No stick characters allowed!

Don’t worry. Creating full, vivid characters does not call for skills beyond those you can develop.

The term “stick character” refers to a drawing of a person by someone with no talent who draws lines for body, arms and legs. Stick characters don’t pull your readers in much and they don’t do justice to the people—real in your memoir or fictionalized in your novel—you are writing about. Stick characters compromise your writing. They are often clichés.

An Example of Stick Characterization...