1 Nobody's perfect - That goes for your protagonist, too. If you make your hero perfect you're going to end up with a two-dimensional cardboard cut-out. It's inevitable. Think of your favourite characters and I'll guarantee that there's a flaw or two in there somewhere. Tony Soprano was in therapy because he suffered from panic attacks, and you've got to admit that Hamlet could be a little self-obsessed at times.

Prey

Prey

No-one is a hundred per cent good; no-one is a hundred percent bad. We all fall somewhere in the grey area between those two extremes. That's where your protagonist needs to exist as well.

2 When You Wish Upon A Star - All of us have dreams, so why should your hero be any different? These dreams can be big or small. All that's important is that it matters to your character. House of Card's Frank Underwood wants to be president of the United States, and he will do anything to achieve that goal, even kill. Dorothy just wanted to get back home to Kansas. Big dreams and little dreams.

Our dreams drive us. Without them we would never achieve anything. They give us a sense of purpose, a reason to be. And so what if things don't work out how you imagine? If that happens you get up, dust yourself down and go at it again. Give your protagonist the opportunity to shoot for the moon … if they miss they're going to end up swimming with the stars - is that really such a bad place to be?

3 Gimme Some Space - Jefferson Winter is definitely his own person, with opinions of his own. We don't always see eye to eye, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Near the start of each novel there's always a point where I think the story is going one way, and he takes it in a different direction. It's got to the stage where I'm actually waiting for that to happen.

I love it when my characters come to life. The first time it happens can be disconcerting. After all, when the voices in your head start answering that's when you know you're crazy, right? However, if you can go with the flow, it can be an extremely liberating and experience. Not knowing what your hero is going to do next is a real buzz. It sure as hell keeps life interesting.

4 Family Business - Without his family, Tony Soprano would just be another Mafia thug. Here's a guy who does bad things for a living. He kills, he lies, he breaks the law. But counterbalancing all of this is his family. At home he's just a regular guy with regular problems, trying to do the best he can. We can empathise with him, and that's the key to having a hero that people love.

And that family doesn't have to be functional. Or even alive. For all intents and purposes Winter is alone in the world. He isn't married, he doesn't have kids; both of his parents are dead. His family still casts a large shadow over his life, though. His father was a serial killer, and this has influenced every major decision he's ever made. The reason he spends his life hunting serial killers is because even now, all these years later, he's still struggling to make sense of what his father was. The family dynamic is a powerful one, and if you can bring this into your stories your protagonist is going to be so much more realistic.

5 Know Thyself -So what's your hero like? Are they male or female, tall or short, old or young? The permutations are almost endless. Then you get to the finer details? How do they dress? What are their interests? Their likes. Their dislikes. No detail is too small. You don't need to include everything in your story - that would get boring - but you do need to know these things.

You owe it to your readers to get to know your protagonist as well as possible. You'll never know them completely, but the more you learn, the more real they're going to be to your readers. The holy grail is creating characters so real that they actually come to life.

Prey by James Carol is out now (Faber & Faber, £7.99)


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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