Audiences don’t fall in love with plot. They fall in love with people. Whether you’re writing for screen, prose, or stage, one truth remains- characters make the story.

They’re the reason we binge watch entire seasons in one night, cry over fictional deaths, and remember a story years after we’ve forgotten the twists.

A well-crafted character doesn’t just move through the plot; they invite us into their world and make us stay, not because of what’s happening, but because of who it’s happening to. In essence, characters don’t just drive action, they anchor it.

So, how do you create characters that aren’t just placeholders for plot but actually live rent free in the minds of your audience long after the story ends?

Here’s a 7 step guide to creating unforgettable characters in your story.

Step 1: Start with a Pulse, Not a Profile

Forget the robotic character bios. “Height: 5’10”, Likes: Coffee, Pet Peeve: Loud chewers.” Nobody remembers that.

Instead, ask: What drives this person? What fear gnaws at them? What do they want so badly that it shapes every decision they make?

Memorable characters don’t begin with surface traits, they begin with emotional truths. Before they even speak, your audience should feel a pulse.

The best characters mirror real people: messy, motivated, layered. Shaped by wounds, longings, secrets, and contradictions. A memorable character isn’t defined by what they do, it’s why they do it.

Pro Tip: Write a monologue from your character at their most vulnerable. Whether under pressure, after a loss, or on the brink of a huge decision. Not an introduction, a confession. You’ll learn more about their voice, values, fears, and desires from that moment than from any bullet-point profile.

Step 2: Give Them Quirks and Behavioural Signatures

This is one of my secret sauces.

Memorable characters have tics, patterns, or habits that become their unofficial signature. They don’t have to be wild head ticks or exaggerated eye twitches. Just tiny, specific behaviors that make them feel human, familiar, and alive.

These aren’t just throwaway traits. They subtly reveal how a character thinks, what they fear, or how they try to control their world.

Take Professor from Money Heist. That simple, repeated gesture of him pushing up his glasses? It’s more than just a physical tic. It’s a cue. One that makes him familiar, even endearing. It hints at his intellect, his anxiety, and his desire to stay in control.

Or look at Kike from my viral comedy series Luxury Housewife. She is not just a bougie, high-maintenance wife, she has this maddening trait of going in endless circles when she talks. That nervous energy, that need to over-explain? It’s funny, but it’s also character depth in disguise. Her quirk becomes a narrative tool that helps the audience understand her chaos, her charm, and her contradictions.

Pro Tip: Choose 2–3 quirks that repeat naturally and tie them to your character’s internal world. Is their sarcasm a defense mechanism? Is their obsession with control masking deep insecurity? Make every behavioral detail count. It’s how great characters carve themselves into memory.

Step 3: Make Them Multifaceted (Like Real People)

You are not just one thing, so your characters shouldn’t be either. Real people are walking contradictions. We love, and resent; we help, and hurt; we’re insecure and egotistical- sometimes in the same hour.

For example, Kike from Luxury Housewife isn’t just a comic figure. Sure, she’s dramatic, and exhausting, but she also deeply loves her husband. That contradiction is what made her a lovable anti-hero, not just a stereotype.

Flat characters do what we expect. Great characters surprise us while still making emotional sense.

Pro Tip: What’s the public version of your character versus the private one? Who are they when they’re scared? Rejected? In love? Let the contradictions live. That’s where the truth and the magic is.

Step 4: Motive is Gold (Don’t Skip It)

Even the most absurd or outrageous characters become relatable when we understand why they do what they do. Their why gives meaning to their what.

Is your villain trying to destroy the world or trying to avenge someone they lost? Is your comic-relief best friend constantly cracking jokes because they’re terrified of being vulnerable?

Take for instance, a character rides up to a young girl and her horse by the stream and suddenly hacks up the horse. We see him as a pure villain, black-and-white. But what happens when we learn that, as a child, his own beloved horse was shot by the girl’s father? Now he’s not just cruel. He’s broken. Driven. Complicated. The character stands out more now and the story becomes much more intriguing. Motive doesn’t excuse action, but it always deepens it.

Pro Tip: Write down your character’s short-term and long-term goals. Then go deeper: What fear or longing fuels those goals. The more personal the motive, the more unforgettable the character.

Step 5: Test Their Voice

Can you tell who’s speaking without seeing their name?

That’s the goal. Great character voice is unmistakable. It’s shaped by where they’re from, what they value, how they think, who they’re speaking to, and what they want in that moment. Are they blunt or diplomatic? Do they ramble in metaphors or cut with quick-fire sentences. Even slang- or silence- can reveal everything.

The point isn’t to make them sound quirky. It’s to make them sound real. Because when voice is right, the dialogue doesn’t just read, it breathes.

Pro Tip: Take a short scene and rewrite the same lines in three tones: sarcastic, sweet, and stoic. You’ll immediately see what fits, what clashes, and what makes your character’s voice come alive.

Want to dive deeper into how to make your dialogue feel authentic? Check out my full guide on How to Write Authentic Dialogue, where I break down the key elements of crafting conversations that don’t just sound real, but feel real.

Step 6: Put Them in Situations That Reveal, Not Just Entertain

Characters become unforgettable when they’re tested. Don’t just think about what would be funny or shocking, think about what would expose them.

Place your character in a moral dilemma, a romantic mess, a power struggle, or a moment where they have to choose between loyalty and ambition. That’s when they show you who they really are. And that’s when they become memorable.

Pro Tip: Design at least one scene where your character is emotionally cornered. No way to charm, fight, or logic their way out. Only truth. That’s when character work becomes magic.

Step 7: Let Their Journey Change Them (Or Reveal More Layers)

People evolve- or at the very least, they reveal more of who they are over time. Your character shouldn’t be the exact same person at the end of your story as they were at the beginning.

That doesn’t mean a dramatic transformation.Sometimes it’s just a shift: a belief cracked open, a mask dropped, a new way of coping with an old wound. That’s what makes them feel real. Not perfect arcs, but honest ones.

Pro Tip: At the start of your story, what does your character believe about themselves or the world? By the end, what belief has changed, or been painfully proven true? That’s where the emotional impact lives. That’s where your character earns their place in your audience’s memory.

Final Word: Fall in Love With Them (Then Let Them Surprise You)

The best characters aren’t born from formulas. They come alive when you care about them enough to explore their flaws, love their quirks, and stay curious about who they are becoming. And when in doubt, remember: The more human your characters feel, the more memorable they become.

So write boldly. Create deeply. And give us characters we can’t forget!