Sorry I've missed last Top Three Thursday--I have one written, and it will be posted this Thursday, promise!
Let's get on with it?:
Do you have a 'type'?
And by this, I mean do you have a certain kind of fictional character you are drawn to?
Just like stories, each and every character has a certain 'feel' to them--a certain theme.
This would be, of course, their personality.
Look at your favorite books. Now pick out your all-time favorite character from each. Are they anything alike?
Mine are. I love many, MANY characters, but my favorite all have the same FEEL to them.
You may be drawn to the quiet, smart, shy character. It may be the sarcastic underdog.
For me, it has to be the snarky, rebellious character that are, sadly, mostly male.
Now, before you judge too harshly, let me explain WHY.
I don't mean the kind of jerks who treat the love interest like trash and are rude for no apparent reason.
I like the characters who are so terribly flawed, I could go down a list of all their problems. But that makes them real.
And, along with that, they all have equally good qualities. Bravery, wit, depth and, most of all, passion.
Just look at all of these characters: Will Herondale, Noah Shaw, Adrian Ivashkov. These are some of my favorite characters of their series, and they all have a few smaller things in common, but overall it's that they are PASSIONATE and flawed.
My question is this: why are there not snarky, rebellious, passionate female characters that are equally as lovable and intense as the guys listed above?
Anytime I've read an author try to make a girl like this, they are over the top obnoxious, they whip out swords for no apparent reason, and they swear every other word, just to make them sound 'tough' or 'uncaring'.
But the guys above don't do that. They are the perfect amount of sadness and cleverness that creates a deep, well built character.
And, equally, why is it so hard to write a shy, timid male character? I don't believe I've ever rad one of these, not as obvious as I've read female roles like this, anyway.
I think that the reasons for this is one) readers judge harshly on characters that are 'different'. Sorry to say it, but I know tons of people that do, whether they notice it or not. Girls that are dark and mysterious, guys that are painfully shy and easily embarrassed. It's not the normal, so readers may find it unbelievable. And two) authors, in turn, are afraid to write such characters.
I believe it's a cycle, and only every once in a while will one brave author step out of it and attempt to do something that is not the usual, and I respect these authors, even if they failed.
More and more, though, I see writers taking a leap, taking a risk, and breathing life into characters that I've never read about before, and that's wonderful.
Characters should be something new--something to experiment and bend. Again here comes the quote, "Learn all of the rules, only so that you may break them properly later."
So have fun with your characters, and make them whoever you want them to be. Brave writers make good writers, and the careful ones are easily forgotten!
What are your favorite type of characters? Do you know of any books with mysterious and rebellious females? What about shy and clumsy males? I would love it if you shared!
Thanks for reading!
