Men free from their bindings
Happy Father’s Day to my dad fans and to my lady readers, treat your man today to something he loves (like you).
Many writers go way overboard when it comes to writing a male character. They’ll take too seriously the architypes and then produce a comic book character. They’ll stick too closely to the Journey [a good source: Writer’s Journey by Vogler] as the hero meets mentors, antagonists, tricksters and reacts in a way the plot seems to demand. If he acts oddly, this might give your story a twist that would delight the reader.
Making your hero real, is not simply giving him flaws but making him an individual. Every individual is unique and so should your very memorable character be.
If you write a guy and fill in his personality partially based on back-story, you’ll be doing yourself a favor. If he’s a Navy Seal and likes to crochet, so be it. Or if he prefers Poodles to German Shepherds, well you have a lot to write about when you explain why. These are not flaws; they're more like charms, which will make your character almost magical and may put a smile on a reader’s face.
Now let's retool that father mentioned at the beginning who I suggested wanted your love as a gift today:
How to Murder Your Wife with Jack Lemmon, 1965 (the button scene)
I want you to know, I, in no way endorse or resemble Jack Lemmon's character. Those thoughts and actions have never entered my mind. His fictional character is just that fictional. Nonetheless, I feel the need to mollify my RWA girlfriends with Overboard 1987 starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hahn, by showing the buh, buh, buh, buh scene.
Many writers go way overboard when it comes to writing a male character. They’ll take too seriously the architypes and then produce a comic book character. They’ll stick too closely to the Journey [a good source: Writer’s Journey by Vogler] as the hero meets mentors, antagonists, tricksters and reacts in a way the plot seems to demand. If he acts oddly, this might give your story a twist that would delight the reader.
Making your hero real, is not simply giving him flaws but making him an individual. Every individual is unique and so should your very memorable character be.
If you write a guy and fill in his personality partially based on back-story, you’ll be doing yourself a favor. If he’s a Navy Seal and likes to crochet, so be it. Or if he prefers Poodles to German Shepherds, well you have a lot to write about when you explain why. These are not flaws; they're more like charms, which will make your character almost magical and may put a smile on a reader’s face.
Now let's retool that father mentioned at the beginning who I suggested wanted your love as a gift today:
How to Murder Your Wife with Jack Lemmon, 1965 (the button scene)
I want you to know, I, in no way endorse or resemble Jack Lemmon's character. Those thoughts and actions have never entered my mind. His fictional character is just that fictional. Nonetheless, I feel the need to mollify my RWA girlfriends with Overboard 1987 starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hahn, by showing the buh, buh, buh, buh scene.
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