[found on tylerlehmann.wordpress.com; by Tyler Lehmann]
“The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible.” — Mark Twain
“A good writer knows his characters better than he does his closest friends. Oh, that sounds nuts, you say? Yep, probably.
But the reality is, no one will give a rip about your characters if you don’t make them come alive, as good ol’ Twain points out above. Humans are infinitely complex, and if your characters don’t mimic that complexity, the illusion that is reading is lost.
- Gender
- Age
- Ethnicity
- Body type
- Hair color and style
- Eyewear
- Facial hair
- Clothing style
- Tattoos and piercings
- Scars and birthmarks…”
For more tips on writing, and the complete list of traits from Tyler Lehmann, click here.
Editing Addict, LLC 
It is so true that we must make characters as alive to the reader as they are to ourselves. As a writer and literary blogger, I have found this to be so true. Great post!
How do you make your characters come alive? What tricks can you share? Thanks for your comment. Always appreciated!
I always say that we should hate our characters a bit… nothing makes someone real like flaws!
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing!