10 iUniverse Tips on How To Create Believable Characters

The key to writing believable, well-rounded characters involves a number of different aspects. The characters in your book need to be credible. They need to have the same strengths, weaknesses, idiosyncrasies and problems as real people. They should have personalities, and a past, and they need to be authentic. iUniverse Publishing presents 10 tips on how to write a book and make your characters realistic.

1. Names – Choose appropriate names for your characters that coincide with their personalities and roles in your story. Can you imagine an evil genius named Francis or a beautiful woman named Brunhilda? No? Your readers won’t be able to either.
2. Descriptions – Give your characters their own eye and hair color, height, weight, tattoos and scars and describe the clothes they wear. If you are writing a children’s book, this isn’t that important as your illustrations will show your readers what the characters look like.
3. Backstory – A character’s backstory is everything that has happened to a character up to the point when he or she is introduced in a book. It is all of the character’s experiences and history which have led to his or her attitudes, thoughts and ways of dealing with problems.
4. Mannerisms, Gestures and Quirks – One character might scratch his or her head while solving problems, while others might pick their teeth or crack their knuckles.
5. Strengths and Weaknesses – Be sure to describe your characters’ positive and negative physical and personality traits. Don’t stick to stereotypes. Some good guys do bad things, and some bad guys do good things.

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