What methods do you use to create compelling characters?

Question

I know that showing rather than telling is useful and that characters should be well rounded like a villian who donates to charity. But I need any other advice anyone might have.

Answer 1

you could fill out a character resume....

Name:
Address & Phone Number:
Date & Place of Birth:
Height/Weight/Physical Description:
Citizenship/Ethnic Origin:
Parents' Names & Occupations:
Other Family Members:
Spouse or Lover:
Friends' Names & Occupations:
Social Class:
Education:
Occupation/Employer:
Social Class:
Salary:
Community Status:
Job-Related Skills:
Political Beliefs/Affiliations:
Hobbies/Recreations:
Personal Qualities (imagination, taste, etc.):
Ambitions:
Fears/Anxieties/Hang-ups:
Intelligence:
Sense of Humor:
Most Painful Setback/Disappointment:
Most Instructive/Meaningful Experience:
Health/Physical Condition/Distinguishing Marks/Disabilities:
Sexual Orientation/Experience/Values:
Tastes in food, drink, art, music, literature, decor, clothing:
Attitude toward Life:
Attitude toward Death:
Philosophy of Life (in a phrase):

something like this...and you can change it to your likes...add stuff or take things out...its a good way to create a character.

Answer 2

Something I like to do for my non-fan fiction is a family tree. And not just the basic "Person A married Person B and had Children A, B, C. Child B of Persons A and B married Child D of Persons C and D having Children F and G." I like to do individual family tree entries in addition to the above type. One of the books my mom has that I grew up with and a genealogy program I bought for her years ago (I think it's about ten years now) gave me the idea on the individual's entry. Basically, it's their name, date and place of birth, date and place of death (if their dead), date and place of marriage, spouse's name (or spouses' names if they've been married more than once) and the years they lived, children's names and the years they lived, parents' names and the years they lived, and a list of important dates in the persons life (things like date of birth, high school graduation, their marriage, first job, etc.). I've added a physical description entry so that I know what the characters look like. It's something I can look at and say what the character has done with their life and what may be happening to them in the future.

Answer 3

Develop a character that you would know personally and have a strong reaction to. For a villain, think about the qualities in people that you don't like. For a protagonist, pick out the qualities that make a person likable to you - someone you would be friends with.

Answer 4

I use character resumes like a previous poster suggested for my main and primary supporting characters. It really helps to make them real, so that you know what they'd do in any given situation. Its alot of extra work, but (for me at least) it makes a huge difference in how my characters come off on paper...

Answer 5

It has to be a general character but specific too. Probably a normal person but then something great happens to them. I know it's probably a very hard process but good luck.