I’ve been reading several “how to” books recently and one thing that I’ve noted in two of them in particular is that characters should be extraordinary. They should be more handsome than the average man, more beautiful than the average woman. Smarter, wealthier, etc.

Plain, dull characters should be extremely plain and dull.

Kim Llewellyn recently said something similar on twitter. She continued “The reader will identify with a unique character more than a generic one.”

In some ways I agree. On the other hand, I don’t think a character should be so unique that a reader has a hard time relating to the character. I doubt you’d want your character to be so quirky that the reader has a hard time following along, understanding the character, or finds them unsympathetic.

It’s a fine line to walk, making characters memorable without making them memorable for the wrong reasons.

Thanks to Kim for the inspiration for this post.

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