This is a five part series on writing books, stories or scripts that are page turners. Yesterday we looked at making your characters identifiable for the reader. Today the tip is:
Make your characters unique.
Their desires and fears may be universal, but we want to have them embodied in characters who are individuals, not stereotypes. If you think back to books and films you have enjoyed, probably you aren't able to remember all the details of the plot but you do remember the vivid characters. Hannibal Lector, The Godfather, the lead character in Misery are some of the most memorable characters whether you read the books or saw the films.
Think about the most memorable people you’ve encountered. What made them special? It may have been a quirky sense of humor, or their collection of pet snakes, or the stories they told about their childhood.
In fiction we want to meet people who are more interesting than most of the people we meet in our day to day lives, so push the envelope. If your character is boring, make him the most boring man on earth (without boring us, of course).
However, make sure that the quirks make sense, given the character's history, social circle, and values--otherwise it will feel like you just randomly assigned some eccentricities to try to make an essentially uninteresting character more vivid.
Next post: openings
(Isn't it time you actually sat down and wrote the screenplay or novel you've had in mind for so long? Let me help you via my online mentoring program--see http://www.jurgenwolff.com for details.)
