The Odd Characters by Carole Brown

Carole Brown

Creating unique characters project after project is challenging. Carole Brown is here to share some tips for keeping your characters from being too similar. Enjoy! ~ Annette

The Odd Characters by Carole Brown

“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.” Luke 19:41

Jesus wasn’t a character but a real live person who had passionate feelings about the sacredness of the temple and the lost of Jerusalem. He experienced anger. He suffered sorrow and heartbreak. He was alive. He is alive.

How can we bring our characters to life? What do you aim for when creating them? Gentleness? Spunkiness? Courageousness? Loveliness? These are good traits.

We’ve all created exciting and entertaining plots in our novels or at least we hope to. Plots that keep us and our readers shivering with suspense, breathless with the romance between a couple, excited with their newly discovered world. Passionate plots that could soar to bestseller lists if it weren’t for the same old, same old, carbon-copy, boring characters who drags through the whole novel.

I insist that it’s the characters who add spice to that brilliant plot!

Do they dance across the written page? Stand out? We’ve been taught they must be likeable, and that’s true. We’ve been taught to always give the antagonist a redeeming trait and always make the protagonist sympathetic. Both also true.

But they must have more than just the above. Let’s look at a few examples:

Interesting contrasts: 

Tough: Boxer and Private Investigator 

Soft: cooking, pet dog, philosophical

Spencer (former boxer) is supposed to be rough and tough. After all, he goes after the worst criminals with his pal who would rather shoot than argue. But Spencer has a soft spot for cooking and his pet dog, Pearl, quotes philosophical lines, and dates a psychologist. An intriguing combination.

Strange:

Is she a mystical person? Or a wannabe mystery lover?

Have you heard about the amateur sleuth who loves mysteries so much she has an all-mystery bookstore and a black cat? Enough said. That spikes a thrilling interest right off the bat!

Fun and Whimsical

A cat who howls when a murder takes place.

 
How about the former newspaper man who inherited money, solves mysteries, & insists his cat knows when there's been a murder? Whimsical and fun.

An out-of-work actress who cat-sits to pay the bills

The out-of-work middle-aged woman who cat-sits AND is a sometime actress with bits and pieces she attains when she can. Still attractive, she comes across as rather quiet and perhaps a bit uninteresting. Yet her odd friends and the respect shown her proves there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Young and Idealistic

Christy—young and ambitious—is out to change the world, yet the first time she sees something disgusting, she gets sick. The comparison between her cleanliness and youth, and the different dirty-poor world she voluntarily enters, sets the reader in prime position for high level entertainment.

Mean and Cruel, yet redeemable

Mr. Scrooge who'd rather freeze than spend a penny? We gain no happiness from him, yet we continue to hope for his change and cheer him on. We wait for the time of glorious redemption within his life.

Finally, take a look at your current work in progress. Is the main character similar to the last one you wrote? How can you create him/her to spring from the written page?

Happy character building!

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Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Connect with her here:

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/browncarole212

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Carole is also part of several other blogs:

Stitches in Time:  http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Barn Door Book Loft: http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

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Hog Insane

The Davis couple load up their RV and eagerly head for a campground in the Smokey Mountains. Newly retired, Denton hopes to use this trip to rekindle the dwindling flame of his marriage. In spite of her protests, he is sure his wife looks forward to the much-deserved rest and relaxation as much as he does.

They barely arrive at their destination when a risk-taking motorcyclist speeds past them, followed by a careening sports car. Denton remembers the fatal tangle of his nephew ten years earlier...with the bike that Denton had taught him to ride. Things continue to go south the rest of the evening, culminating in Denton finding a body sprawled in the brush beside the path to their cabin. Now Denton has a job to do and a mystery to solve.

Character Motivation by Debby Mayne

Debby Mayne

Have you ever had a hard time creating your characters? Multi-published author Debby Mayne addresses what motivates her characters in today's post. Any of them sound familiar? What kinds of characters are in your work-in-progress? ~ Angie

Have you ever been to a class reunion? If not, have you met with old friends or family members that you haven’t seen in a long time? What did you do to prepare for the get-together? Were you more concerned with what they thought about you—how you looked, how you aged, and how successful you were in life—than you should have been?

The very common human condition of insecurity that stems from childhood is what motivates my characters in the Class Reunion series as they get ready to go to the big event. I wanted readers to get to know the people in my story and join them on their journeys. The editor and I agreed that the best way to do this was to write it in first person. Since I wanted to show the lives of more than one person in this group, all of these books are written in multiple points of view. To add to the immediacy and intimacy of the characters’ experiences, these books are present tense.

About the characters and their insecurities:

Priscilla Slater was class Valedictorian and voted “Most Likely to Succeed” back in high school. Everyone expected her to follow in her college professor parents’ footsteps, but she surprised everyone by dropping out of college and going to beauty school. Although she still wants her parents’ approval, she’s not willing to be miserable in a career she doesn’t want.

Tim Puckett’s dad abandoned him and his mama when he was a young boy. His dad’s brother took over and paid for Tim to go to college with the stipulation that he must work for the family business after graduation. Although Tim’s dream job isn’t being a beauty supply salesman he’s not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The bonus is that he meets the love of his life. Too bad she doesn’t see him as more than a pal. But maybe if he helps out a little more, he’ll win the girl of his dreams.

Trudy Baynard’s beauty pageant trophies and Miss Piney Point crowns gather dust as she navigates her way through being a divorced woman who has packed on a few pounds and needs Spanx to get into her slinky dresses. She had enough sense to leave Piney Point after her no-good, womanizing man dumped her, but now she wants to see her former classmates. Her mission before the reunion is to get her high school figure back and make it look like she’s successful without Michael.

Celeste Boudreaux is tired of being the wallflower, so she forces her way on to the class reunion committee. It’s hard giving up her bad attitude, but once Priscilla works her magic on her and makes her downright pretty, she thinks she might wind up with a full dance card.

Laura Moss is exhausted. I mean, who wouldn’t be after a long day of keeping four young’uns and a sweet but alcoholic husband in line? And now that she has the class reunion to coordinate, she’s found her limits. But she can’t let on, which is why she allows others to contribute, even if they don’t do things the way she does them.

Do you see yourself in any of these characters? As I wrote their stories, I dug deep and found a piece of each of them inside me. Whether looking for acceptance like Priscilla or feeling “put upon” like Laura, my insecurities have shown themselves at some of the most inconvenient times in my life. Even as a writer, I worry that I won’t live up to the expectations of readers, editors, family members, and friends. Sound familiar?

About the Author

Debby has published more than 30 books and novellas, 400 print short stories and articles, 1,000 web articles, and dozens of devotions for women. She has worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, and creative writing instructor for Long Ridge Writers Group. She also judges the Writers Digest Annual Competition, Short-Short Contest, and Self-Published Book Competition. Three of Debby’s books have been top ten favorites by the Heartsong Presents book club. Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars and a Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine in July 2009.


Pretty Is as Pretty Does

Pretty is as Pretty Does
by Debby Mayne

Priscilla Slater goes to her ten-year high school reunion with equal parts dread and eager anticipation. Even though she’s a successful owner of a chain of hair salons and no longer has the mousy brown hair, crooked teeth, and discount-store wardrobe, she still feels like the ugly duckling. But when she arrives at the reunion, Priscilla soon realizes that her old classmates aren’t exactly as she remembers them. With humor and a just a touch of sassiness, Priscilla finds herself facing her own truth—and she may be surprised at what she discovers.