Creating memorable characters

Let's face it - people are strange. Just when you think you understand someone they can always surprise you. A complex web of emotions, insecurities, beliefs and desires lie beneath the surface in all of us. In most cases we aren't even aware of what drives us. I'm sure you will have met plenty of people who say one thing and then do the complete opposite. Even if someone points out this contradiction out to them, they still won't see it! I think we're all a bit like this. There's a layer of 'stuff'' that we'd rather not face about ourselves and in many cases we can live out our entire lives without knowing.

I've written stories all my life. Although I write for the love of it, I started writing to help myself understand life better. Writing fiction allowed me to explore my own thoughts, worries, fears and hopes, without actually having to write about myself! Years on, I still like exploring the human condition and the conflict within us all through my characters.

Here are three top tips I'd like to share with you about creating memorable characters:

1. research your characters: they may not exist before you created them, but your readers will need to believe in them. Create character profiles for your protagonists and interview them. I know this might sound like a lot of work when you could be writing the novel itself, but believe me it will help you bring your characters to life. Designing a 'back story' for your main characters will help you create consistent, believable characters. Here's a link to a useful writing character profile writing resource to get you started: http://www.creative-writing-now.com/writing-character-profiles.html
2. make your characters 'larger than life'. This doesn't mean that you should create an outlandish, off-the-wall main character that none of your readers can connect with, but that should exaggerate their existing traits. It's a bit like how actors and TV presenters have to wear heavier make up when they're on camera - or their features won't stand out. A gentle, bookish main character with a love of animals and quiet nights in is fine - but you need to bring these traits to life! Show your character in activities that bring his/her defining characteristics to the fore (this will be a lot easier if you have completed a character profile and have a clear idea of who your character is).
3. create conflict. By this, I don't meant that you hurl obstacles into the path of your main character - although this might be part of the plot of an adventure story - but that you create conflict within your characters themselves. To take the example of the character I described in point 2. He may be gentle and bookish but what if he reads action novels about macho guys who take on the world and win. He might love animals but what if he doesn't have a pet because he doesn't want the responsibility of caring for one. He loves quiet nights in but what if he secretly worries life is passing him by while he sits on his sofa watching DVDs. Immediately, you have conflict on many different levels. Although he's a gentle, animal-loving homebody, he's also frustrated, lonely and afraid of taking risks of any kind. He can't even get himself a dog because he's terrified of the responsibility! Inner conflict makes your character active. He won't be a passive recipient of what life hands him because he's got his own issues. Inner turmoil will also drive him, adding depth to your plot. When you hear about writer saying a character 'took over' during the story-writing - this is what they mean.

I shall leave you with some advice on characterisation from Robert McKee, the author of "Story" (an essential book for writers, by the way). He insists that great stories have archetypal characters rather than stereotypical ones. An archetypal character is so unique that the reader's attention is instantly captured, but at the same time so true that the reader can identify, commiserate and understand with him or her on a deep level. When we find an archetypal character in a book we are hooked - for through them we discover our own humanity.