Creating a character is often a complex process that only becomes easier the more you do it. When creating a character, half of your character's info and personality will come from when you first create them and the other half will come through your character's interactions with other people's characters. If you've ever heard the saying "Characters often write themselves", you will soon find out that this is very true for both writing and roleplaying. When you have created enough of your character to give them a 'spark of life' as some call it, you will find that while putting yourself in their shoes, the decisions will come naturally. If you decide for your character to be courageous, for example, he will most likely stand up for somebody who's being bullied. If you decide for them to be selfish, the character within your mind will decide that there's no point in helping somebody who's being bullied when the bullies are much stronger than your character. More often than not, your character will be shaped by it's environment and the obstacles it faces. We will discuss more of this in the chapters to come, but keep in mind that a character cannot succeed if you don't let it develop. One of the biggest problems people run into when developing a character is that their character never changes. This may seem like a good thing at first glance, but it leads to a pitfall in which your character develops none of the traits that may be required for future problems. Development also allows readers to see the affect your character's world has on your character. Take Katniss from The Hunger Games, for example. A great thing about The Hunger Games is that Suzanne Collins captures PTSD so well within Katniss (we see this in her nightmares of the games, mostly). This allows us to further understand the horrors that their government inflicts upon it's citizens. Without Katniss' PTSD, the actions of their government might not have been seen as horrible as they were by the reader, and we would not be able to fully understand Katniss' conviction for taking down the Capitol. This not only makes the reader perceive their government as a huge threat to the welfare of humanity, but also makes it look like a much more impressive achievement when Katniss finally overthrows it. As an added effect, Katniss' PTSD also shows us that she doesn't like what she's done. It shows us that she openly regrets the things she did in the Games and that it'll take her a long time to come to terms with the fact that she murdered innocent people. This shows Katniss to be a character with humanity because she considers life precious and a sense of responsibility because she accepts the fact that murder is never acceptable and probably a whole lot more.

I use Katniss as an example to show you that one event in a characters life could change them forever. I also use her to show you that a single event could have multiple effects on a person. Finally, I use her as an example because, while I'm sure Suzanne Collins would have loved to tell you that Katniss lived a happy life for the rest of her days and fully recovered from the Games, Collins understands that a realistic character is one that has to develop in a way that the author wouldn't wish on any other person.

Character development is difficult, that's true. It requires you to have an understanding of your character and to empathize with them. You must be able to truly understand and feel the problems they are facing and to be able to show the many ways it affects them. As I've said, this is complicated when first starting out. If you keep at it though, and work your hardest to live within your character's world, you will be able to truly understand them and be able to portray them accurately.

So in wrapping this part up, always take the time to look back at your character's past and see how he or she have changed. Has a family member's death made them more isolated? Has a betrayal made them less trustworthy? In general, has a bad thing made them sad? Even though we don't want our characters being sad, it has to happen. If no characters suffer hardship, how can their achievements be seen as remarkable? This goes for both roleplaying and solitary writing, and it is a process you must be able to understand if you every want to make a realistic character.