Fresh Fiction Blog | Theresa Meyers | Getting Into Character

You know the funny thing about writing, is you get into your characters far more than you think. For a good story to grab you by the throat and hold on until you gasp, it's critical that the characters aren't just two-dimensional constructs. They need to have fears and weaknesses, strengths and motivations just as real as any living person.

Now this is not to say that some of those fears, weaknesses, strengths and motivations aren't just as weird as real life. Take this guy for instance. He's passing by a funeral procession at age 12 and is forced by the people in the procession to kiss the face of the 11 year old dead girl. It changes his life. He becomes obsessed with death and becomes a leading expert in Russian on Moscow's cemetaries. He also turns out to be the man who's stealing young women's corpses and has them dressed up around his home. Creepy, yes. But look at how that one singular moment changed the direction of his life. And this isn't fiction, it's a true story!

The characters in our stories aren't any different if they are well-developed. They have reasons for what they do, even if those reasons don't make a bit of sense to anyone else, it matters to the character. Take the hero Rook in my recent book SHADOWLANDER. He's a fae Prince of Shadows – next in line for the throne. Probably from the outside looking in, he's got it made. But here's the reality. He's always desired a closeness in a relationship that wasn't fostered by fae society. Remember how in Regency and Victorian times, those with wealth had the servants raise the children (nannies, tutors, etc.)? The children were only trotted out on social occasions and rarely spent time with their parents. Rook's society functions in much the same way. He loves his parents, but they are virtual benevolent strangers to him in many ways. Plus Rook's father has shown favoritism to his captain of the guard, placing him almost on the same level as his own son in many ways.

That's part of the reason why Rook has gotten so attached to the idea of being around human Catherine O'Connell. She's got a close knit intimacy with her sisters he envies. He could have any fae girl he wanted, but none of them hold the appeal of Catherine. Why? She isn't going to defer to him just because he's a prince. He wants to be noticed and appreciated for who he is, not what he is. She's not so absorbed into fae politics that she'll betray him for an advantage. She's also stronger, a person who could be a true equal with him – that is until he discovers she's a Seer, which puts her on a whole different social level than him.

In fact, it puts her in the caste above him. Really the moment he finds out he should have just walked away, but he didn't. Rook is a guy trying to do the right thing. But when it comes between choosing what he should do for king and country (and literally his own family) vs. what he should do because he falls for Cate, it's a choice of sucky and suckier. Either way is going to hurt.

But that's what makes us love characters. When we see them struggle and survive, even thrive as they make it through and grow into someone better than they were at the beginning of a story. Characters are the heart of every story. We might not remember the book title, or even the author, but when someone says Scarlett, or Luke Skywalker you know precisely what they are talking about and it all comes back in a rush.

That's what strong characters can do and why getting into what makes a character tick is the heart of writing a great story, no matter how long or short it is.

So now I've got to know, who are some of your favorite characters of all time (book, movie or television?) a commenter will get a copy of SHADOWLANDER e-book

Comments

I have several. I love the Sherbrooke Bride family from Catherine Coulter's series.
(MaryAnne Banks 10:35am November 11, 2011)

I enjoy reading all the Miss Julia novels by Ann B Ross
(Sheila True 11:24am November 11, 2011)

Scarlett is a favorite of mine, but I also like Hannah Brown (Judy Garland's character in Easter Parade. I haven't met any heroine from Sherrilyn Kenyon's novels taht I don't love.
(Tamara Hunter 12:26pm November 11, 2011)

That's a tough one I have so many but recently the one who has really stood out is Alexander Barrington and Tatiana Metanova from The Bronze Horseman series. Another is Mac and Barrons from the Fever series. All these characters resonte with me and I really care about their story.
(Na S 12:49pm November 11, 2011)

So many great characters out there and I am sure there are some that I have not even met yet in books... some favs are Eve Dallas from JD Robb's IN DEATH series & Scarlett from GWTW...
(Colleen Conklin 12:58pm November 11, 2011)

