When you have a fresh piece of paper in front of you, and you mean to start a new story, and you are thinking of main characters and where the story will go, it is also useful and enjoyable to imagine a talent for each main character, maybe even a gift.

This thought comes from a writer elf with whom I was chatting recently.  In the story she is writing, the main character is a fairly young girl who saves her hometown from an attack.  The elf did not just make the girl a hero, though.  She made her a crafty character who invents.

It is the character’s smart inventions that bring about the victory, and this talent (which she developed on her own) made the character far more exciting to get to know.

New idea:  Main characters are just like people and elves.  They want to have passions and skills and talents!  A talent or skill can be introduced or revealed when it feels right for the story, and not necessarily at the beginning.  But, it is helpful to begin imagining gifts and how they can enrich the story.