Young Writers Society

Start by thinking of your charcter's personallity. If your story is about a poor girl, think about how she would act. Would she be sad? Angry? Happy? Imagine her face with that expression. Then imagine her look. Will she wear rags, will her hair be dirty, will she be dirty too? My image is a girl with long frazzeled hair, a brown rag dress, and muddy skin. Then comes the details. Will she have brown hair, Blue eyes, Pale skin?

When joining a storybook, the OP usually gives a template to use for character submissions. It normally goes in this order: name, age, appearance, personality, history, other. That's how I normally make my characters.

In my mind, names match appearance, especially with ethnicity. Age depends on the plot (most OPs will limit the range). Personality matches with the name. History can range from simple to complex, sweet to terrible, etc. Sexual orientation varies on my mood.

But sometimes, as you're making the characters, they become real in the process and develop a personality all on their own. And sometimes, you can't control the direction they go in. Sometimes, you just gotta let them grow as they do.