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little threads that color up the image or tapestry and that get readers interested and keep their attention. Readers want to care about the characterizations. They want to laugh with them, cry with them, feel their angst or understand the way that they interact with other characters.

Having planned and written 3 novels, the pattern which emerged was that unless I, as an author, cared sufficiently for my characters, invariably those characters failed to make an impact, and would also do the same for the reader. Characters are very real. No matter what kind of novel you write, from historical to futuristic, characters need flesh and bones, reason and emotion and also a pecking order within the story to make them endeared, hated, loved or indifferent and apathetic.

The best writers know all their characters in their minds' eye, and will be able to describe the interaction between their characters with a wonderful display of accuracy and interest. One of the most common mistakes authors make is confusing a story with too many characters and very little characterization and here lies the difference between a writer who pulls readers into their stories, and those who disappoint readers.

One of the best novels that plays an important part within my life and which taught me respect for making characters real was a novel by a comparatively new author, Sarah Waters, which was entitled Affinity. There were two main characters and the interaction between these characters was so intense that the reader is unable to put the book down. What Sarah Waters did exceedingly well was to develop the characters into believable women, set within the historical period of the novel, and intertwine the lesser characters into the story in an extremely clever manner.

Pictures came off the pages effortlessly for the reader. The descriptive work within the book was atmospheric, believable and astoundingly tempting. What was also interesting was that with the clever use of adjectives, the images produced by the author came to the mind like sepia photographs of a bygone era, which was where the story was set. By coloring in your characters and planning them as if making real relationships before even taking pen to paper, a novel is easier to write and complete, and the enthusiasm displayed by an author really does keep readers reading.

Even names matter. Imagine names that fit to the era in question. Imagine the way they dress, how they react to different situations. Know your characters as intimately

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