In Their Shoes

One of the most integral part of a story is a character. Most people argue that story grows as the characters evolve, and so the other way round. There are many ways to shape characters, but there are not many ways to live them up as real as they could be. First of all, give your character a name, age, and gender.

Then, let's think about the circumstances of your characters. Who are they as human beings? Are they asking for help? Are they tempted by money, power? What are their hobbies, interests, passions, religious beliefs, sexual preferences? Don't forget to give them values and emotions, likes and dislikes, as well as their strength/weaknesses/flaws/fears. You may want to give your fictional characters qualities that you or your family possess. Remember that interesting characters are the key to tell a story on their own.

Put yourself in your characters' shoes. Care about your characters and what happens to them, even the unlikeable ones, and your readers will follow suit. To make them even more real, listen to and observe the people around you, and this will help you to create characters on the page that are as realistic as possible.