Happy Sunday!
While soaking in the tub, today's blog topic made its way to the center of my brain. I was thinking about the characters in my WIP, and I realized how flat some of them are. I need to exaggerate their behavior, spice things up. I mean, even boring is interesting when it's taken to extremes, right?
Think about this...say a girl is at the supermarket, and she bumps into her high school flame. It's been years since she's seen him, but the sight of him still stings. Even though he moved on, (wife, kids) her love for him is as strong as it was back in the day. How would she react? She'd probably get red-faced then say, "Hi."
But...what if she grabbed his left hand and searched for a wedding band? Not finding one, she says, "How's married life?" Nervous, hopeful, but concealing all emotion, she waits for his answer.
He says, "Don't know. I'm divorced."
Her insides are squealing,but her face is relaxed. She thought she'd lost him forever, but now, he's back on the market, the one that got away. So, what does she do? She doesn't stand there, making idle chit-chat. No!
She grabs him by the shirt collar and smacks him on the mouth with a red lipstick-kiss. When she pulls away, she gazes into his wide eyes, and a sly smile spreads over her face. No longer the insecure girl she was back in high school, no longer the girl he dumped for a less awkward girl, she says, "I've waited a long time to do that. Call me." She slips him her card. "I'll let you know if I want more."
Wowee! That lady is interesting, and I think a lot of us, the ones who aren't as bold, secretly wish we could be. Maybe it's good that we aren't, lol, but there's nothing stopping us from making our characters brazen enough to be envied. Is there? Nope, we can do whatever we want with them!
The scene above has nothing to do with my WIP, but I think I'll make some of my characters as bold as the lady in the scene. And while I'm making them bolder, I believe I'll go over the top with the smelly and psycho ones too. I'm thinking we should exaggerate our character's flaws, behaviors, and moods. Let's spice things up! Let's give our readers something to talk about--characters that stick in their heads! 2013 is a year for boldness and fun, so lets get to our keyboards and shake things up!
What do you guys think? Good idea or bad idea? Please share your thoughts.
Until next time, happy writing! :)
Yeah, I think we like to read about characters who can say and do the things we can't in real life. I love to read a sassy comeback from a character, the type of thing I KNOW I' d never get away with...usually. :)
ReplyDeleteFor sure! Nobody wants to read about ordinary, average people, or I don't anyway! And I agree, snappy dialog from clever characters is always fun! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my this is one bold lady! But yeah making characters memorable is important and if you are writing fiction, why not spice it up a bit!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Yeah, I bet a lady like that leads an interesting life! Can't say I'd like to be that bold, but can you imagine the look on the guy's face, lol! :)
DeleteThat is one bold lady! I never wear lipstick to the grocery store! hehe
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that scene would work great in this story about this hot trainer who has to help a chubby chick get fit...just sayin'. ;)
Hee, hee, hee, you never wear lipstick to the grocery store. :P
DeleteAnd come to think of it, yes, that would work great in that story you're writing about chubby girl and her trainer! :P
You know, that's true, it can be more fun to follow someone's story who operates differently from the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely, Rena! The more eccentric or maniacal, the better! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)
DeleteGotta spice up those characters. My bad guys are a bunch of psychopaths who keep getting worse as the series goes on.
ReplyDeleteIt's bad, Stephen, but the bad guys are usually my favorite characters, lol! And for some reason, I find creating the bad guys is easier than the good guys. Maybe because with them, there's no holding back. The more rotten, the better. :)
Deleteoh, and thanks for signing up for the Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest!
ReplyDeleteNo, thank you! I think it will be a lot of fun, and it will be easy! :)
DeleteYesss! We have to make our characters more interesting than real people! People have short attention spans, so we must keep things interesting!! Just hopping around blogs today . . . glad I discovered yours:-)
ReplyDeleteHey, Jamie!
ReplyDeleteYou're sooo right about the short attention span! Readers don't have patience for the mundane. Glad you stopped by! Please come back! :)
Oh, and I can't wait to read 18 things! Your cover is beautiful! :)
ReplyDelete