What makes a character memorable?

[Akuma]

No, really.

There's always talk about what NOT to do and what to avoid. There are also suggestions in how to flesh out a character and make him believable.

But what gives a character the ability to make an imprint on the mind or, even, the ability to stand the test of time?

[CrankItTo11]

Good question. I wish the answer was easy. Many factors come into play... obviously, there is no magic bullet.

One thing that I think is important is consistency. A memorable character is one who you can imagine his/her reaction to situations in your own life. Characters, in some ways, need to be simpler than real-life people. Everything is an extreme... and extremely consistent (unless, a change of heart is a plot point).

Of course, being funny/relatable/touching etc etc. goes without saying. Except I just said it.

[Bufty]

I have no answer except the character was the right one in the right story at the right time.

[David Gonzalez]

It's hard to tell, I mean you as a writer put your character descriptions, if he is a honorable person, humble person, their actions when they confront a situation, their solutions to problems in plots etc etc.

[farfromfearless]

For me, a memorable character is one that I can empathize with in some way - good or evil. They have to ring true when I read the story as I follow their actions. If I've invested myself in a book and the character acts and reacts true to their personality (in the book), they become more real to me and I will remember them as people.

[Elektra]

They have to have a harmless quirk--it's no coincidence that Miss Havisham is one of Dickens' most memorable characters.

[Simon Woodhouse]

It's how a book ends that makes me remember a character. I'm not sure why that is. They don't have to do anything particularly dramatic, but they do have to do something.

[Éclairer]

One thing that I think is important is consistency. A memorable character is one who you can imagine his/her reaction to situations in your own life. Characters, in some ways, need to be simpler than real-life people. Everything is an extreme... and extremely consistent (unless, a change of heart is a plot point).

I think CrankItTo11 hit it on the head. I agree.

[Chasing the Horizon]

That's an excellent question, and the answer is no doubt going to be different for everyone.

The character has to be complex. The characters I remember are the ones I think I've got figured out, only to have them do something completely unexpected. I'm constantly discovering new and interesting aspects to them. They haven't changed, just revealed more of themselves. These kind of characters leave me sorry the story is over. I'm attached to them, but still feel I could understand them better, which motivates me to read on. If I can predict what the character will do in every given situation, then what's the point of continuing with the story?

I also like characters that are walking contradictions. Their actions and intentions seem completely incompatible, like a mercenary who kills innocent people for profit, yet holds honor and justice as her highest ideals. If the author handles this correctly, with enough explanation of how the character lives with the contradiction, I find it intriguing beyond belief.

I like to see characters live by their own rules and take risks. They act on instinct more than logic and ignore society's misconceptions.

I'm always surprised by how hard it is to find books with truly interesting characters. Most published works of fiction have characters that seemed to have been designed to fit the plot. I find this ridiculously convenient. In real life you get thrown into situations you are far from the best to handle all the time. In real life you get distracted from your goals, make mistakes, and have random experiences and reactions. Real people do odd things for reasons they themselves don't understand. Its this kind of random reality that I always find lacking in fiction.

[glassquill]

Memorable characters for me are as complex as a living, breathing person. They are not all good or all evil. There might one or two characteristics that are exaggerated but they have their good qualities as well as bad habits. They will also react in different ways in response to different situations.

[Alex Bravo]

Quirks! Larry McMurtry does this so well in his Lonesome Dove series, Famous Shoes, Buffalo Hump, Kicking Wolf, Call, Mcrae, Inish Skull and many, many more... I loved how he introduced Captian Inish Skull, with his tobacco stains in his beard as he spit, sitting atop that giant horse that the indians called the buffalo horse. Anytime I think about making a character, I think about how he did it...

If you haven't read his work, try it, although, his plots aren't very strong, and somewhat scattered, but it's the characters that make it fun; and you don't have to like westerns to enjoy them.

Alex

[Akuma]

I'm getting conflicting arguments.

