| make them believable - if they are not believable, nobody will want to read about them, or care what happens to them. |
| control the reader's sympathy. Remember that by only showing a character's good or bad points,or showing them always in a good or bad light, you decide whether or not the reader will like them. |
| use their name to say something about them. Charles Dickens did this a lot. When he introduced a ridiculous character, he gave them a ridiculous name to represent their role in the story. |
If you decide to choose realistic names, ensure that the name you choose is appropriate to the time, culture and social status that the character lives in. For example, a 95 year old Indian woman called Sharon, is not going to work.
| make the reader understand their character better, by using their appearance to speak for them - or you can turn this idea on its head and play with people's prejudices. Make you character look one way, but them have them behave in an unexpected manner. |
| give them a relevant context - if your character is in a place which is unusual,make sure that you can explain why they are there. For example, nobody will believe that Posh Spice lives in the jungle, unless you can set up the context so that it makes sense. |
| use their speech and thought patterns to help the reader to gain insight into their character. If you give them a certain accent, certain connotations may go with it - consider this and use it to your advantage. |
| use dialogue between the characters to help you to move the story along - or to help the reader to understand the person or the situation better. |
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