Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "character-flaws"
Create Characters
A novel needs characters, plot and setting. They must compliment each other, so creating any one without the others may mean making adjustments later. Knowing the characters will be part of a melodrama will help. A melodrama has three main characters: a hero, a heroine and a villain.
An old time hero was a superman. He was brave, handsome and invincible. He was often laconic and rode away into the sunset at the end. Remember the Lone Ranger?
People, real people, may fantasize about being this way, but know they are not. They have flaws. In tragedies, the flaw may destroy the hero. In melodramas, the flaw makes the hero more real. Check out the Gary Cooper version of High Noon.
My writers' group is creating this melodrama as writing practice. What kind of hero will they create? What kind would I create?
Let's think. First, a name, I will start with a name. Franz.
This name has connotations for me of a man dark, lean, a bit foreign, a gentleman, well-mannered, quiet, maybe a bit introverted, reserved. As an introvert, he will bury rather than expose his thoughts and feelings which can create difficulties in the story.
As Franz will be my hero, he will be thoughtful, intelligent and persistent. However, his reserve may make him slow to take action, make him feel guilty when bad things happen that he might have prevented, if he had acted sooner. He may overthink a situation, trying to see all the possibilities. His persistence may be stubbornness delaying his changing tactics when the chosen one doesn't work.
I have my hero. What would your hero be like?
Next I will tackle a heroine and a villain.
An old time hero was a superman. He was brave, handsome and invincible. He was often laconic and rode away into the sunset at the end. Remember the Lone Ranger?
People, real people, may fantasize about being this way, but know they are not. They have flaws. In tragedies, the flaw may destroy the hero. In melodramas, the flaw makes the hero more real. Check out the Gary Cooper version of High Noon.
My writers' group is creating this melodrama as writing practice. What kind of hero will they create? What kind would I create?
Let's think. First, a name, I will start with a name. Franz.
This name has connotations for me of a man dark, lean, a bit foreign, a gentleman, well-mannered, quiet, maybe a bit introverted, reserved. As an introvert, he will bury rather than expose his thoughts and feelings which can create difficulties in the story.
As Franz will be my hero, he will be thoughtful, intelligent and persistent. However, his reserve may make him slow to take action, make him feel guilty when bad things happen that he might have prevented, if he had acted sooner. He may overthink a situation, trying to see all the possibilities. His persistence may be stubbornness delaying his changing tactics when the chosen one doesn't work.
I have my hero. What would your hero be like?
Next I will tackle a heroine and a villain.
