I don't know about you but when I'm watching a movie or reading a book I want to believe in the characters. I don't want a cardboard cutout of a mom or a demon. I want the real thing. I want to believe that they're real and if I don't I'm probably not going to enjoy the story as much as the author hoped I would. So how do we as writers create believable characters?
One way is to have our characters react, either through thought, dialogue, or action. For an example, let's use Sarah, a junior at the local high school.
Sarah turned abruptly at the sound of her name, eying the boy who had addressed her. He didn't look familiar. She sighed, supposing she would have to ask his name, even if she didn't really want to know.
"Excuse me, and you are?"
"Josh Robbins, I'm in your second period study hall."
"I was, ah, hoping you might -"
She cut him off. "Forget it," she said, flipping her hair and walking away. As if.
Now, granted, this isn't the best example (since I just made it up!), but you can see how a few thoughts, some words, and a bit of action tell you a lot about Sarah in just a few sentences. This is how to build characters and make them real. And this is how to make your readers believe.
How do you make your characters real?