3 Ways to Create Memorable Characters

Downton Abbey has made a name for itself, in so many ways.  The drama is hard to look away from and easy to love.  The setting, the costumes, the characters, the plot, everything is virtually flawless.    The show will have you sobbing one minute and yelling at the TV the next. 

 But, what keeps us watching is not the rapid-fire action scenes (because there aren't any) or the unsolved mystery (though there have been one or two murders), it's the characters. 

Downton has an ensemble cast.  And Julian Fellowes crafted all of his characters beautifully (as of the fourth season there have been over 60 of them).  Not even in the first episode, did I ever feel like they were being thrown at me, or have trouble remembering which character was which. 

 Thats because not one single character is forettable.  You either love, or love to hate, every single one.  These people are real, they're flawed, and they're funny.  And not a single one of them is cliché.  

I've noticed a few things that all of the Downton characters have in common.  So here we go, 3 ways to create memorable characters.  

Flaws

Mary is almost always rude, Daisy has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, Lord Grantham is stubborn, Thomas is just plain nasty, Sybil speaks before she thinks, and Mrs. Patmore-let's get real, Mrs. Patmore is fabulous.  Just like no person is perfect, every character should have obvious flaws.  If you ever meet a person that you think is flawless, then they're obviously very skilled at deceit.  Aha!  They're deceitful.  That is a flaw.  

If it's a little difficult to come up with a different flaw for every single character, check out this article.  It's a really interesting look at character flaws. The website is not a writing website, but still an interesting read. 

Voice

You would never mistake one of the Dowager Countess' lines with Williams', or Mr. Carson.   Every one of your characters should have a distinctive way of speaking.  Make sure you don't confuse this with an accent.  Just because you might decide to make a character from the south doesn't mean you have to use overly obvious abbreviations and "southern" words in every sentence that comes out of their mouth.  Saying that the character has a southern accent once and using a few words that the other characters from up north wouldn't use is enough. 

But what I'm really talking about here is the words that a character uses, and the attitude the character has.  The Countess is sassy, Mr. Carson is abrupt, and Anna is sweet (most of the time).  Make sure this comes out in your character's lines. It's easier than it sounds.  You could make a list of character traits, and then add something about the character's background or personality that might impact their word choice. 

A character that's from England would use different words to describe things than someone who's from Maine.  Overly sarcastic people speak differently than straight-forward people do.  Someone who is well read is not going to use the same words as someone who hates to read. 

Unexpected Decisions

Don't be afraid to have your character do something out of the ordinary for them.  We all do things that surprise ourselves sometimes.  Not everyone is going to be nasty or nice all the time.  Remember the time the Dowager let Mr. Moseley win the flower competition?   Her storyline through the whole episode was just building up how much she wanted to win and how the judges picked her every single time.  Then, when she was standing in front of everyone, looking at her name under first place, she called out Mr. Moseley's name instead.  She surprised herself, and everyone else. 

So have your character do something he wouldn't normally do. This is what keeps us interested in him. If we always predicted everything Mary was going to do, what would be the fun of watching anymore? Of course, we have some idea of what she will do, because we know her pretty well, but every so often she does something that surprises us. 

This goes for your antagonists as well.  Have your bad guy make a nice act. It doesn't have to be anything big, just something that makes us see that he's not a total meanie.  

I hope this gives you some ideas for your characters!  Who's your favorite Downton character?  What is it that you makes you like (or dislike) him?


Also, sidenote, if you live near Nashville, TN you should check out the Southern Festival of Books this weekend.  It starts on Friday and goes through Sunday. Tons of fantastic authors will be there, including Lauren Oliver, Kat Zhang, Tamera Alexander, and Natalie Lloyd. If you're interested, you can find more information here.