Things You'll Need:
- Storyline
- Word processor
- Animal books
- Library Card (as needed)
- Internet (as needed)
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Step 1
Do your homework. There's nothing worse than reading a book about a man who shapeshifts into a large cat and having the cat exhibit wolf-like behavior. So understand the animal that your human is going to shapeshift into. Understand the animal and the influence it will have on your character. For example, are your shapeshifters born that way? Created through magic? Bites? Are they animal dominant or human dominant? You have to know the answers to these questions.
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Step 2
Use their animal behavior to your advantage. Do not write off every bad bit of behavior your character has to their animal side. Use their animal half to emphasize their strengths, their flaws and how they overcome them. This is another place where understanding animals comes into play, they don't tolerate crazy animals or mad behavior -- animals tend to stay away from that or kill it -- so how does human compassion come into play?
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Step 3
Add some triumph to the tragedy. Typically, shapeshifters are outsiders. They exist alongside humanity, but very much apart from it. It can be harder on a shapeshifter than on other supernatural creatures because they are very human and can look very human, but they are still separate. So use that to your advantage -- remember -- all the great shapeshifting in the world will not make up for poor characterization.
