M – Memories – Give your characters realistic memories, both good and bad, to add to their backstory.
O – Occupation – Clearly, people need to work, unless they’re so wealthy they don’t need to. The type of career you pick for your characters speaks volumes about them.
T – Touchy – People aren’t in perpetual good moods. It’s okay for your characters to show impatience, dislike, or annoyance.
I – Interests – We all have our interests – reading, sports, music, baseball. Round out your characters with their own interests.
V – Variety – Do you find yourself writing the same sorts of characters or situations? Make your characters unique to each story.
A – Active – Keep your characters active in moving the plot forward in a logical manner.
T – Tantalize – Grab your readers with tantalizing characters they can relate to – make ’em real.
E – Endearing – Enduring characters endear themselves to the reader. Harry Potter, for example. Hermione Granger. Eve Dallas. Stephanie Plum.
* * * * *
Writing For My Sanity 