Characterization

Characterization is very important for writing any story, even more important than the plot.  If the characters are weak and 2-dimensional, the readers won't care about them.  You want readers to care.  You need to make characters that readers can believe in.

First of all, who is your character?  Is he brave?  Cocky? Intelligent? Confident?  Self-absorbed?  You need to figure out how your character behaves and rather than telling us what he is, show us through his actions throughout the book.  Bond with your characters.  Get to know everything about them.  For the duration of your novel, your characters should be your best friends (yes, even the bad guys).  You should know them inside and out.

Here is a video by Lisa Scottaline discussing the importance of characterization.

When writing your book, make sure your characters feel real.  Because a real good story is one that is driven by the characters rather than the plot.  I'm not saying plot isn't important because it is.  What I'm saying is that characters should be what drive the plot and keep the reader wanting to read your book.

~Catherine