I hear that a character should be simpler than a real person, with extremes, and I also hear that the character should be complex and full of contradictions, like a real person.

Is it possible to do both of these things at the same time?

[farfromfearless]

The characters need to suit the story - you wouldn't put Sherlock Holmes in a Tom Clancy novel. I guess my point is that your character can be many things, but they need to be believable on paper, not just in your head.

[Allie]

You need one character who is just larger than life, the most extreme person you've ever met. So over the top, they're hardly believable.

like my mother-in-law.

[pdr]

if the writer finds the character memorable then the reader will.


I.e. if the writer 'knows' and 'cares' about this person, is passionate about them succeeding, then some of this rubs off on the reader.

[badducky]

The mysterious gap between what a character says, what a character does, and how those two things interact with the characters environment.

Also, this is one of those "If you have to ask, you probably need to read more books" questions. No offense.

[Chasing the Horizon]

Yes, you should read more books, but not fiction. 99% of authors don't get complex characters right. Read psychology books. I did two years of college psychology plus more study on my own and it is an unbelievable help with my characters, especially when they are reacting to situations that I have never had even remote personal experience with.
Now, if I could just figure out how to explain my wonderfully complex characters in a way others actually understand....:e2writer:

[Chasing the Horizon]

I'm getting conflicting arguments.

I hear that a character should be simpler than a real person, with extremes, and I also hear that the character should be complex and full of contradictions, like a real person.

Is it possible to do both of these things at the same time?
Well, yes and no. Like it or not, most people in real life are kind of boring. They misspeak, they stumble over words, and aren't really that good at anything. Don't make characters like that. :)

Your characters should be better than most real people. Beautiful, talented, smart, funny, always knowing what to say. (Not all those things at once, or it would be ridiculous)
For me, memorable characters are real complex people, but superior. Face it, most of us who read horror would pee our pants if we were actually in the book. That would be a realistic response, but it's going to totally ruin your dramatic moment where the monster finally reveals itself. So you have to balance reality with what you want to have happen.

Realistic emotional responses combined with exceptionally strong personality traits is what makes characters really amazing.

Oh, and the reason people's advice conflicts is because what makes a character likable or memorable is as unique and personal as what makes people fall in love with who they do.
If you write characters the way I like them, a certain percentage of people will be confused. But if you write simple characters, a certain percentage will be bored. You can't please everyone, so write characters you like and find realistic. Others will agree. :D

[greatfish]

I'm going to have to go with quirks. Not necessarily something you'd think of as quirky, but something highly original about the character that makes them stand out. This will make them memorable, and maybe even likeable.

[Manderley]

I view memorable as quite different from a good character. I can read a book and really enjoy the way a character is created, but because I have a lousy memory for the content of film and books, it takes something extraorinary for me to remember it. Thus, a memorable character has to have something more than consistency, complexity and being larger-than-life. S/he has to have an extra hook to be remembered.

And thinking of the characters I can still remember, I seem to have identified 3 hooks that makes a charactger memorable to me. They must either be:

Weird: Toru Okada in Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" goes to sit in a well. He also does a lot of other weird stuff, but this sitting in a well made him a memorable character to me.

Annoying: An annoying character is a memorable one. Bunny in Donna Tarrt's "The Secret History" comes to mind. So does Raskolnikov i "Crime and Punishement", and Thomas De Quincey's "Confessions of an English Opium- eater". All very annoying, all remembered.

or

Mysterious: A mysterious character, always seen by others, also seem to stick to my mind. Mr Sommer in "The Story of Mr Sommer" by Patrick Suskind is one such character, and so is Rebecca in "Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca".

[Philip64]

I'm not sure 'memorable' is the cardinal quality for a successful character. When I look back at novels I've especially enjoyed, it's the character of the piece as a whole that I remember - which, some would argue, is really the character of the novelist. People rightly concern themselves greatly with developing strong characters in their fiction, but they sometimes forget that the author, however diffident, can have a personality too. Having something appealing to offer in the latter department is often what makes one competent novel stand out from a crowd of competent novels.

