Greetings folks. Here’s a blog about writing characters!
When talking to an author, you might hear how excited they are about their stories. They tell you about what went into the creating plot, the inspiration behind the story, and then the fun part; how they came up with their characters. In a lot of instances, this character might be made up of someone they know or even an extension of themselves or, it may be a someone they want to know or dream about.
A lot of mine are all the above. Their personalities are a mix of someone I know or want to know. If the character is somewhat of a jerk, it might’ve been a reaction to ex boyfriends. *smirks* Or some random jackass who me or my friends or family have come in contact with. In any event, those personalities and/or traits are made up into one terrific fictional person.
The character.
He or she is the star of your book; the one that everyone can either identify with or hate. I try to come up with a variety of characters when I write my books so it will be exciting for me as well as the reader. I think I’ve successfully done this, but I can say I have a special place in my heart for the most challenging and/or difficult. Yes, I have an affinity for assholes.
*laughs*
Not in my real life, though, just in the books I read or write.
Since I write mostly romance, I like the guys that come off a little macho. Maybe they’re hotheads, narcissistic, and/or cocky. They may have quirky habits that put other people off such as swearing a lot or they’re quick to speak their minds, no matter how much it might offend the other person. I rarely write characters who are completely nice, but when I do, I find it especially challenging. I don’t know why because I consider myself a sweet person. Still, writing the co-called “angel” is hard for me. I have written some nice guys, but even they have a little badness in them. *laughs* My fave bad boys are Nicolai from The Wretched and if you can call him “bad”, Kajika from the N’awlins Exotica series. As far as the somewhat sweeties are Ryland from my twins series, Mon Frere and Jayden from Something About Jayden.
Then there are my females. When I write a het or now, with my f/f, I want to make her feminine and kick ass. I’m not sure I could write a woman who is waiting to be whisked away by her potential mate. The damsel in distress trope isn’t something I want to write. I’d rather do, she’ll kick and scream before she lets her man or woman take her. She’ll fight for her independence and bring up every excuse not to be with the person who is hot on her heels. She’s fierce and sometimes a little crazy. My fave characters I’ve written are Miranda Ashley from On the Run and Kenina Porter from the N’awlins Exotica series and they fit my descriptions to a tee.
There’s a lot that goes into putting together a character and until recently, I hadn’t realized all the steps, but even now, I’ll still let the character speak to me and most of the time, they go against the grain of what I wanted for them. That’s the beauty of writing a fictional person though. Coming up with a rough sketch and then allowing that person to come into his or her own. When I do this, it’s exciting to follow the character and what they do, and I seriously hope the reader enjoys it too.
So in closing, putting together the characters are just as enjoyable as the plot. In some cases I let both roam free until I feel it’s time to reel them in. And as you know, you can’t ask an author who their favorite character is. It’s like picking their favorite child. *laughs* However, I guess if someone demanded me to, I’d say Kenina and Ryland rank tops for me.
Shhh! Don’t tell the others!
