Character are what make your story. They can determine whether your story is good or not. So you would want to make sure you have amazing ones. And if you are worry about your characters being too cliche, there is a way that we can save them.

(1) Make them Relatable!

People want to be able to feel what your characters are feeling, they want to basically be in their shoes. So imagine you have this character with a bunch of tattoos all over his body. Your readers will automatically judge him to marking up his body like that either because they think he is an idiot for marking up his body like that or they do not believe in tattoos at all. They'll automatically mark him down as someone to hate.

Now to throw them a curveball in making him a likable character is by saying how he marks up his body with tattoos to cover up scars from a horrific accident. And every time he gets a new tattoo, he is covering up those scars because he feels unsecured about them. Now you are looking at him differently, right? It makes him more relatable than just some random guy with a bunch of tattoos.

You should always try to find some way to make your characters relatable, even your antagonist. They should be real people, and if your readers aren't seeing them as real people, that means you need to start thinking them as real people.

(2) Making "Real" Characters

Real characters are what you want them to be. Readers do want to cling to your characters, they want to feel bad when something bad happens to them and happy when they achieve something. How do you go about making real characters? Well, and this may sound creepy, but try people-watching. Now I'm not telling you to stare at them, but to just analyze their traits, their flaws, what they do that you could use in your story. I ain't saying to base your characters off of people in your real life but you can get some good ideas on how you would what a character to act and think and do.

(3) Give them Flaws!

No one is perfect. Everyone has their flaws. If you write a story with a bunch of perfect people in it, that won't be an interesting story at all. Since they technically can do no wrong which in that there would be no problem and no need for a story in the first place. But what is a flaw? A flaw, in how I see it, is what makes a character more realistic and relatable by giving them character traits that would have a negative impact in the narrative.

Now flaws are tricky since not ever trait you may think is a flaw can be marked down as a flaw. Examples would be being too emotional, obesity, a people pleaser, being anti-social, and making mistakes. Those aren't flaws, neither is someone who drinks alcohol or says yes to everything.

Flaws are things that would hold your character back. Some flaws would be: Absent-minded, abusive, arrogant, bold (as in being over confident), childish, cruel, disloyal, disturbed, flirt, illiterate, immature, hypocritical, judgemental, klutz, lazy, lustful, meek, naive, obsessive, pacifist, paranoid, pest, perfectionist, rebellious, sadist, remorseless, smart-ass, shallow, vain , zealous, etc... There are a lot of examples of flaws.

I know that you would hate to give your characters flaws, but if you don't, than your character won't be realistic at all. Remember to think of PERSONALITY FLAWS, not PHYSICAL FEATURES! Your flaws are how your character act, how they handle things and how they approach certain conflicts. And another thing, mental illness is not a flaw which brings me into counters. I have ADD and while those who have none may see it as one, it isn't. While it forces me to work extra hard just so I can remember how to do something and focus in class, it actually was what made me push myself to do my best which is what landed me a free $44,000 scholarship which would mean that by the time I finish college, I would only have a $2,000 student loan which is amazing. I wasn't looking for a scholarship and I never even applied for one, I was offered it by a college that contacted me since they saw my SATs scores. ADD is a type of learning disability that is with ADHD, but I wouldn't really say I have hyperactivity, I do at times, but not all the time. But I can counter my ADD meaning that is isn't a flaw at all, but a good trait since it was what made me push myself and landed me a $44,000 scholarship.

If your character or some outside force can counter your flaw, it isn't a flaw. Another example is in Graceling, Prince Po has the ability to sense things and read people's minds. But after he was shot with arrows and fell face first into a river after his horse fell in, he came out blind as a bat. Usually people would see this a flaw, but it wasn't. Prince Po's grace, grace is what they call ability, allowed him to be able to basically see without needing eyes. It made him explore his much hated grace in more depths making him discover abilities he had that he would have never knew about. What was first seen as a flaw, was actually a character development tool.

So watch what flaws you give since they might not even be flaws in the first place.

