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If you're a writer, does your story have quirky, interesting, larger than life characters? When your reader puts the story aside, does she still wonder about those characters, sometimes days later? If not, then you may need to beef up your characters a bit. There are many ways to do this.

First and foremost, you should write a biography for each character. This tells about the characters life from conception on. Why is this necessary when the story only focuses on one moment in that character's life? It is necessary because the past is what forms the character and makes him or her realistic. Here are a few things you should include:

*Fears, such as heights or snakes
*Interesting story about how that fear developed
*Greatest hope
*Greatest disappointment
*Little details, such as blue eyes. But dig deeper. Where did the character get those blue eyes? Are they a unique shade that remind her of her father's best friend?

You can see how the plot begins to thicken as you grow to know your character.

Writing a believable and engaging character is more than just filling out charts, timelines and biographies. You should be thinking about your characters throughout the day as you go about your work. Think about them while in the shower. What is his/her favorite shampoo? Do they suds once or twice? Soon, the character will become real to you and thus you will write a real character for your reader. And then, the story's journey can truly begin.