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How to Create Characters who Leap off the Page

Show me your friends, and I'll tell you who you are, a special co-worker once told me. First, let me explain what special means. In Ebonics, we'll say, ''She's a special case.'' Or if someone is not dealing with a full deck, but yet are loveable, we'll say, ''She's special.'' So as you see, this was a ''gem'' spoken out of a ''special'' person's mouth.

Although, at the time, I didn't quite understand what she meant, I now know what she was talking about is called ''character.'' In life, this could be a bad thing, but in fiction this is a good thing. Nothing works better for memorable fiction than strong characters with flaws. To get to the point, how does one create memorable characters? Sol Stein, in his book, Stein On Writing, points out that eccentricity is at the heart of all strong characterizations. In short, the most effective characters in fiction are to some degree bizarre.

Character is an essential part of the best fiction. Think of all the memorable characters in fiction. When you think of the books whose characters resound in your head, you don't think about, well this happened and that happened, (plot), you generally think of who the protagonist was. Words such as ''Scrooge,'' ''Pollyanna,'' and even ''Uncle Tom'' developed in our culture to express a personality, an outlook, a character trait. And in spite of my dislike for the Antebellum South, from my first reading at fifteen, Scarlettt O'Hara and Rhett Butler stenciled a place in my memory as colorful characters. (Who can ever forget Rhett Butler's last sardonic words, ''My dear, I don't give a d--?.''

As an African American, I grew up during the 50's with no role models in my fiction. No archetypes that had any relevancy to my life. But now, I--and readers from all races-- are blessed with a list of memorable Afrocentric characters. Janie ( who left 3 husbands), creator, Zora Neale Hurston. Sula, Milkman. Pilate. Sethe (who cut her baby's throat rather than see her back in slavery). Creator, Toni Morrison. Nana Pouissant (who built bottle trees to protect her family), creator, Julie Dash/ Daughters of the Dust. Likewise, I'm hoping that my fictional characters--Jewel, Big Mama Lily, Nefertiti, Solly, Pharaoh and Reverend--will one day also become household names in the literary corridors of my reader's mind.

Eccentricity has frequently been at the heart of strong characterization for good reason. Ordinariness is what readers have enough of in life. The most effective characters have profound roots in human behavior. Their richest feelings may be similar to those held by many others. However, as characters their eccentricities dominate the readers first view of them. The first time I encountered this is through the character of Pilate, from Song of Solomon. She has no navel, yet has the ability to communicate with her dead father. I am still haunted by her dying

Another reason character is so important in plotting your fiction is that people are different. The same tragic event can happen to two people and have different effects. One person can lose his job and never bounce back, and another will be galvanized by the same event. These are the types of points of departure you can examine in fiction through your characters.

These are the three major techniques I think will make the difference in creating memorable characters who leap off the page.