In a post on Writers in the Storm, author Shirley Jump offers advice on creating compelling characters that will linger in your reader’s memory. Memorable characters usually have some special skill or quality that sets them above their peers. They care about something deeply and are strong-willed. Many times, they are the character you’d choose to help get you out of a jam. Jump offers her advice on creating compelling characters, which is similar to advice on crafting compelling stories, period: Give your characters strong, meaningful goals and force them to make difficult moral choices. Generate several layers of history and backstory and create an adversary who makes them work for their objective.
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