by Lisa Beach

Created on: May 16, 2009

Multiple dimensions in creating characters are necessary in order for them to "live" on the page. A simple eye color-height-weight description tells the reader nothing of the characters' personalities. Being a multidimensional character means the ability to jump off the page, and intrigue a reader enough to keep turning pages.

For example, a black and white character has no depth: "He was a detective from New York, on a case of a missing child; he had worked all day, and needed a break" is mildly interesting, but has no oomph to it. All the reader picks up is that the character is male, and a detective.

However, if the character was multidimensional, he could be riveting on paper, as in the example below:

Brad Stand put his glasses down on his scarred desk and rubbed at the inner part of his eyes. It seemed that his days got longer and longer since the search for little Sarah Blummley had begun. No child should go missing. Pedophiles were the scum of the earth, and Brad suspected Franklin Bost of the kidnapping. He called it a kidnapping - at least to himself, because murder wasn't something he was prepared to accept just yet.

He put his glasses back on, with a sigh. Pushed back his leather chair, and stood up. He smiled wearily at the chair with its scars; no uncomfortable wooden chair on wheels - with his bad back, the department had been forced to accommodate him with a better quality chair.

He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair as his smile disappeared. His own little girl, Megan, was the same age as the missing child. Suddenly he needed a hug real bad: Megan's hug. The thought of her shampoo sweetened hair in his face as she cried 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!' brought tears to his heart. His overwhelming need to see his little Megan drove him out the door. He never even bothered to shut off the lights.

Now THAT explanation of the detective leaving work is much more powerful. It shows Brad as a loyal, hard worker who is committed to his job not only out of a sense of duty, but because he cares. It shows that he's a family man who loves his family, and that he knows when and why he should leave for the day. Those are multiple facets to his life and personality. The reader sees him as a human being with worries [s]he can relate to, and settles in for a good story.

Being multidimensional makes him come alive. In fact, depending on what's in an author's head as [s]he writes, Megan could also be written in numerous ways. Is she a sweet little girl who loves

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