And so here it is, the first post to my brand new website.  What could I possibly say in this post which could help others the most?

Characters.

One of the fundamental pillars of writing, is characters.

Before you even start your story, you need to consider each and every character you wish to have, even if your story is one page long.  As a writer, you need to understand what the character looks like, what they like, what they hate, what their family is, what their political affiliations are, what religion they are, what is their job; basically, how do they fit in the world?

You need to know each character like you know your best friends.  That way, you can write about them with an authenticity that you would not normally be able to achieve.  You know these people so well, that they rarely surprise you.  Of course, it is up to you to decide whether you want them to do something out of the ordinary.  But, without knowing what that ‘ordinary’ is, how can they be different?

Your characters need to feel and sound real.  They also need to be different from each other, as well as you.  At some point, you will notice that they begin to sound like mildly alternate versions of yourself.  Sure, one or two could have some of your traits in them, but not all.  If they all sound the same and act the same, it is time to take a step back and look at things again.

Observation of the people around you (not necessarily your family, friends and work colleagues), will help you to understand the multitude of characteristics that are out there.  Don’t be afraid to watch others, just don’t make it too obvious!  For some reason, many people do not like to be stared at.