My favourite character types include:-
- The reluctant hero who turns out well in the end. This covers everyone from Frodo Baggins to Scooby Doo (!) but what I love here is how the character comes to terms with the fact they have to be heroic, complete the quest, unmask the bad guy and so on and get on and do so. (Even if in Scooby's case it does take a load of Scooby snacks!).
- The misunderstood character who isn't the evil so-and-so everyone thought. My favourite of this type here has to be Severus Snape. I was rooting all through the Harry Potter novels as each came out that Severus would not turn out to be "just" a villain. I would have felt that was something of a let down. Why? Because it was clear early on that he was a complicated character and capable of much more than "just" villainy. (Only shame was his fate - I would've loved to have read more stories on how Snape and Potter come to terms with what happened after the last novel. There would have had to be have been changes in their relationship for a start).
- The heroine who is absolutely as good as the heroes and in many cases better. Take a bow, Hermione Granger and, back to the Scooby Doo theme, Velma. (I always did feel sorry for her. I knew then intelligent girls in glasses were not rated as highly as they should be. The fact I'm female, reasonably intelligent and wear glasses has everything to do with this!). I never did like the "heroines" whose only role was to look pretty, scream and wait for the hero to rescue them. For me Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds and Sarah Jane Smith from Classic Doctor Who were the heroines I looked up to when growing up. They weren't afraid to use their brains. As a result they were far more interesting characters.
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