(4) Character Sketches

This doesn't involve drawing at all unless you want to draw them, than go ahead. Write their backstory, write anything about them. Bond with them, get to know them or else it would be like writing about a stranger. That would be weird and a waste of your time. Don't be afraid to get to know your characters. Backstories is a great place to start, but I do want to write a separate chapter about backstories and cliche backstories since that is an entirely different subject all together. For those of you who take part in my character contests know that my forms are long and get longer. That's because I want to really get to know your characters so I can write them the way you wanted them. So if you are interested, here's the form I have created since I started writing on characters and it is different from the forms I have you guys fill out:

Name:
Nickname:
Gender:
Description: [Include hair, eye color, hair length, body type, the type of clothes they wear, etc..]
Date of birth, age,  and place:
Family Members: [Name, Appearances, ages, and description]
Marital status, children: [Single, Taken, Married, Divorce; how old are the kids, names, etc..]
Family life like:
Pets:
Neighborhood like:
Occupation: [do they like it? How long have they had their job?]
Financial situation:
Future plans:
Education:
Religion:
Favorite Color:
Favorite Season:
Favorite Holiday:
Favorite Weapon:
Favorite Sport:
Favorite Pastime:
Favorite Food:
Favorite Saying:
Curse Word: [Something they say all the time in replacement of a swear word]
Favorite type of Music:
Favorite Room in house:
Strongest Personality traits:
Weakest Personality traits:
Bad habits:
Dislikes, Hates:
Needs of the character:
Ambitions/goals:
What's standing in their way:
How do they handle conflict:
Possessions they value:
Health:
Passions:
How do they feel about love:
How fo they feel about Crime?
Have they traveled:
Criminal record?:
Special training?:
What happened in their past to make then who they are?: [divorce, abuse, love, cared for, pushed away, etc..]
Haunting things in past?:
Fears?:
What makes them nervous?:
What kind of friends do they keep?:
How will the story change them?:

Now that may seem like a lot and you should take things out and add in things that will fit the needs of your story. Like magic and stuff. But your character should feel like your best friend, they should feel real to you and that will make them feel real to your readers.

(5) Write out scenes of their lives

Take a character and jump into their life that has nothing to do with the plot and write a scene that happened to them. This is let you get to know their past better. Example, take your main character and look at their parents. You can write about how their parents met and fell in love as teenagers. You can also take a character who is really funny and write about why they use humor as a shield in a scene.

(6) Unique Characters (Character Types)

Now I feel like this is super important for your major character AND your supporting characters. Giving your characters different traits and giving them their own voices. I'm not talking about accents here (even though that is a really good idea) but giving characters things that make them different from each other. I'm talking about character types, but characters typically fit into more than just one category. I had to do some research into this but I found one website that goes into depth of character types, so I will give you a little blurb of each category to help you create your characters. And remember they can fit into more than just one category. If you want to read more into the personality types since I short them because they are very long, here is the website link if you would like to learn more about a character type or other types I haven't listed: https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types

The Detective: They are very responsible, honorable, and dutiful. They follow the rules to a tee and are very stubborn. They can be fact checkers and are researchers. They value honesty and despise laziness above all making is difficult for them. They aren't ones to show their emotions too much.

The Guardian: They are reliable, loyal, and humble. They'll always come to the aid of a friend and find it really easy to sympathize with others. They rarely ever agree to burden someone else with their problems making them overwhelmed over time since they don't let anyone help them. Their shyness tend to hinder their relationships, but once you gain their trust they will never leave your side.

The Advocate: Rescuers, inspirational leaders, and perfectionists. Very goal-oriented and always have a cause or movement that's focusing on. They have a keen ability to solve the problems of those around them. They take actions on their ideas, they aren't just dreamers. They can read people really well and keep on the lookout for dishonest people. They look for the motivations of those around them.

The Tactician: They are knowledgeable, rational, and confident. They see no point in gossip and prefer to have intellectual conversations. They hold onto what is right and rarely sway from it since it is a rational answer. They also never give in to bribery. The are pretty honest people. Their confidence can be seen as arrogant or snobby so they don't usually have a large group of friends and tend to only have a few really good friends.

The Engineer: They're creative, but under control in their column. They do really well under stress, they are able to make decisions even if there is some type of risk involved. They can keep a clear mind. They are constantly doing something with their hands. They are learning new trades all the time and teaching other people at the same time depending on what the situation calls for, they are really good at balancing things out so they are fair.

