Ask any editor, agent, or reader what really draws them into a story, and you’ll usually get some variant of “someone who is interesting caught up in a difficult situation.”

So how does a writer go about building a compelling character? It’s not so hard – if by “not so hard” you’re comparing it to juggling chainsaws or getting an IRS audit. But there are a few tricks of the trade we authors use to save us a whole lot of effort and readers thinking.

Now, the most important thing a reader needs to know is exactly what the character looks like. It helps them better imagine the person as they create the scenes in their heads. For that, you need lots and lots and lots of detail, and the sooner it appears in your story, the better. You’ve got to be careful that your audience sees exactly what you do when you imagine your character. Otherwise they might mess up and just substitute someone from their own experiences. What is their height and weight? Age? Eye color? Hair color? Exact skin tone and complexion? You can pass a whole lot of information to the reader right away with skin color, it lets them know whether the character is a one of your principal actors, an insightful spiritual advisor, or just there to do some light housework or lawn maintenance. Do they take good care of their skin, fingernails, toenails? How many times do they brush their hair at night, or when they get up in the morning? Don’t forget clothing! A lot of new writers have a tough time describing clothes. It’s not so hard. Just get a Land’s End or J Crew catalog and do a little cribbing, but be sure to change a few words around so you don’t end up being accused of plagiarism.

I find one of the best ways to get across all this detail as to what your character looks like is to have the first scene in your story be your character waking up, then going to the mirror to look at him or herself as s/he gets washes up and gets dressed. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! This is the perfect place to start turning up the heat if you’re writing a sexy-type story. Does she have firm breasts that are supply pouting, or pouting breasts that are firm yet supple, or supple breasts pouting firmly? Be sure to put in just how they trim their pubic hair-- there are so many styles and fashions down there these days anything from holiday themes to political statements is possible. Don’t forget tattoos! A Tijuana license plate lets the readers know how big a whore she is or if that man really is a rebel who breaks all the rules.

Of course there’s more to character creation than up-dos and/or sack-shaving. You need to let the reader know the character is like inside. Of course you can’t see inside a person without a whole lot of mess and screaming, and that really doesn’t tell you much anyway, but you can give the reader a hint or two by having the “inner character” manifest itself on the outer. Is your character confident? Give him a confident jaw. Haughty? That’s a perfect thing for cheekbones to show. Passionate? Give her passionate eyes. Eyes are handy, they can say or do all sorts of things that give away what the character is feeling as they race around the room looking for an escape or rest longingly on the heroine’s bosom. Conflicted about his mother? Give him a wussy-sounding name like Percival or Edward. Angry? Nothing shows anger like oversized ears.

Now, with the description over the next thing you need to do is let the reader know if this character is the protagonist or not. Here’s an easy trick – if it’s the protagonist, everyone is pro-character. A good protagonist is respected and adored. Heck, even people they've just me like them instantly and will fall before the swords of his enemies like cherry blossoms if that’s what must be. Frequently, they’re praised and told they're special. In fantasy and science fiction novels, it's usually the case that they fulfill a prophecy of some kind that’ll fix everything that’s wrong with the world. Of course, being told that sort of thing sometimes makes them go off and be moody for five minutes or so until they get encouragement from an older mentor.

They’re also pros at everything they do, right away, whether it’s using magic or riding horses down treacherous cliffs or diagnosing bizarre diseases and curing them even if it means the patient has to be dead for a bit.

Now, a good character often has a weakness. Though you should give your character a weakness your audience can respect. Ideally, it should sound like the sort of thing you say during a job interview when they ask you about your weak points. No one ever says “bone-idle” or “the heroin addiction, I guess.” No, you want it to be something like “loved so deeply that is afraid of being hurt, again” or “cares too much about others” or “willing to break all social conventions to marry the man of her dreams.”

Lastly, your character needs motivation for doing whatever it is she or he does. Be sure to base it on a first-decade-of-the-21st Century moral calculus. Your audience can more easily identify with an Elizabethan adventurer if he’s worried about his carbon footprint, or a Regency buck who doesn’t stand for all that Victorian nonsense where women are concerned.

Hope that helps!