Claire was a stunning beauty with fiery red hair and vibrant green eyes. No one could pass by without staring in awe. –Or did she have blond hair and blue eyes?
Sometimes when writing a lengthy manuscript, it’s hard to remember the details of a character. A novel that I’ve recently finished writing was written over several years. The story plot and characters changed several times, and there were times when I wasn’t quite sure of all the details of my characters. ~You sure don’t want a character that shows a dislike to smoking in the beginning of your story to light one up in a later chapter – unless, of course, your character has been pushed to that point by all of the obstacles he/she has encountered.
There are many things to remember about your characters. One way to keep them all straight is to write them down. After flipping back and forth through my manuscript several times, I decided to make a chart. I listed each character along with physical features, age, relationship to other characters, likes, dislikes, habits, etc.
To keep your characters straight, make a chart before you begin to write and add to it as your characters develop.
