Memorable Characters

One of my favourite aspects to any kind of story are the characters but they have to be memorable to me.

It can be I remember their witty dialogue. It can be I remember their attitude, whether I like it or loathe it.

But there has to be something about them that makes them stand out to me. I try and do this for my own characters. If I don’t find them memorable, why should anyone else?

When you think back to stories you’ve loved from the past, it will be the characters you remember. You will remember how X did this, then that, and finally Y happened. You focus on the character you care about.

That is a challenge to me as a writer. What is it about my creations which will make readers care about them? Why do I care enough about the character to put them in a story at all? There has to be something.

This is where reading widely helps a writer. You can work out what it is about the various characters you love and loathe and deduce why that is and then apply what you‘ve learned from that to your own creations.