I’ve been told I torture my characters, especially the heroine. Since I’d never given it much thought, I spent a few days mulling it over. I had to admit I inflict burden after burden on my leading lady, both in physical and emotional ways.
I’m pragmatic. I think I was born that way. Like most people, I’ve experienced pain and survived to talk about it. There’ve been times in my life I kept going only because I had no choice. I believe hardships build strong character and instill empathy in a person, something that might otherwise be lacking. Overcoming life’s storms gives people strength, courage and hope, all of the qualities a fictional character needs to grow and change during the story.
Thanks to my father, I learned about self-reliance. He taught me early on that no one, except me, was responsible for my happiness. True love is born of self-reliance. Bingo! The birth of my tough, independent heroines.
I’m a firm believer that, as a rule, love requires bumps and dings to grow strong enough to survive. Some sweethearts may walk a paved road and find happiness from the beginning, but the majority of lovers stumble down a rocky trail to reach their goal. Perhaps I make the route a bit rougher than need be, but I listen to my muse. The more dimensions I can weave into a character, the better.
One of those character facets is a softer side. Who likes a charcoaled black marshmallow? But how about a lightly browned crust with a warm, gooey center? The redeeming quality of a tough character is the warmth and compassion curled inside, waiting for the right person to set it free.
How about anger? Does your character keep his/her anger hidden? Does he/she have thirty years of ire ready to explode? Sounds like a villain to me.
If I come across a wimpy heroine in a book who does nothing but whine, cry and cower in her bed, she’d best become a woman with a backbone. If I sense it’s not going to happen, I stop reading.
Characters must develop and evolve into better human beings by the end of the story. Perhaps readers don’t realize this growth is the reason they like and remember characters, but the author does.
Great post, Pam. I like coming up with different ways to torture my characters too. It builds…character ; ) If everything goes swimmingly, where’s the conflict necessary for a good story? Where’s the growth?
I’ve read several writing craft books that say to make things difficult for the characters then make it worse, and even worse. As long as it fits the context of the story, I’m all for it.
And whiny heroines? Wall-banger books for me. They don’t have to be kick-ass from page one, and a little self pity is okay, but girl, you’d better get up and DO something about the situation! : )