How To Design An Effective Character

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Hello everyone, I'm Jay Mhekzy. The author of Fated on AltiRead. That is my only book there currently because I'm working on more to submit.

I appreciate AltiRead for giving me this opportunity to share my experience with you all.

I was nine years old when I started writing and it started from letter writing.

I try to emulate great authors like Rick Riordan, J. K. Rowling, Jennifer Estep, Amanda Quick, Lynne Graham etc.

I know I'm not there yet, but I'll get there eventually.

Also, I'll be better than them.

I enjoy writing romance and fantasy.

I won't say I'm the best when it comes to that. Rather, I'm an amateur compared to other writers but I didn't let that put me down.

Before designing an effective character, I try to do a lot of research first and I also try to read well-known authors' books like the aforementioned authors and more to see how they do it.

Since I want to write a story I can read without cringing and what others can read as well.

I try to keep my description minimal and without giving out too much information. I want my readers to imagine how they are by themselves without trying to tell them or breaking their concentration in the process.

Also, I try not to make it too wordy.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS I WATCH OUT FOR WHEN DESIGNING MY CHARACTERS(I'll list out only four because I don't want to bore you all with long notes.)

1.STARTING WITH PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: You might be thinking is it necessary to do that? Physical attributes are the first thing we notice about a person(in real life). So, it's necessary you start the design of your fictional characters from there as well. More so, having a vivid and evocative physical description can help paint a picture of a character in the minds of your readers before you go into more detail about the character's personality.

2.USES OF ADJECTIVES: I try to spice up my character descriptions with new and imaginative descriptive writing. A good character description will instantly invoke an image in the minds of the readers without relying on trite cliches and bland descriptions of physical characteristics. You don't need to use big grammar or words before your character can be understood, using strong adjectives and not the one that can't be easily understood will do that for you.

3.THEIR INTERESTS: Just like in reality, we are more than our physical appearances. So, I try to add 'Interests' to my characters. You know much can be revealed when someone talks about things that interest him or her.

4.Using Descriptive Details: For the first time, when you meet someone, something always stands out in the person. It could be from their physical appearance or their personalities. For example, meeting someone who has freckles, an overly large nose, a distorted face etc… Infusing these in your character descriptions could go a long way and make them more intriguing.

Furthermore, I try to list out possible physical traits and character traits.

After doing all your research from sources which should be the first thing, try to narrow down the list to the most revealing descriptor. I mean choose the best out of the list of descriptions you've made and leave the rest to your readers' imaginations as I said earlier.

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