***Author's Note: I am pleased to announce that we will have a special guest blogger, Lynnette Bonner, on September 7th. Lynnette is the author of the newly released 'Rocky Mountain Oasis'. I hope you'll join me in welcoming Lynnette!
Also, I wanted to let you know that our first interviewee, K.M. Weiland, has just released the book trailer for her next release, 'Behold the Dawn'. Please go check out the trailer at her site, Wordplay. I'm sure you'll be as excited about the book as I am after seeing it. I can't wait to share her interview with you on October 6th & 14th!
And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog...***
How can you ensure that you'll get readers coming back time and time again?
Create memorable characters, of course!
While plotting is essential--you can't do anything without a good, well planned plot--I feel that having characters that make an impact on you are as important as plotting.
Most writers and readers have their own ideas on how you go about creating memorable characters. But, what exactly makes a character you just can't get out of your head?
In order to keep this brief, I'm going to focus on the protagonist(s). While a great antagonist must counter-balance the protagonist, I feel that in order to analyze both antagonists & protagonists may take more time and space than I've allowed here.
I'm sure you can name a few leading men or ladies in any of the books (or movies) you've read that make you want more of them. This is usually a good sign. For today's examples, I'm actually going to go to my second entertainment love, movies, specifically, Star Wars, the original trilogy. Your examples may come from something else, but next time you read a book or watch a TV show or movie, I challenge you to analyze why you like a character or you don't.
Since I always kind of had a yen to be Han Solo, 
Bad stuff aside, what I like about Han that would be considered redeeming characteristics are the loyalty he shows to his friends. (Coming back to help Luke out at the end of Episode IV; tracking down Luke when he was out in the midst of a blizzard on Hoth in Episode V; despite being blinded, trying to keep Lando out of the pit in Episode VI, as well as assuring Leia that he didn't think Luke was on the Death Star when it exploded at the end of the same film.)
I also like the romantic lead position that George Lucas placed him in. I, for one, am a bit of a romantic and love to have at least a hint of romance in any movie or book I read. The interplay between Han & Leia, while subtle, is priceless.
His creativity and ingenuity also leaves a lasting impression: hiding in the smuggling holds, hiding (again!) in an asteroid, protecting Luke from the cold by opening up the carcass of the beast he'd ridden and stuffing Luke inside, coming up with an assault plan to invade the Imperial station on Endor.
When you put everything together, and add back in the acting talents of Harrison Ford, my feeling is that you get a character that leaves a lasting impression on almost everyone, whether those impressions come from his character flaws or character strengths.
I'd love to hear your feedback! Please share about the characters you love and why, or anything else that strikes you.
Until next time,
P.S.-- For more information on creating characters, I highly recommend the following books & blogs:
'Getting Into Character' by Brandilyn Collins
'Writers Guide to Character Traits' by Linda Edelstein
'The Fire in Fiction' by Donald Maass
'Character Takeover' at the Sheepish Scribe
'Strong Characters' at Writing Advice and Good Books
At Wordplay:
Likeability is Overrated
Describing Characters
Naming Characters
Theme and Character Progression
Interviewing Your Characters
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Who Are You Again?
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11 comments:
Great post. I love Hans Solo. One of my favorite characters.
Is there anybody out there who *doesn't* like Han? :p I think, upon reflection, that the bottom line of his greatness as a character was the fact that he was so dichotomous. Lots of gray area in his personality. He was no angel, but he wasn't a devil either. In other words - very human. And very entertaingly human!
Thanks for mentioning my trailer, BTW!
One of my favorite all time characters from a movie is Con Vallian, played by Sam Elliot in "The Quick and the Dead." (Not that stupid Sharon Stone movie of the same title... no!) He's tough, capable, rough around the edges, but has a code of conduct he lives by that is admirable through it all. If you haven't seen it. I recommend renting it.
One of my favorite book characters is Perrin from The Wheel of Time series written by the late Robert Jordan. He's a complicated character, wanting nothing more than a peaceful existence while living anything but, and he keeps his ideals as well.
Thank you for chiming in, ladies!
@Peg, I've never seen nor read any of those you mentioned, but I'll have to check them out. :)
@K.M., no problem about the trailer! It's a wonderful piece and I hope some folks go check it out (and pre-order your book!!! :D)
I'm going to go check out that book trailer. Thanks for that. I have been meaning to do it for days. Can't wait for your interviews.
Good post. I tend to fall in love with my secondary characters. And of course, I loved Han too.
Talk about the times Han Solo hid, how about the time he planted the Millennium Falcon on the conning tower of a Star Destroyer. Then when they dumped the trash, the Falcon drifted away "with the rest of the garbage." I loved that moment!
@Victor: Oh, yeah! How could I forget the garbage scene? That's in 'Empire', my favorite movie of the trilogy! (Gosh, I need to watch it again!!!)
@Lynnette: I fall in love with my own characters, too. When I wrote 'The End' on my draft of my sci-fi, it felt so final I nearly cried. (I have no plans for a sequel at this time....)
great post! who doesn't love han solo? harrison ford was seriously good-looking back then (and really still is). :) thanks for visiting my blog today!
jeannie
Where Romance Meets Therapy
Thanks, Jeannie! Yeah, I'd love to meet the person who doesn't like Han. :) Harrison Ford has definitely aged gracefully. Most of his movies I enjoy, can't really think of one I haven't.
BTW, Jeannie's site is very interesting. While I just discovered it due to Lynnette Bonner's book tour, I'll definitely be going back. Lots of good info!
Hey Liberty! Your blog is coming along so wonderfully. Sorry to be so absent lately - life has been hectic!
I really like this blog piece. I'm not a fiction writer but sure would like to be. Christian fiction is my favorite genre, especially the historical.
One of my favorite characters is Li Quan from Randy Alcorn's book Safely Home. I will never ever forget him. Even after of a year of reading the book I feel that Li Quan is a real person. He is brave in the face of persecution which is something I admire so very much.
Well.. blessings on your space and all that you are doing! Good job :-)
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