Making Characters
All right, you have your plot, what about characters? These characters are a priority and need to be thought up carefully. Think of motives behind what they do, so they seem three dimensional instead of two dimensional. I found an outline that I found helps. For it you choose three characters and determine how they are placed in the plot.
The Hero
The main guy of your story. He or she fights through and saves the day or fails. It depends on you're choosing.
Character #1—the protagonist (the hero or heroine of this story)
Name: (Everyone has to have one! If you pick a name who's gender you don't know of, make sure you state it before you forget. The last thing you want is to write a female character when you wanted to write a male Protagonist and vica versa. Also make sure it fits with the setting or your characters ethnic background.)
Primary Goal: (What are they doing? Why are they standing in the way of the bad guy?)
Most notable personality trait(s): (What makes them memorable? Personally, I'd choose three traits: a positive, a negative, and a neutral one. A positive one could be something like optimistic or courageous and a negative would be something like cynical or hot tempered. A neutral one could be that they're quiet, loud, or carefree.)
The Big Bad
Your villain could be an army lead by a crazed mage or a love rival. It all depends. When developing your Big Bad, make sure that they are someone you won't mind doing whatever you want with them.
Name: (Same thing as with the hero.)
Primary Goal: (What are they doing to make the hero stand in the way and what hangs in the balance as a repercussion?)
Most notable personality trait(s): (What makes the bad guy memorable? Remember the three traits? Use them on this guy too. A great way to make the big bad even better is to make them have one or two traits in common with the good guy so it helps develop both of the characters before their final battle. Development can be for good or bad.)
Relationship to protagonist: (Do they know the protagonist? Are they their boss, old friend, sibling, parent, ruler, commanding officer, guardian, God, etc. Don't just say that they are their enemies. This could also help develop the Hero.)
The Major Supporter
Every hero needs a sidekick, best friend, friendly rival, or mentor. That would be this character here.
Name: (Same thing with the Big Bad and Hero)
Primary Goal: (Why are they helping the Hero? Do they have a family to save? Are they in it for money (and does it change)?)
Most notable personality trait(s): (What makes him or her memorable vain personality? The Big Three now! It'd be a good idea to give them at least one opposite trait that helps develop both characters.)
Relationship to protagonist: (Are they a sidekick? Best friend? Sibling? Mentor? Rival? Lover? This could change throughout the course of the story but that all depends on you.)
Relationship to antagonist: (This is completely optional but it does add a good fight between the two heros and bitter feelings towards the Big Bad.)
Other
Okay, you have your three big characters. Is there more you want? Like more minions for the bad guy or more friends for the good guy? Maybe you need an army general or a teacher that gives hints to what's going to happen for both sides. Maybe you need the clueless innocent bystander.
