Tag: favorite characters

Posted in Thoughts, writing inspiration, Writing tips

Characters…

Posted on by Sherri

Characters we love and hate.

As an author one of the first things we’re taught is to write characters readers will love, but as a reader I’ve often enjoyed characters who were less than loveable. Most versions I’ve read and seen in movies and on television of the great Sherlock Holmes is he’s a bit unfeeling, he’s narcissistic and at times even a bully, but the character is, if not loveable, he is definitely memorable. Another character many of us love to hate is Scrooge, and what about Darth Vader? For you Harry Potter fans Professor Snape?  

When you think of some of your favorite characters in books and film, are they the heroes or villains? Do you enjoy a traditional hero, or do you find yourself aligning with the antihero? We watch a lot of action films, comic books turned to movies, and I love The Joker, Harley Quinn and Deadpool because they are fun and they are a lot bad and a little bit good, and they like to blow stuff up. But it’s often the backstory that makes us fall for a character even if they’re not exactly loveable. One of my favorite movies is Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel, I really love those two together. Goldie is a rich chic who lets her ego get in the way of doing the right thing and Kurt Russel gets the opportunity to pay her back but, it backfires and the two fall in love. When Goldie goes back to her rich-bitch world she doesn’t quite fit there anymore. We see her change and grow and become more the person she should be. Once that personality has exploded from the box, it’s like trying to stuff a blowup toy back in the package, it just doesn’t fit anymore, not even when you let the air out.

That’s what it takes to make a great character and as an author, I’m still learning. As a reader and viewer, I have found that any character who makes me feel something no matter their gender, sexual preference, ethnicity or period in history, it makes them relatable. If I can imagine myself as that person faced with those obstacles, that author or director has won me over. Whether I like them or hate them, they have garnered an emotional response and that will stay with me.

My friends and I recently went to the theater to see “Where the Crawdads Sing.” It’s a lovely movie and I’m dying to read the book. The main character is different, she’s not easy to relate to but you admire her spirit and her strength. As you see her striving to make it in a hostile world with only a few kind people to help her, you begin to wonder if you could have done this. At the end of the movie, when you see how her life has come to its end and the final secrets are revealed, there is an understanding, especially for women, that makes it very satisfying and brings the main character to a place of relatability.

Who are some characters that you find unforgettable? Why?

The Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer, her character Nick Merrick was so well-written that even years after reading this story, he comes to mind as one of the most unforgettable characters.

Nora Roberts J. D. Robb character Eve Dallas and Roarke, broken and put back together, these two are opposites in so many ways and yet the perfect balance for each other. They are crafted as two halves of a whole, yet each is a complete individual. I don’t know how Nora Roberts managed this but she is the master and I can not forget this couple.

Jayne Castle, Jayne Ann Krentz and Amanda Quick: the Joneses, no matter what generation or planet they are on, these men and sometimes women of the Jones family have leadership and paranormal abilities to give them strength, family honor and legends, and a weakness to overcome that often turns out to be their greatest strength.   

Please share some of your favorite characters.

For my writing friends. I’m adding a list of YouTube videos for you to check out on crafting amazing characters.

Posted in character interview, my books, Thoughts, writing inspiration

Memorable and Favorite Characters

Posted on by Sherri

What makes a character memorable? What makes them a favorite? Or what makes them a character you love to hate?

As a reader there are several authors who have created memorable characters for me. One character who is also part of an unforgettable couple, is Police Detective Eve Dallas of Nora Robert’s J.D. Robb “In Death” series. She and her husband Roark are very different, yet they are the perfect balance. My hope is to one day create characters as awesome as these. What I like about Eve is the fact she is not perfect. Her backstory is tragic, but she is not a victim. Roark isn’t a typical hero. He walks a fine line between the criminal world and legitimate business. Who they are and their pasts often cause conflicts to their relationship, but it is also part of their strength.

Sabrina Jeffries’ Hellions of Halstead Hall series is filled with memorable characters from the grandmother matriarch to the various siblings. While the siblings are nobility, grandmother is not but she’s the lady with the cash and control. Oliver, Lord Stoneville, is known for being cold but as the oldest he’s tried to stay in control of his emotions and his siblings. One of the things I love about Jeffries’ is the way she brings former main characters back to people her stories and add a little familiarity to a new story.

Stephanie Plumb, Janet Evanovich’s accident-prone bounty hunter/bond enforcement agent and Laurel K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter/executioner, Anita Blake are very different yet both memorable characters. They are both action-heroines with tangled love lives. Both authors use humor to diffuse difficult situations and bring light to current topics. While Stephanie never seems to get any better at her job, she eventually accidently succeeds. Anita Blake often fails, at least at first but she is a powerful necromancer and with each story she gains power and strength even as she battles personal problems and emotional struggles.

Will Thomas’ Barker and Llewelyn series is similar in many ways to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and for me, the characters are just as memorable. Barker is a huge Scotsman raised in China with strong religious beliefs, very different from the opium smoking Holmes, yet their detective skills are similar. Barker has ties to the criminal underworld, the Asian community of London, and the has built a reputation as an inquiry agent. He is big, smart, athletic, and wealthy. His partner, Llewelyn is a petite Welshman whose collegiate career ended when he went to prison. He comes to Barker’s agency when he has no other choice. The combination of these two very different characters is what makes them work together so well, and so memorable.

So, what makes a character memorable? What makes a character someone you want to read about over and over again? What characters do you love or love to hate?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VNWKX62

In my own writing, I like to create characters that feel real. I want to have them reacting to situations in a believable manner and feel like people you know. Does that make them memorable or lovable? For me, as a writer, there are certain characters I’ve enjoyed writing more than others. Some I want to explore more because I feel there is more to their story. Two of my favorite characters to write in my new series are the grandmothers. One, Grandma Doris/Dodie is a pot smoking former hooker who has been married or shacked up with numerous men. She borders between “cool” grandma and “bad” grandma. The other grandmother, Grandmother Louise was married to one man. She is a Bible thumper, opinionated woman who is always more worried about what other people think than about her family. I think a friendship and rivalry between these two very different women will be fun to write and add to the family dynamics of the Harrell Family Chronicles.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JCJFND6

Some of my other favorites include the strong female characters of my first three stories:

Rae Lynn Grimes, Dana Windley and Jenna McKenzie Roberts. These women, their friendship and their battles felt so real to me. As I was writing these characters I felt as if I could reach out and touch them. I hope as readers discover them, they too will come to think of them as friends.

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite characters or what you are looking for in a character.

What are you reading?