Introduction  Let's Begin

Okay, now we have a paper filled with your initial ideas.  It's time to start, to begin thinking of the big picture, and to start planning.  Yes, more planning.

Lesson

Here comes the fun.  You get to start formulating your characters now.  Keep in mind that I said formulate, not write down a list that includes colors of the hoodies they wear.  We're talking about the concrete aspects that will make up a good character.  Traits like being goal-oriented and determined to succeed.  Things like that are the things you're going to be looking for.

Back to the example we're using for the duration of this story--the letters under the floor.  Now, let's start thinking.  What kind of character are we going to create?  What traits does this character have?  How will those traits influence the story?  Firstly, the conflict of the story (the problem or main event that the whole story is centered around) is that the letters were found and we decided that the plot would revolve around the main character trying to determine who wrote the letters, where they came from, and what they were doing under the floor in their house.  Because the character is trying to figure something out, we could assume that they probably have curiousity.  You may want to write this down on a new sheet of paper labeled "Traits of the Main Character" or something similar.  Now, based from that trait, try to stem ideas of other possibilities of traits that could describe your character.  You may want to make a thought map like I have below.

 
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Finally, you may want to think of a name since next chapter is all about characters.  Think first: Do you want the name to be a point of detail later in the story?  Do you want it to mean something that describes the character?  You can Google things like "Names that mean __________" and look at the results.  Or you can just pick one you like or even one you made up.

Note: If you pick an ethnic or ethnic-sounding name, take "ChaeJin" for example, please make sure you aren't just making it up.  In a lot of Asian names with more than one syllable, people pick two or more syllables and both are generally more of a prefix.  What I'm saying is that they use two syllables that are generally just the first syllable of actual ethnic names.  Also, please make sure if you are using an Asian name, you recognize the patterns behind names.  Most Korean names (I use Korean because most fan-fiction here is Korean-related) only have two syllables in the given (first) name.  So don't throw that out the window and name your character "ChaeJinHaMin".

Most of what makes good writers is being realistic.  I'll admit that I'm not always realistic with names and stuff, but I also don't claim to be and I never would.  I can't be accurate 100% of the time because I don't know everything about Korean name patterns or things similar to that.  I can guess that (most of) you aren't either.  For that reason, don't only apply these tips in this note if you are using a Korean name just because I specified my example using Korean things.  Apply it for stories about Japanese, Indian, Guamese, English, French, Argentinian, Russian, etc. characters.  It still applies, regardless of the particular heritage of your character(s).  Just remember why I made you do research last section and why I will continue to beat it into your skull: realistic = research = better writing = better writer.