Feb
One hero, with everything…
The other day I was at a establishment famous for subs. I just wanted to…eat fresh, ya know? So, I ordered my sandwich, asked them to add more of the ingredients I requested. (black olives, in case you’re interested, and cucumbers.) The patron behind me was having her sandwich assembled and the store employee queried the one doing my meal. “How many pepperoni’s?” The answer was something to the effect of 6 if it is this meal, 8 if it’s that. What? You can’t have it your way here? Does every combo number 2 have to follow those parameters? As I went on my way and enjoyed my sandwich, I thought about how in writing, we sometimes put the bare minimum on our characters. Or we make them formulaic. So they have two eyes, two arms and legs, usually, and a heaping amount of angst and attitude. They also get a healthy dose of issues, make them up, whatever the issue du jour is. But how do you customize your heroes and heroines to make them just the way you want them. Is there only 6 scenes of conflict, or 8? How many ‘bites’ into the story before you get to the juicy center? Come on. Our novels aren’t one-size-fits-all. So make your characters just the way you want them. You CAN have them your way. What is it you do to make your characters unique and all your own?
I don’t know that I create the characters. Sometimes I think they’re creating me, LOL. I’ve read a lot of books that seem to stick to the formula—the obligatory four hot sex scenes, the conflict in the same inch of the book. I think you’re right. We need to do it our own way and hope someone appreciates it!
February 18th, 2008 at 1:47 pmYour post has made me think about the way I write my characters. I like to think my characters are a sum of my “living experience” and imagination and that my voice makes them different. Usually I have an alpha hero and a quirky heroine. I try to give them different issues but when I think about it my characters are quite similar. I know I definitely have a common theme that seems to come through in every book. My characters are all about finding security and a place to call home. Hmmm, I’m just starting a new story today. It’s darker than my normal writing so it will be interesting to see how the main character is different. I’m going to have your post at the back of my mind…
February 18th, 2008 at 2:26 pmGood points Maggie and Shelley. My heroine right now is very willful and she did something I didn’t want her to do, and it took the scene I wrote last night a different direction. But it was a good scene. I am more pleased with it in the long run. I think we have to listen to our characters, but inject a healthy dose of our own experiences in, just for good measure.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:30 pmI’m the type to throw it all against the wall and whatever sticks is what I write. Seriously. I’m the queen of mashing them together.
February 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pmI love this topic!
My characters usually come to me pre-made, they just appear, as if I had met them, and tell me to tell their story. I try to write out a plot and the direction its taking and most of the time I’m right on, other times they say “Hey, wait a second, we want to do this, or I wouldn’t say that!” And I have to listen, it makes the story all the better. I have formulaic writing its boring. I say if you want to have 0 or 100 love scenes go for it! Hey, they’re people too right? lol
I just read a fabulous short story by Jennifer Mueller, that every writer should read. It was called “Writer’s Block.” It was hilarious, I won’t give away the story, but it is along the lines of what we are discussing.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:57 pmI’ll look for that in the library, Eliza. I think in some respect, ladies, my characters do have wills of their own and that makes some of my writing easy, in that they will whisper to me the direction of the story. I love seeing how it unfolds and how my preconceived ideas change as we go along…
February 19th, 2008 at 6:03 am