Acheron, most of the BDB, Seeley Booth, I could go on and on. Now I'll be thinking about that all day!
LOL
(Patti Paonessa 2:07pm November 11, 2011)

So many characters... but the first one that comes to my mind is Westley from The Princess Bride. :)
(May Pau 2:47pm November 11, 2011)

I love Jamie Fraser from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I also adore all of the characters in the Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody mysteries. They are so well written, they seem like real people to me.
(Jennifer Langford 3:58pm November 11, 2011)

How I wish that the prize wasn't an e-book. I don't own an e-reader!! Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the character Mary Toliver who is in the book Roses, by Leila Meacham. She is a cotton tycoon, and the love story that is told spans nearly 100 years. It is told with such passion, and the ride that you will go along with Mary, who is such a head-strong lady, will make you laugh, cry, and not be able to put the book down, even though it is over 500 pages long!! It's a very well-written book. I want to read your book very badly, and think the cover is outstanding!! The story you told in the beginning about someone in a funeral procession being forced to kiss a 12 year old girl reminded me of my childhood. I remember a relative picking up one of my cousins, who were small, and lifting them up over the body of one of my Uncles to give him a kiss. I was stunned, even at that young age!! Anyway, I wish that the book was a print one, and not an e-book.
(Peggy Roberson 5:14pm November 11, 2011)

J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas and Roarke, Lee Child's Jack Reacher
and Kay Hooper's Bishop series, to name a few.
(Mary C 11:26pm November 11, 2011)

I often get completely into a story so that when I have to stop for some reason or other, I feel somewhat alienated from my real surroundings for a while. Oddly enough, some of the characters I remember best are in books I read 50 or more years ago. The name that immediately popped into my head when I read your question was Tibby Mawes, though I thought of her as Tibby Day, her married name. She appears in the first book one of my favorite series, Elswyth Thane's Williamburg Series that starts in 1774. I still love those seven books.
(Sigrun Schulz 12:37pm November 12, 2011)

My favourite characters of all time always seem to be the ones in whatever I'm currently reading. So, since I'm reading a Stephanie Laurens right now, those Cynster characters are my favs.

And Peggy, Kindle, Nook, and Kobo all have FREE apps for your home computer, so you can read e-books there. Also, there's a chance the e-book would come as a pdf format, which is completely readable on a computer.

Later,

Lynn
(Lynn Rettig 2:36am November 12, 2011)

Acheron, Zerek, Zsadist and oddly enough Artemis =D

Emily T
[email protected]
(Emily Tardy 3:30am November 12, 2011)

Acheron, Hypatia Cade, Anna Latham, Honor Harrington and
Miles Vorkosigan are the ones that immediately spring to
mind for me.

Ilona
felinewyvern at googlemail dot com
(Ilona Fenton 4:11am November 12, 2011)

I read Wuthering Heights when I was about 16 and I still have a crush on Heathcliff.
(Heidi Durham 4:41am November 12, 2011)

Characters, all time, Scarlett-Buffy the Vampire Slayer-right now movie
wise I am in love with Anonymous, I do love Lord of the Rings The
Fellowship series. I think I love too much, I am very ecletic.
(Carla Carlson 10:38am November 12, 2011)

Cat & Bones, Dallas and Roarke, Anita Blake, Acheron, all of the Sisters from Fern
Michael's revenge series--there are so many more , and many more to come. I
read all the time--don't you?
(Sandra Spilecki 12:08pm November 12, 2011)

Jamie Fraser, Sam Starrett and the TS men, BDB, Acheron are just a few of the characters that stand out to me.
(Maude Allen 1:17pm November 13, 2011)

Leslie Carron in Gigi has always been a favorite of mine with her perkiness and French accent.
(Alyson Widen 4:52pm November 13, 2011)

i am looking forward to read your books it will be my first or yours they sound great
(Brenda Hook 6:27pm November 13, 2011)

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