How Can You  Create Memorable Characters?

How to create characters who create tension in your story.

Creative writing requires creating conflict. The perception of conflict is based on movement and tension; the two are bound together. How we describe a character's movements depends on what we are trying to convey.

The movements may tell us about the character: a man who walks with his head and shoulders in front of his hips as if racing, a woman who picks at her fingers whenever her hands are not otherwise occupied. These movements contribute to our understanding of the character and can, in fact, become identifying marks of the individual.

The movements may also, however, convey tension and this tension may be increased if a movement is contrary to what is usual, i.e. the man who walks as if racing, is seen walking very upright past another man shadowed in a shop doorway, the woman with the fluttery hands stills them when her sister comes into the room.

Mention of a character's movement cannot be accidental or arbitrary. We need enough to know where we are. The woman sitting in the living room cannot suddenly be at the kitchen sink, unless we're given some transition, even if only a hiatus. But we do not need her to stand up, put down her magazine, walk across the floor, open the kitchen door, turn on the light and go in to stand by the sink. It's enough for her to realize she's hungry. Then when we next see her in the kitchen we know she's gotten there-because we know why. 

The only time we need to see all the small movements is when the action is slowed down to build tension. John, the cat burglar, eases through the bushes by the side of the house, climbs the five steps to the porch, stopping to listen on each one. At the door, he puts his gloved hand on the knob and turns. Locked. Damn! He must resort to his lock picking tools. As he takes them from his pocket they fall. He holds his breath while kneeling on the floor to pick them up. No light goes on…etc. etc.

But if you slow the action down for tension, then something better happen. John should not get successfully into the house and make off with the family silver without incident. At the very least, Philippa, the police detective, should give chase. But even the chase can't be an event in itself except in a movie. There must be a motivating cause for the chase, it must create tension and lead to some kind of climactic resolution. Perhaps Philippa accidentally kills John and, realizing he is just a bumbling cat burglar, she resigns from the police and becomes a nun or perhaps she discovers he is her long-absent father and is faced with the dilemma of sending him off to prison. The possibilities are endless.

What you leave out is as important as what you put in. "…the writer must introduce no more background events or major characters than strictly necessary (and obviously, no less) and must introduce these materials in the smallest possible number of scenes…" (The Art of Fiction by John Gardner)

Tension is built through conflict, when something you don't expect happens. If you want to show sadness, think about what causes this particular sadness: Grief? Loneliness? Fear?

Then think about your character:  Does she cry easily-then perhaps strong grief will leave her tearless. Does he see himself as strong and in charge? Then his response to his wife's leaving him might be to sit in his chair staring into space or to find the nearest prostitute.

The tendency is often to overwrite emotions in the belief they will convey the tension; but it's often more effective to go in the other direction. To let small gesture, setting, and detail convey the intensity of feeling. "…conflicts may hover as mere hints, shadows around the edges of a description…" (The Creative Process by Carol Burke and Molly Best Tinsley)  When tension hovers, the very fact it's hovering means it must eventually be resolved.