Paranormal Characters

This Saturday, I'll be presenting my workshop, "Keeping the 'Normal' in Your Paranormal Characters" at the Southern Magic RWA Chapter meeting in Birmingham, Alabama.  In this workshop, I outline ways that writers can help readers connect with paranormal characters. Generally, paranormal characters are larger than life. They've got super strength, they're psychic, they're immortal, they drink blood…(I think you get where I'm going with this!)

But in order for readers to strongly identify with these characters, they still need normal traits.  They need personality quirks, they need flaws, weaknesses. They need to be human–even when they're not.  There should be something about this character that a reader can connect to in some way.

One of my favorite examples of this "normal" behavior is from a True Blood scene (of course, I am a huge fan!).  Eric has been torturing folks in the basement of his bar, and he comes down to question Lafayette.  And, Eric–big, strong, super tough vampire–is getting his hair colored so he has what looks like aluminum foil on his head during this intense scene. When questioning goes awry (as it does), blood gets everywhere, including on Eric's new-do.  He's forced to adjust his new style and we even get to see him out shopping–a totally normal activity for such an intense paranormal character.

Do you have a favorite paranormal character that exhibits normal behavior?  Share! I'll try to include your examples in my workshop.