I love reading but due to my busy schedule, I’ve learned to embrace audio books. I can run through several audio books, especially on those days that I spend a lot of time in the car traveling. Initially, I was not a fan, but an audio book that caught my attention was Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.

What’s so special about this book are the characters: Detective Bennett, drug lord Perrine and his ruthless henchwoman killer, Veda. Drug lord Perrine sets out on a killing spree to take down everyone that gets in his way, and, boy, does he has a diverse hit list. What is Perrine’s goal and why is he doing this? Perrine wants to take back America and give it to their rightful owners, the Mexicans.  

Now add these tantalizing characters to this suspenseful and intriguing storyline and what do you have? An excellent story. If you love crime and suspense, this could be one of your go-to books, but what sealed the deal for me were the special effects that occurred as I listened to the story being played out before me on audio. 

As I began to think about this story and those stories that other authors have created, I pondered on what was common here. In each of these books, there are elements of good character development. A good character is what incites, creates and leads to an excellent story. The development of the characters draws in readers.

In creating your characters, whether you are writing a once off, meaning only one story, or a series, a collection of stories, remember that the characters will keep the reader engaged, purchasing and coming back for more. If you have good characters and a great story, your readers can also become your marketing method. When creating your story, here are a few quick and easy things that you can use to build a character:

1. Make the characters realistic. You can start out by modeling your characters after someone that you know or by using a hybrid of several different people.

2. Get the reader’s attention. Make your characters so compelling that the reader wants to tell others about it.

3. Develop characters of quality. By developing your characters, you help to explain why each character is a part of the story. Your characters set the stage and create the platform by displaying who they are, which helps to create the environment that surrounds them.

4. Make them relatable. Does your character make the reader stop and think? Feel a connection? Or develop a negative reaction?

These four steps can assist you in building characters of quality. As you begin to develop the characters, remember that this is what helps to carry and stimulate the story. Whether you are writing a book of suspense, humor, biography, fiction, or poetry, your characters will be center stage. Depending upon the essence of the book that you create, it may be compelling enough and the characters so engaging that you can develop a series. James Patterson’s book Gone is a part of the Detective Michael Bennett Series. In my article Know Your Market, you will learn how to market your masterpiece that everyone is waiting for with bated breath.