- 13 ways to create a compelling character
- 10 Outline tricks for Writers
- Creating a character masterpost
- [Video] How to make a character people care about
- TV Tropes (Tropes aren't bad! Stereotypes aren't bad! They're only bad when your character consists of nothing but tropes/stereotypes)
- [Video] How to use color theory in character design - Thinking about how your character dresses is one of the best ways to show their personality without speaking. More an artsy thing.
- [Video] 4 original character pitfalls
- [Video] 5 ways to make characters more likable
- [Video] What makes a hero feel real
- 7 tips on how to make your character an antihero
- How to add flaws to a character (This particular website also has many character building generators and more!)
- [Video] On Evil Characters
- [Video] 5 ways to save an OC
some advice I got a long time ago about making your characters more realistic:
If you can't imagine your character in silly or embarrassing situations without feeling very personally offended; take a step back, kick your character off their pedestal and let them breathe.
Let them feel and react in the same way you and others do. Let them laugh at dumb things, let them trip and fall on their face a few times. Let them experience life.
Don't take your characters so seriously that all the fun qualities are removed in the process.
Never tell what you want your character to be. Never tell what the meaning of an event is for them. Not until it has been a goodly amount of time afterwards. Why? Telling the meaning behind the scenes dispels the illusion of a real feeling character. Let your character show the other characters what they are and what it means. The more you say "My character is a badass" instead of showing the audience that your character is badass, the more people are disillusioned with it. Show it and earn it.
^ You don't have to win everything. Sometimes losing is just as fun to work through.