomplishments. Your character should be an expert in at least several fields, such as karate, ballet, bee populations, or kendo. I know there are tons of options out there to choose from, but it’s OK. You don’t need to worry too much about establishing your character’s abilities right from the get-go, because you can always add them into your story later as a plot point. I mean, if the story takes a turn into some dark woods or onto a forsaken island, your Original Character will need to magically bust out some major foraging skills and encyclopedic knowledge about edible plants, right?
4. Flaws and weaknesses
It’s always difficult to come up with character flaws and weaknesses, so don’t worry too much if you can’t think of anything. There’s no way that you can make your baby selfish, weak, or unlikeable in any way – otherwise, who would want to read your story? – but at the same time, we want your Original Character to be relatable and human. Just make them “klutzy.” It’s cute, and it’ll keep things interesting when your Original Character falls beautifully into their love interest’s arms. Nevermind the fact that your character is a black belt in karate and has trained in ballet and kendo since they were 2 years old.
5. Backstory
Heaven forbid if your Original Character comes from a happy family background or has an wholesome childhood. Your character can either be an orphan or the lone survivor of some formerly glorious clan, or secretly royalty. Those are your only options, really.
6. Naming your hero(ine)
You have multiple online dictionaries at your fingertips. Utilize them! Names like “Ashley” and “Jonathan” are far too common. Take advantage of uncommon spellings. For example, rename your character “Ashleigh,” “Ashlee,” or “Aashuleah” to keep things interesting. If you’re feeling daring, Google some foreign words and draw inspiration from there. Naming characters with things like “Nom de Guerre” or “Xiao Ping Guo” cloaks them with an aura of mystery and adds an extra layer of meaning and symbolism to your characters. (It's also really fun – try it!) And here's another quick tip: adding an apostrophe to any name makes it sound exotic. If you take my name and throw in a couple of apostrophes, you’ll get something like “Gr’a’ce.” Looks snazzy, doesn’t it? Finally, my personal favorite is naming characters after food and spices. Options like “Anise,” “Cherry,” and “Basil” are acceptable. “Bacon,” “Pizza” and “Turkish Delight” are also fine. The best thing is that your choices are nearly infinite, and you’ll create drool-worthy drama with your delectable names.
But sometimes you’ll run across a dilemma. What happens when you can’t decide between names because you like all of your options? Vicky advises to use all of them. We once ran across a excellently composed story that featured an “Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.” Brilliant. You can also cheat the system by giving your character nicknames like “Ebo” or “Bony.” It’s essentially a two-for-one deal, and it’ll stretch your creative powers to the limits.
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