Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Book Country advises:
We don’t have to like what they do: we have to understand why they do
it
Never let coincidence help a good character
Elise Broach adds:
They should be in love or in trouble (or both) on the first page
Avoid whiny, passive or cruel
Shoot for: spunk, persistence, courage, kindness, ingenuity, loyalty,
humour
But be careful with spunk/sass – now getting overused
Neil Landau and Matt Frederick suggest these devices for getting to know your
character:
Create memorable entrances – what would you notice about them
meeting them the first time? Their charm, or clumsiness? Their laugh, or their
uneasy silence?
Use props – what your character carries with him everywhere, or keeps in
an honored place in his bedroom, can tell you a lot about him
–
QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTS: What protagonists do you connect with
most? What makes you like them?