Thursday, September 17, 2009

If you cut us, do we not bleed?

Characters. The people who drive our books and stories. The people in our heads who demand to have their stories told.

I think it's important to make sure your characters, while having a life of their own, have very realistic tendencies so they'll read believably. You have to give them a bit of humanity, especially if you're writing in the paranormal genre. Case in point, one of my heroes, while a werewolf, is deathly allergic to broccoli. Why? It makes him vulnerable and makes him identifiable.

On the other hand, characters need to be bigger than life. Someone a reader would root for and want to see succeed no matter what.

Bottom line? Don't write your characters so they come off flat. Give them a life of their own and they'll take care of the rest.

2 comments:

nerinedorman said...

Broccoli? Okay that's the first time I've encountered that form of kryptonite. :-)

I sure as hell wasn't expecting THAT.

Rabid Fox said...

I concur. Broccoli is an odd and intriguing choice, and I wonder how such a condition would crop up in the story.

But, aside from that quirky bit, I wholeheartedly agree that a character with some life breathed into its lungs makes the medicine go down smoother.