As a reader what attracts you most to a character?
I think all of us want to read books with a captivating story and memorable characters, books we can’t put down until the last page.
I’m not attracted to the he-man with hot eyes, growling voice and the body of Adonis, or the luscious blonde with an impossible hourglass figure because they aren’t real.
It doesn’t matter if our choice is historical, modern or futuristic, I believe our characters should have faults and flaws, just like us. We can relate to how she’s feeling when those scales notch up another 5 pounds, smirk a bit when he finds a few more grey hairs, mutter ‘don’t be so damned stupid’ when they stuff up and feel happy for them when they come through.
Downton Abbey, the incredibly popular British drama television series, is a perfect example of wonderful true-life characters. Whether they were the aristocracy, the poor relations or below stairs servants, they were not plastic stereotypes, they were believable. Just the same as not wanting a good book to end, we hated saying goodbye to them.
I loved the Poldark series, based on the novels of the same name by 
Winston Graham. Those characters, with their strengths and weaknesses, held millions of people captivated until the final scene.
I’m sure what attracts us to these characters is seeing a bit of ourselves in them.
What do you think?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Perilous Love
The Proposition
The Woman Behind the Mirror
Lies of Gold—Silver Historical for 2019: Coffee Pot Book Club
I used to think that creating a character for a book would be easy. After all, we all know a bunch of people. Just make a character like one of them. But the people we know are already true, full people (though I have to admit, I know a lot of people who could use a little more work). To take a concept, a thought of a person you want to play a part in your story involves developing every single facet of personality, appearance, habits, quirks. It can be daunting! Consider the difference between buying a house that needs to have the walls painted to starting from ground zero and building the whole house from scratch.
be a little short of what it takes to make a character real. Kayelle Allen provides character interviews for authors who post on the 
I really don’t know any writing programs, so I suspect I don’t use them. Or maybe this means writing tips and suggestions? Those I use—on and off.
nothing works for me except what I use—which is nothing like a plotting program! Sometimes I start a book with only a kernel of an idea, and that’s kind of too little to use in a plotting program.
I’ve always considered myself a pretty fast writer—when I write. I mean, I could eat lunch at work and still knock out a thousand words. I have written a 90K word book in a month. But the one year I tried NANOWRIMO, I choked. Couldn’t write 300 words in a day. Couldn’t get through a chapter in a week. Couldn’t… Well, couldn’t finish NANOWRIMO.
NANOWRIMO, but I did not. The discipline that NANOWRIMO gives you is a good thing, but when faced with it I turned out to be the biggest wuss ever. It’s not for me, I’m afraid. But for those who thrive under the NANOWRIMO pressure, more power to you! Enjoy the month. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines.
I like epilogues. I write a lot of epilogues, too, probably because I like to read them. To me, they finish the book. It’s all well and good to have Heroine A say how much she loves Hero A and vice versa, but I like to see that Heroine A actually ends up with Hero A and not accidentally with Hero B. Did they marry? Have a passel of kids? Move to Timbuktu? Inquiring minds want to know. And that’s what an epilogue does for me.
back where two endings were written and which happened was up to the viewer. Or the kind who want to envision their own version of the castle Cinderella and Prince Charming lived in—was it a condo on the beach at Malibu or more like the Biltmore House in North Carolina? When it comes to ending a romance, I prefer to know. I do enough imagining about stuff, like what I’m making for dinner—actual food or reservations. I don’t need to wonder about Cinderella’s living conditions. Give me a good epilogue any time!
given one the opportunity to live where she wants and to help her child attend the college of her choice. I know another who is able to spend more time with her family than when she worked a 9-5 job.
I have a journal book. In fact, over the years I’ve spent a bit of money on many books for journaling/brain storming/idea keeping. One year I bought a pen with a small recorder in it so I could quickly record ideas as I was driving or just out of the house. Did I ever use it? No. I probably stuck it in my purse and then forgot it when I transferred to another purse. Lord only knows how many great ideas for best-selling books I’ve lost because I didn’t grab that pen, press the magic button and say, “falling leaf, red” or “blue Corvette, hair blowing in wind, girl named Sally Jean Johnson.”
imaginations come to mind while watching the stars cross the heavens, will be interesting reading someday. And maybe inspire that best-selling book after all.
YOU CAN’T RUN FROM ME Meet Anthony Stone. He considers himself a lover. A killer. His trade is killing. Anthony Stone is drawn closer to a woman called Laura, a woman he doesn’t even know. Anthony fell in love at first sight but is soon rejected the first time. He is convinced he can win her heart. Anthony digs deeper into her life when he discovers another man involved. After stalking her round the clock, he slowly learns the truth about her and pays a high price. His sick obsession with Laura gets way out of control, he will do what it takes to be with her and that includes killing anyone that steps in his way.
weren’t a pantser I’d be better at practicing stuff.
of driving wherever the spirit takes me. And like my driving, if I didn’t write by the seat of my pants, I wouldn’t write at all. Being a pantser is for better or worse, just like my marriage.
By cloning here, I mean using traits of friends or family as part of your characters’ personalities. It’s a touchy thing, for sure!
names but some physical and personality features as secondary characters, and two out of three were angry over how she’d portrayed them. They didn’t like the parts in the book she assigned them, didn’t like how she portrayed their personalities, didn’t like… Well, you get the picture.
We all view people around us—their looks, their quirks, their actions—as fodder for rich characterization for our books. We can’t help it! But when it comes to those closest to us, maybe have a talk about what you have planned before writing.