Hi everyone so this is a little guide to help you guys devise your own characters for stories! I thought it would be useful for some people so that you can understand your main characters and have a clear personality and appearance mapped in your head. It should help with continuity and also with basic description. I find it's easier to have it all written down so these are the details I would always include and a few extras as well! :)

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First of all you're going to need to think of a name and gender: Alice Frida McDonald - Female

** Sometimes it might be easier to actually start with the personality seeing as it can help you think of a good and appropriate name. It's also helpful to pick names with meanings that might be important to the character like 'Aidan' for someone with a fiery personality because it means fiery one.

Next you'll need a personality; I recommend you choose three-five words which best describe your character. Remember, all your characters can't share the same opinions and traits as you because otherwise it gets boring! Cheerful, naïve, enthusiastic

Then you're gonna want to start deciding what they look like! Choose an answer to each of these questions, if you're stuck then base the appearance on somebody you know or a celebrity!

Eye Colour: Green

Hair Colour: Ginger

Hair Style: Shoulder-length bob

Skin Tone: Pale- white.

Facial Features: Freckles

Weight: Skinny- Underweight

Any other noticeable features: Glasses (usually red and rectangular)

*** If you'd prefer a visual representation then you could try to draw your character but if you're no good at art it might help to make your character in an avatar maker of some variety. I recommend this one: art/ Chibi-Maker-1-1-346025144 (remove spaces) it helps you make a little manga chibi and you can choose clothes and stuff as well.

Next is something a lot of people forget; a birthday! It's important that if you are writing a story which takes place over a year or longer that you remember to include the character's birthday! It can just be a random date, but if you can't decide then perhaps use the date you begin the story or another notable date such as your own birthday or the birthday of a friend or celebrity.

Birthday: 12th June (You don't have to include a year unless it's very necessary to the storyline)

If you're writing a story set in a school then you're gonna want to make it clear what year/grade they're in. Make sure you choose wisely and don't mix it up half way through.

Year Five/ Fourth Grade

If your character is of the age where this is appropriate/necessary for your story then you're going to want to include their sexuality and list of romantic partners (as well as the one they end up with). Heterosexual – Gordon Kent, Samuel Tyler, Benjamin Jenkins

You're pretty much done after that but some extras are the following:

If they're in a group or something like the four houses at Hogwarts, then be sure to include their categorization in your character profile. Ravenclaw

List the kind of clothes they wear and what their fashion sense is like. All second-hand hand-me-downs from her older sister. Clothes that are generally too big, oversized cardigans and T-shirts.

Basic favourites, such as favourite colour, favourite food. These things can be taken into account as the character bonds with others: Pink, Strawberry Jelly

GENERAL RULES:

Don't be afraid to change things drastically if the story calls for it, just be sure it all makes sense. For example if you need to change their age then you'll have to go back and edit it from the beginning rather than just changing it from one chapter onwards. That's confusing!

Be brave with your characters! If you need to step outside your comfort zone and do characters who are the complete opposite of yourself, don't be afraid to jump into it and don't worry about making every character the perfect person; it's not realistic.

As I've said above, don't make the characters direct copies of yourself. If one character is based off of you, try to vary the appearance and opinions of the others so that it doesn't get boring or confusing.

Naming is important! The name is the thing your readers are going remember when you've written the book so make it count! Spend time choosing exactly what to call each character, consider fans who (like us) like to ship characters, so you could pick a couple whose names sound great together so you get the feeling they're right for each other.

Use your imagination! Be creative with your characters and try your best to make them unique characters that introduce fresh idea about people to your readers.

Okay that's all! So I hope this has helped you in some way. Leave a review below (It barely takes a second and really makes my day) and be sure to favourite! Thanks for reading. ^.^

Also let me know if I can help you in any other way? Maybe I'll do another chapter about a different topic? I'd like to know your opinions on this idea so get typing below! :)