As a writer, I sometimes struggle with characterization. I envy the authors that have characters living in their heads, desperate to break free. Characterization interviews and character maps help, but sometimes there's just something missing, the difference between a flat descriptive thing and a person living on the page.

You must find the flaw, the character flaw that makes each person different and drawn to each other in a romance. If the hero is lonely due to his humble and lonesome beginnings and the heroine needs someone to love after being widowed and losing a child, so much the better for you, because the conflicts are clearly visible. However, too many authors make the mistake of creating perfect characters.

For an example of this, try comparing Jillian Hunter's Boscastle trilogy and Katie MacAlister's Noble trilogy. The situations were interesting, the historical details were accurate, and the conflicts between the various lovers were very appropriate. But Katie MacAlister's characters were visible to the reader's eye. Why, you may ask, would I say such a thing? After all, this could be this one reader's opinion. It may be just my prerogative, but the Noble characters had flaws. They coughed and sneezed, got nauseated, and even felt compelled to bluster occasionally. They lied appropriately. The Boscastles were considered to be scoundrels and did do outrageous things, but they weren't humanizing factors in the story.

You must create extraordinary men and women with ordinary lives and circumstances. The reader should both identify and aspire to be your heroine. The hero is fantastic, but also realistic in a truly great romance. This is not to say that your hero should belch and scratch at himself. That isn't romantic even in the best of circumstances. How to do this is actually quite simple.

Imagine the perfect man. Make him older, more hairy, and less trim at intervals until you have reached someone that is more attractive than the average person but somewhat less than jaw-dropping gorgeous. Imagine the women that might be walking next to him. She's the girl next door with a makeover. She must have something he sees to look at her the way he does, but it's not something the average person would notice.

Your characters should be bold figures in an ordinary world. Think sitcom, not reality television. The normalcy that made the television show "Everybody Loves Raymond" appealing should come across in the average contemporary romance. Runs in her pantyhose, broken heels on the subway, and dirty looks at a construction worker's whistle appeal to the average person, because it's a carefully scripted reality.

Try this exercise the next time you need help with your hero or heroine. If you were sitting in a coffee shop, and the most interesting person that was unknown to you walked through the door, what would they look like? This should get the wheels turning. The hero can be drawn from a similar exercise. As you sit on a park bench, observe men walking. Pick one, describe him exactly as you see him, changing only one quality by making it almost perfect.

Enjoy yourself when writing. Your characters should have as much fun as you are, and enthusiasm and fervor can go a long way.