The Composer: They are artistic, charming, and competitive. They are often quite popular. They have a laid-back and spontaneous lifestyle which draws in people who are looking for some uncomplicated fun. They are action takers and don't waste their time with theory or debate that bores them to death.

The Idealist: They are optimistic, reserved, and often confident. They have a true gift for communication and are often writers and poets. They inspire and motive those around them although they do not enjoy being in the spotlight but they are not afraid to jump in if that's what it takes to see their beliefs come to light. On the contrary, they are naive which often leads them to injury or to danger or can even injury their idealism.

The Brainiac: They are logical, problem-solvers, but they are also big day dreamers. They are messy, they aren't about wasting their time picking up things. They are good at looking at the bigger picture and they are able to dissect and solve any problem big or small.

The Adventurer: They are risky, energetic, and extremely perceptive. They take joy in the pursuit of risky behavior which can get them into a lot of trouble. They act before they think. They are always afraid of boredom and running away from it. Rules aren't their friend and they have a lot of difficult with mundane tasks.

The Entertainer: They are fashion minded, playful, and they love attention. They are the center of attention, no matter how big or small it is, they love being in the spotlight. They tend to be the class clown growing up. They aren't one for inward reflection. but they will always be the first one to jump to opportunity to help a friend talk something out and they can be really insightful. They also can be easy to bore and they aren't really good in academic situations.

The Champion: They are charming, philosophers, and free-spirited. They are popular people but they don't feed on entertaining others. They can read people really well and they truly enjoy getting to know someone. They are extremely friendly and hate to be micromanaged.

The Devil's Advocate: These people are smart, curious, and they are annoying. They love to argue, so much so that they'll argue over something that they don't even believe in. They are big thinkers. They find it difficult to do the grunt work so they dump their tasks on others a lot. Since they love to argue so much, it is hard for them to advance in their lives and find the support they need to advance.

The President: They are orderly, honest, and hard-working. They are often in positions of power and they recognize the need for assistance or service. They take pride in leading others and they keep their promises. They can develop a strong hatred to people who do not do the same. They have a hard time relaxing and they follow the rules to a fault. If there is ever a better solution to the problem, they won't be the first one to realize that.

The Social Butterfly: They are caring, loyal, and popular. They love to gossip, but they are excellent at remembering the little details of a conversation and will often follow up on you on it. They have difficulty improvising when necessary because they heavily rely on lists and plans and they hate spontaneity or relying on their natural impulse rather than a plan. They are very family-orientated and take a lot of pride in taking care of their loved ones.

The Provider: They are passionate, influential, and trusting. They are a master of communication and they know exactly what to say logic or emotion to get people on their side for a cause that they believe in. They truly believe in the good of people. But when met with adversity, they are able to take their emotions out and remain rational. They are often appointed to roles of leadership rather than speaking it themselves.

The Commander: They are bold, strong-willed, and decisive. They are born leaders, and they are amazing at setting long-termed goals and actually reaching them on schedule. They are determined and that determination is easily spread to other people through their motivating speeches. They are able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of people but they have a bad habit of calling people out publicly or in any case with disregard towards their sensitivities. They can be kind of rash.

Each type has good and bad in them, so I hope that helps built your characters and could help their development.

(7) The Forgettable Characters
Now wait! Wait, give this a chance. Think of in terms of Harry Potter, Harry Potter has a ton of characters in there and you probably forgot about some until they came up in later books and had larger roles. You do not want to write a book and have twenty major characters and go into all of their pasts because that would make a reader overwhelmed. You want to pick out your core characters and figure out who they are. Say you have a clerk, you don't want to go into a rant about their life when their past doesn't have any influence on the storyline, so get rid of it, cut it out. If they don't come back then we don't need to know every aspect of their life. But if a character is giving something to the story, give that character some time if they affect your storyline which is when you need to get to know them. In terms of writing series, forgettable characters can be useful which you might what to delve into their pasts a little bit, but other than that, only focus on your core characters.

So what should I write about next? Cliches, Character backstories, book covers, dialogue, plot, plot twists, how to write action scenes, organizing scenes, anything!