That said, in life as in literature, sin is more memorable than virtue.

[maestrowork]

For me, a memorable character is one who takes active action, full of personality (good or bad), and connects with the readers in many ways: world views, emotions, desires, etc. But mostly it really is about taking action; doing something and making things happen is paramount to bringing a character to life, especially by using their imagination, wisdom, intelligence, etc. Sense of humor is also very important. That's why Indiana Jones is such a memorable character, but Robert Langdon is not. Elizabeth Bennet and Galdolf and Ian Malcom are.

[CrankItTo11]

I'm getting conflicting arguments.

I hear that a character should be simpler than a real person, with extremes, and I also hear that the character should be complex and full of contradictions, like a real person.

Is it possible to do both of these things at the same time?

They conflict because these are just opinions. There is no single formula for a memorable character.

[janetbellinger]

What makes me remember characters in a book is their ability to learn and transform - to overcome natural inclinations based on past history. In one book a man was unable to maintain his relationship with his wife mostly through an inability to feel compassion for other people and from his worship of wealth. It turned out that his father was a down and out alcoholic who had abandoned the family which had caused extreme hardship, consequently the man's need to feel financially stable. At the end though, the man, who had no use for his father, was able to rise over this, feel compassion and take his father in. This kind of transformation makes an impression on me.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I really have no idea. My idea of a memorable character is one that is über-heroic, wears loin clothes and fights with swords or swings through the jungle battling either sorcerors or wild animals.

[engmajor2005]

What makes a character memorable?

Well, what makes a person memorable? What makes them stand out in your mind? Looks, personality, good deeds, bad deeds--there's no end.

A character doesn't have to be memorable because they are good or noble or heroic. They can be slimy and immoral, and be just as memorable. The important thing is to infuse your characters with logical traits. If they have a wooden personality, why? Does it make sense for them to? Mr. Popularity, captain of the football team type, wouldn't have a wooden personality; the Goth kid that sits in the back of the class room and has those weird scars on her arms wouldn't be bubbly and outgoing.

If you let the character come to life logically and sensibly, find out their personality and let it blossom, they will be memorable.

And now you're two cents richer.

[Gillhoughly]

Good writing.

[Judg]

the Goth kid that sits in the back of the class room and has those weird scars on her arms wouldn't be bubbly and outgoing.

Believe it or not, I know someone like that...

I know, I'm being difficult. But people can be incredibly complex.

[Judg]

Now to the original question.

I think that to be memorable a character has to #1 - stand out in some way and #2 - engage us emotionally.

The standing out doesn't need to be unrealistic, but they do have to be interesting in some way and in their context. The next-door neighbour who turns up with a plate of cookies for you when you first move in would be pretty boring in a small Midwestern town (although a wonderful neighbour in reality) - in an urban ghetto it would be downright freaky and could make a great story.

The extroverted, self-mutilating goth also stands out by virtue of the combination.

And of course, neither the standing out nor the engaging need to be done in a positive way; villains are usually memorable. At least well-written ones are.

I personally like a little complexity too. I don't know anybody exempt from bad characteristics, nor, thankfully, anyone exempt from good ones. I'd throw at least one of each into the mix for any character I wanted to be memorable.

[Carrie in PA]

I've been thinking about this question, and my first thought was "The same thing that makes real people memorable."

Then I got to thinking further, as in what DOES make people memorable?

And that's a tough question. I have a friend who, when I'm around her, she's really sweet and likeable, but when I'm not around her, I don't really think about her. (That makes me sound terrible!) I'm not really sure, other than *personality* that makes some people more memorable.

Excellent question, I'll have to give it more thought.

