Stopping by character on a snowy evening

I love romance. I rewrite the endings of movies in my head so that everyone gets their HEA. And yet, without winning characters, believable plots and clear prose, even I can get squeamish.

I’ll forgive a lot for a good character. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. But you know, if the plot gets squirrelly who do I blame? First the author, of course, but after that I start thinking less of the character for showing up in this stupid plot. As for clear prose, how do I find out about this great character if I can’t understand the sentences, or if I’m constantly getting tripped up by jingly, jangly, dangly adjectives or metaphors that leap across the page like herds of delicate does prancing across a snowy field? Now you know why no one gets to read my first drafts.

A good character comes to life with simple words and propels himself/herself forward through a series of logically connected events. Which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. I just spent two days trying to decide if the guys in my WIP were the type to say no to sex (um, no) and whether there were any extenuating events that could logically keep them from doing the deed (are you kidding?). So now all I have to do is pry them apart and figure out what’s going to keep them out of bed long enough for me to finish the book. I’m thinking snow, maybe an avalanche – that’s a logical plot point, isn’t it? In the very flat Midwest?

Hmm. Maybe one of them will have to behave badly. After all, a good character doesn’t always do the right thing, or even do the wrong thing well, but if he’s going to mess up, it had better be in a way we can believe – and maybe come to love.

What do you think? What makes a character work or not work for you?