Before you even start your science fiction story, you

should have plotted out the story either on paper

(best) or in your head. In creative writing,

regardless of the genre, you need to have some idea of

who is going to be the main character, the

protagonist, who is the one that the main character

will have by his or her side throughout the story, or

if there is anyone, and who will be the one who causes

the setbacks, the antagonist.       

What do each look like? How old or how young do they

look? Where are they from and are they very educated?

For that matter, in science fiction, you need to let

your prospective readers know if they are human or an

alien from some other world in the galaxy we call the

Milky Way.

Take your main character, when and where was he born?

Did he grow up in the city, and if so from the suburbs

or the slums? Where and how did his family make many

inputs into his life? Put all of this down on paper

and write about that particular character, like you

are describing someone you know well. Get to know this

character as a person in his or her own right.         

The above goes for each one of the other characters.

This is called: character profiling. Put everything on

paper, maybe on a 4 by 6 inch card, until you know

them. You are not going to put all the information in

the story but what you know about them and what the

reader must know will come out. Remember, if you know

them as a person, they will     feel     and     sound     like

real people.       

Remember to ask yourself why the antagonist is the

antagonist. Why is he or she causing problems to the

main character? Is it the main character himself, or

what he is attempting to do? The protagonist will be

the one to turn the story around, will learn from his

or her experiences and will     grow     as a person toward

the end. The antagonist, on the other hand, will try

to stop the main character's goal in any way he or she

can. In order to do this effectively you must know

your characters just as well as you know those in your

own real-world family.   

Ask yourself several questions about each character

and write them down.   

1. How does he or she laugh?   

2. What kind of thing would make him/her laugh?   

3. Can he laugh at himself? Or other people?   

4. What kind of temper does he or she have? Violent or

mild mannered?   

5. Does he or she dress like most people, or dresses

completely different than others?   

6. He is handsome? Is she beautiful, plain, or

average?     

7. Is he short? Tall? Medium height?   

As a sample of what I mean, let's say you are sending

your cousin several states away because you know

someone who will hire him immediately and your cousin

needs a job as soon as possible. Say his wife is about

to have a baby and he has been out of work and needs

to earn some fast.       

You put     Bill     on the bus where he will arrive in

Tacoma late the following day. With him you send a

typed letter explaining all about your cousin and why

you know he is the one for the job. You also put in as

much information as you can so that your     friend     or

acquaintance that needs a worker will have an idea of

just     who     you are sending. Very similar to a resume

but including more personal information than just the

date of birth and where. You also include some of your

cousins past experiences, how well educated he is,

what type of family he might have come from, and what

he has for a personal goal, or goals. For your story

you might add other bits of information such as does

he or she have a problem with something? Is he guilty

from something in the past that he finds it hard to

talk about? If he feels guilty, should he? Maybe once

he survived a crash dive into the ocean but his

co-pilot did not. He tried his best to save him but he

could not. Do you see what I mean? This could affect a

person’s character.         

You need as many characters as the story needs. Too

many characters can be confusing for the reader but

too few will make a good story choppy. It may even

make the story seem condensed, or not complete. If you

take the time and effort to do a complete character

profile for each of your characters you will have a

‘rounded out’ cast to play out your story. Publishers

do not want bland stereotyped characters or 2-D

characters, but well rounded out 3-D characters to

give the story a life of its own.