Have you ever been reading a story and suddenly snickered because one of the characters reminded you of your eccentric uncle? Or maybe a store clerk reminds you of the encounter you had at a local store a few weeks before? Do you know that minor character so well through someone you really know that you keep watching for them to reappear in the story?
If you were nodding to any of the above, then you have encountered an author who has perfected the art of building characters from reality. It is an art you should learn to perfect as well.
Don't just let your characters be believable, make them into real people. Give them quirks such as always hesitating before turning on a light switch because they are afraid of electricity (don't laugh, that's one of my quirks :-p). Do they talk with their hands? How can you show something like that in a scene? Maybe they are trying to quit smoking so have intentionally taken on the annoying habit of chewing gum like a secretary in a dime novel just to annoy the person that talked them into quitting smoking? (No, I don't really know anyone that does that - I'm just chewing gum at the moment and wondered how that could be made *really* annoying.)
Don't give them too many quirks, because not every character can get away with an over abundance of quirks the way that Monk manages. Just... make them real. Bring them to life in a way that people will associate with. Steal liberally from people you know, because chances are if you know someone with that quirk, at least a few of your readers might know someone in their own life that has them.
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