Monday, October 19, 2009

Memorable characters and getting to know our own

I'm very late with my post on the blog chain this week which is especially bad since I am in charge of posting who starts the chain today and as you can see I'm posting it today. Sorry guys!

Of course I'll take Monday so that I don't throw someone else off.

Last week's topic was started by Icy Roses who asked what made a memorable character and to list a few examples.

For me a memorable character isn't necessarily the good guy I tend to find find the "bad" characters more memorable, not that I like them or relate to them more, they just stick with me in a way that even some of my favorite characters don't. I think I'll go right into those examples since the reasons why I chose them will explain my qualifications a little better.

  • Lord Voldemort. Yep, I said it. Voldemort. I adore Harry and the rest of the "good" gang but Voldemort has always intrigued me. The fourth movie only made this odd fascination worse. That whole cemetery scene is incredible. He is just soooo evil. Yet behind that horrid cold creature you can't help but want to know more about him. The instant he appears on screen or in a scene in the book the mood changes. And it's unnerving the way he lurks on the edges of the story. In my opinion Rowling created one of the best villains of all time with his pure darkness and lust for power at any cost while showing us his broken past and all too human weakness. I hate Voldemort for his cruelty, but I can't look away...

  • Jehrico Barrons. Oddly enough I didn't love the Fever series he's from, but I can't help myself. It may be because a friend lent me her copy of the newest book, Dreamfever, (which is not suitable for anyone under 18 in my opinion!) but he had to be on this list. The number reason is that in all four books (still at least one more out next year) we never learn what he really is. He's the very definition of tall dark and dangerous, he oozes sex, and is powerful beyond belief. All of this good bad guy stuff is magnified by the fact that the rest of the story contains lethal faeries, vampires, etc. yet we have no idea who or what he is and he's far worse then any of them. So unsettling. He does something that seems good only to turn around and does something that appears deceptive and evil.

  • Katniss Everdeen. Most of you have read The Hunger Games so I think you can see why I list her. She has such guts and courage. She is a good girl who proves she is capable of anything. Killing, lying, acting the part. Kat is the ultimate underdog turned hero. One of my favorite scenes is when she is so fed up with the pathetic and cruel way she's treated and shoots the arrow at the judges before the games. Amazing. Oh I wanted to be her right then. I love her for the way she's willing to do whatever it takes to survive and protect the people she loves. And she's more than capable. Girl power! (and shhhh don't say a word to me about Catching Fire - it's my revision completion reward)

Now for this week my topic is character bios. How deep do you dig into your characters when you create them? Have an example you're willing to share or some inspiration photos.


I find photos of their cars, their houses, locations they visit in the story, clothes, and of course what they look like. For some I've made a list of their favorite things, like their fav band, movie, book, etc. Since I'm pressed for time at the moment I'll wrap this up with a picture I threw together late Friday night after I saw a book cover at our Borders event. The second I saw it I knew it was Abbey from my first book, Sage.

For the blog chain here's the list for this week. Again, sorry this is late!

Mon- me. Tues- From Elysium. Wed- Girl With a Notebook. Thur-Flames and Shadows. Fri-Somewhere Nowhere In My Kingdom

2 comments:

Susan R. Mills said...

Great topic for the blog chain. I also do the picture thing. If I can visualize them in their world, it's easier to write about them.

ali cross said...

Hey Rebecca, great topic!

I use pictures too. It's funny, the other day I felt like writing but not writing, ya know? So I spent some time surfing the net looking for pictures that could represent the characters in my new WiP. I found one for my MC that the second I saw it KNEW it was her, BUT she was asian and I had written her caucasian, lol.

Still, she's totally the girl in the picture, so now I need to rewriter her, lol. It's weird though how these people come from our heads yet absolutely have a mind/life of their own.

As for other things I do: Eventually I will build a fairly in depth character sheet, but I don't start out that way. I get to know my character through the first draft, then I'll go back and build them up, using the character sheet for reference, etc.