Quite often, writers meet eccentric characters in real life but then hesitate to make their own characters quite so quirky. And yet it is the quirkiness in characters that makes them memorable.
Nearly two decades have past since David Lynch’s Twin Peaks hit the airwaves, and I can still recall unique characters like the Log Lady and the Man From Another Place with greater clarity than who Jerry dated on a particular episode of Seinfeld.
Too much these days is made of issues like relatability and makes characters an “everyman/everywoman” type. But that’s just the opposite of what good writing does.
Tell me about the kid who keeps trying acne treatment that don’t work, but then finds one that does… but with dark consequences… and then you have me. Tell me about the guy who asks a gal to prom with no self-esteem problems because he’s the quarterback on his high school team, and you’re telling me about just about every character like that who’s ever appeared on page or screen.
So I say, let the quirkiness commence! It’s the key to making your characters unique.
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