CrimsonGhost asked Jennifer A. Nielsen:

I've really gotten into writing recently, but I can't make my characters come off the page. How do you do it? How do you give them flaws that are believable? One more thing, I can never describe my character without boring myself or the reader. Thanks!

Jennifer A. Nielsen I think the trick to making characters come off the page is for you to think of them as a real person, and to spend time in your head getting to know them before every describing them on paper. What pulls them off the page is their unique voice - and voice only comes when you as a writer know them. So as you contemplate a character, carry them around with you, asking them questions the entire time: Would they like this song on the radio? Which of your school classes would they excel at, and which would they hate? Even if you don't have a contemporary character, by asking these questions, you are making them real. As you find the answers, you will start to hear their voice. This same technique will help you begin to find their flaws - and as you obviously know, every character needs them.

For descriptions, describe nothing more than you have to, and only pick out the details that make the character memorable. JK Rowling did this by focusing on Voldemort's unusually long fingers.

Good luck!

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