[icerose]

The problem with this question is different characters are memorable to different people for different reasons. One that I find utterly fascinating another person would be scratching their head and wondering why. The best we as writers can do is make the most interesting characters for ourselves, the ones we want to read about, the ones we want to get to know and hope that the audience is like us and gain those same desires.

Trying to tailor a character a certain way and forcing them into a percieved notion usually ends badly. Characters are characters, make them 3-dimentional, with their own oddities and quirks and personalities and chances are you will have created a memorable character.

[MHanlon]

The most memorable characters to me are the ones that are least like someone I've known or ever met. Though good stories will have characters that I can relate to on some level, the characters I always remember are the ones I could never imagine existing, but probably do on some level.

[kwwriter]

Going deep in their head, showing their emotions and thoughts at key plot points, bringing the reader closer to them, even making the reader a part of the character's experience.

[jacel]

if the writer finds the character memorable then the reader will.


I.e. if the writer 'knows' and 'cares' about this person, is passionate about them succeeding, then some of this rubs off on the reader.

This is very true for me. I find that if I care about what happens to a character, in writing or in reading, I want to know more about them. It keeps me involved with their life.

Also, I think a character needs to be vulnerable; at least we the readers need to see or "hear" that vulnerability.

[Oliveman]

A golden rule for making a character memorable? I'll give you a few to choose from.

1) Unique - If they break the mold of what you normally would expect of a character in their position or in how most would percieve them, people tend to simply fall in love with this sort of thing. It makes them, out of all the people who weren't position-breakers, stand out. I read in another thread about a 3rd degree blackbelt grandma. THAT'S quality.

2) Blowmeaway Summary- Ok, so your character is unique. so what? It matters also what they DO over the course of your novel. The next thing that makes a character memorable is when their character's total actions have ammounted to something monumental, and moreover, this character drove an incredible plot into which their emotions were also intertwined. This struggle puts the reader in tune with the character's emotions, and the reader remembers the struggle with the same tearful joy. Make in memorable, make it a story worth remembering, with a character that moved with the same fluidity as that plot.

#3! A moment. - Some characters are remembered just for a moment, or a few moments, that capture the reader utterly. Whether in action or dialouge, these are the characters that, when their pivitol scene comes up, or a fortelling moment of some later action upon rereading, it sends shivers down your spine, you go wide-eyed, and don't put that book down for the life of you. A moment can say it all, just like the use of symbols. These are points of high tension, where the character does something DIFFERENT. Yes, forgot to mention. If the character just keeps on doing the same thing, though this does build up the case for a memorable moment, the reader will not remember them for those moments. No, instead they will remember them for the time when things changed, a moment where everything hangs in the balance: emotions, lives, reputations (yours? only kidding).

You don't get a memorable character, though, simply by having memorable snapshots of the character. It all lies in how the actions of a character play against their true selves. By creating tension, by creating difference between what happens normally and what CAN (and does in your story) happen, you'll make a truely memorable character. Attach images to this, symbolism, to add to the meaning, and it will stick even more.

Remember, all you need is a moment. And, of course, a realistic character.

[Bufty]

I think you need far more than a 'moment', and the character doesn't have to be realistic - simply believable in the story context. Long John Silver?

If all you have is a 'moment', chances are all you'll remember is the moment - that one line. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Remember, all you need is a moment. And, of course, a realistic character.

[Oliveman]

Well the character should have those moments nonetheless, and as far as realism... I meant real within the confines of your story. They can be as unreal in the context of our life as a gladiator bunny rabbit.

[Jenny]

I agree with Maestro and Janet, but I'd express it as a memorable character has to evolve. I read a soapwriter once who said every soapie is about a journey - a character going from good to bad (and then back again - which is why I find soapies' long term story so weird - bad guys are good after six months, and vice versa). Characters who catch my heart evolve. They grow and they take us with them on their journey.

[farfromfearless]

Believability. Characters that I can empathize with; characters that respond and react to external stimuli in believable ways. Those are the type of characters I find memorable.