Making good characters

Making Good Characters by Wen Spencer A member of Forward Motion asked: What makes a good character, one that is interesting to read. I took this to mean "want makes a strong, memorable" character. I have found that characters that are done in bold... More

Making Good Characters by Wen Spencer A member of Forward Motion asked: What makes a good character, one that is interesting to read. I took this to mean "want makes a strong, memorable" character. I have found that characters that are done in bold strokes are the best. Not to say over the top, so goody goody or straight evil with greased mustache to twirl. I went to dinner at convention with a herd of 15 people. We took up one long table. I knew everyone except a woman sitting way at the other end. There was something about her, the snide sense of humor, her laugh, the way she look that had me pointing down to the other end of the table saying "WHO IS SHE?" When compared to her, everyone else at the table faded to background. That is what you want in a character. Someone that stamps themselves into the reader s mind of "this is who I am" so deeply that they can say "yes, they will do this act in the book" or "no, they won t do that" or "this line of dialogue was spoken from x Less