There are certain traits I like my characters to have and these include:-
- Some sense of humour. How much varies on the character, of course, and there is a place in fiction for those who are humourless (but these will never be my favourite types).
- Courage. This can again vary. Eileen's courage in tackling monsters is obvious. Her courage in tolerating Jenny's rejection of her after Eileen is forced to reveal what she is not bravery to the same extent, naturally, but it is courage all the same. Dignity is phenomenally important here too.
- Honesty. I love Eileen's bluntness. Besides honest characters can and do cause chaos in their wake so all good news for the story writer, yes?
- Good, sound reasons for their actions. This helps drive the plot, makes the story believable, makes their actions equally believable. Weak reasons can't be sustained (especially in a novel) and only strong reasons can give a character sufficient motivation to carry on despite dangers, differences of opinions with other characters and so on.
RSS Feed
