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Hello, so this is a new thing that I will be doing every Wednesday, which is giving tips on writing and things pertaining to writing. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave a comment and ask. ^_^ I will be happy to answer.

This Week: Character Development.

To have a good story, it is necessary to have good characters. That doesn't mean that your character's name has to be really cool or they look amazing (though those things never help), but you do need to make sure that their personality and their own story are interesting. The reader is going to be stuck with this character for the story, so make sure that they don't regret it.

Now, this doesn't mean that the character has to be good or has to do things for the better good. The character can be an evil character while still being a good character. Think about all the times that you have fallen for the villain and they have become your favorite character. I know that this happens often, as it has happened to me many times before. That just means that the author did what they were suppose to. They wrote a good character.

Characters need to not be cliched and overdone, but you can still use some cliche traits as long as they don't over weigh the other traits. Want to write about a quiet, shy nerdy girl? Go ahead! Dashing, charming prince? Sure! Just make sure that they have other traits as well. Try adding some odd or quirky traits to cliched ones if you feel the need to write with them.

The nerdy girl could be quiet but love singing karaoke in front of people. The dashing, charming prince could be afraid of spiders. Small things that make the reader more interested in your character. They also help you from getting your characters flagged as a Mary-Sue. Now, I want to make one thing clear,

Mary-Sue's.Aren't.Bad.

If you feel so inclined to write a Mary-Sure, then do it. Write what you want to and don't let others tell you what you should and shouldn't write. No matter what you write, there will always be critics. Yes, many don't like reading about Mary-Sues, but if you enjoy writing them, then do it. On their own, your characters will develop and maybe they won't become a Mary-Sue anymore.

Yes, Mary-Sue's can be annoying to read about but that is only because they are so common. We don't want to read the same story over and over, but you shouldn't be writing for us. You should be writing for you. Write something that you want to read. If you ever think 'Hm, I really would like to read a book about this', you should write it! Who knows, it could be amazing!

Characters tend to develop on their own as long as you continue to write them. They change, just like we do as we go through changes in our life. That is a good thing. It makes us, as the reader, be able to relate to the character. That is the most important thing about making a character. You want to make them feel human (if you are writing a human, there is obviously things that don't fit here. Like Androids, Aliens, etc.)

You want them to feel real. Everyone has a flaw, no one is perfect. We like reading about flawed people because sometimes we can see ourselves in their shoes. Or, they remind us of someone else. We just need to be able to imagine that they are real, whether in our world or some other land.

Recap
1.) Good Story = Good Characters
2.) Cliches aren't all bad.
3.) Mary-Sue's aren't horrible.
4.) Write for yourself, not someone else
5.) Don't get discouraged if your character doesn't feel real, continue writing.
6.) Write, characters develop on their own.

Next Week: Publication