Gossip- The more personal the better

There are certain people we want people to talk about. And those are the people in our book. If our characters are truly memorable people will talk them up. And if they are truly memorable their recognition will draw more readers. Think James Bond. Most people know what he drinks and where he;s from. Many people have heard of Rambo, who even though he is known from the movies he started out as a character in a written story. And many of us familiar with urban fiction remember Winter Santiaga.

How do we make our characters stand out? Simple, make them appear larger than life.

1. Our characters should be strong willed: They should go for what they want and not be victims. They shouldn't be just sitting around awaiting for things to happen to them. They should be making things happen. And they should be saying things that make readers wished they could have said them.

2. Our characters should have larger than life feelings and thoughts: this is done in many ways. Like real people they should have conflicting personality traits. Generous with family, but stingy and conniving with business competitors. Or how about generous with customers but stingy with family. A character like this would stick out.

But also our characters should be lovable. the fact of the matter is the better we know people the more inclined we are to like them. And the best way people can get to know your character is to see him in action,. Show him reacting to other people and doing things. Let us see who he is. 

One of the best books I've seen on this is: Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Mass. It's also good to read novels with characters you love again. This time read them as a writer to figure out why these characters are so loveable. Because if you can make people love the characters in your book, you are on your way to taking your writing to the next level.