Leatherzebra's blog: "Michele Lee~ Dark Author"

Success Series: Characters This is Steps. Recently, he celebrated a birthday. We sun-baked a cake made of leaves, grass, and his favorite, the fluffy parts of morning glory seeds. He's a perfect example of the topic of this (possibly my last) entry into the Success series. He is, above most other things, a very solid, very real character (who I commonly have to tell to stop bouncing on the bed). So what makes a solid character? It's not description. It's not comparing them to another well known person or character. It's not even their destiny, their skill or their powers. These things can shape and memorable character but what makes a unforgettable character is the myriad of things that a reader is shown, not told. It's what the character refuses to do, or can't talk themselves out of doing, even when they know it's wrong. It's how they justify things to themselves. It's not what they say, but how they say it, or the bits that the reader sees and the character leaves out. The character is not in their perfections, which is why MarySues ultimately fail. The character is in their failures, their flaws (true flaws, or only the ones the world tries to convince them of) and how they overcome or succumb to them. The character is in how they react to other character and how they differ from other characters' perceptions of them. The character is not in the boyish, big glasses wearing, paint smeared, poor fashion sensed girl who is made over for a date with the popular boy. The character is in the girl who scoffs off the offered make over and goes back to cuddling up with a book because that's what makes her happy and she knows in the end the person who she has to satisfy is herself. The character is in the person to break the rules for a good cause, then discovers they might have been a bit hasty, but doesn't hesitate to risk the rules again to help a friend. Or in the serial killer that we should fear, but instead we fall in love with because he's charming and friendlier than most of the world and after all he only kills people who deserve it anyway. The character is in the man who curses god and is cursed himself in the name of love. The memorable character is the one we find ourselves making justifications for so they can still be a good or bad person in our minds. What makes a memorable character? It's not drama, or the epic-est love evah, or the darkest darkity in the darkity dark, or the most unique half-dragon/one quarter human/one fifteenth fae/one third shape shifter/dhampir/psionic with molten silver pinwheel eyes and glowing skin and double Ds to die for. It's the person with no power, who's lost hope in love and fate, broken the magical sword, suffered a grievous wound and still walks in to face the bad guy because no one else has the balls. So, share, what makes a good character in your opinion? Name some of your favorite characters. New! Check out my review Blog: Book Love | WriYe: 104,025/100,000 | WC October- 1,582 | | Subs: 85/50 | Accepts: 4 | Rejects: 74 |