What makes your characters memorable?
In my previous post, I wrote about how to create believable characters. I emphasized the importance of giving personality to your characters. Many details can be found through the use of personality psychology. In my readings, creating personality for your characters makes them credible and believable, since this gives them depth and makes them multi-dimensional. However, to get your reader’s attention so he will persist in reading the story to the end, you will need to give them more than just a personality. You need to create your characters’ personalities in such a way that they are memorable.
How do I do this? I find myself asking this question when I start to bring my characters to life only to see that they are just too ordinary – like most real people who are barely noticeable when they pass by. Through my reading, one way I have found to make your characters memorable is to give them some unique personality quirk - something different to the extent of being almost eccentric.
Speaking of the eccentric, do you need to make your characters look or act weird to get noticed? No. You don’t have to include bizarre or exotic looks, unless this is what you want. When I read fiction, I want to be able to identify with the characters and I can’t if the author portrays the character as being too ideal or too perfect. I like characters who have a fierce determination to reach what he wants in his social, romantic and professional life, yet he also have weaknesses he struggles to overcome. So, somehow, I don’t mind if the protagonist has some eccentric behavior as long as it does not come across as downright annoying.
You can show the eccentricity through behavior, the way the character dresses or the way they talk, walk, etc. One eccentric type of behavior is when the character always carries an umbrella regardless of the weather forecast.
So, I have come to the conclusion (in this case of developing my protagonist with a unique and memorable personality) that I will focus on the strong emotional side of the character to differentiate them from others using the emotional pain carried and shown through current activity as displayed through dialogue.
Showing unique personality or eccentric behavior (if this is what you want) of your characters surely will make the reader remember him throughout the chapters and definitely can make the reader identify with him.
