A Hero Who Designs Barbie Dresses Is Still Out of the Question

I'm at the point in my manuscript where I know my characters as first-draft acquaintances. Sure, we've shared some flashbacks, seen each other in action under pressure-they from internal and external forces, me from the cruel whip of self-imposed deadlines. But, now, as I'm fully entering what Robert Ray calls the Meditative Draft, our relationship takes on a whole new level of intimacy.

We want our characters to be relateable but we know "normal" or "average" can be the death knell of boring in fiction. For me, it works to focus on their universality. What are the notes of that character that will resonate with every man, every woman, every person in every walk of life? Characters who have lived universal truths of love and loss, beginnings and endings, injustice and vulnerability, are at the heart of the reader's attachment to a story. Beyond that, I give them space to take flight into the quirky, abnormal, extreme or larger-than-life arena that makes them memorable.

Not so long ago it was unheard of in the romance genre to have a nerdy or blind hero, or an overweight or physically-challenged romance heroine, but authors like Vicki Lewis Thompson and Jude Devereaux and LaVyrle Spencer found success in the universality of those characters.

I have a book I use at this stage of writing: Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon. Mark has been my go-to writing guide BFF since I picked up his Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s. He adds some amazing tools to the writer's toolbox with his reference books. His Building Believable Characters book contains a character thesaurus of not only superficial lets-get-to-know-our-characters physical attributes but goes deeper into personality traits, bad habits/vices, diseases and psychological afflictions, hobbies, patterns of speech and even gestures and facial expressions when the creative well is running dry. It's a great source of ideas to help your character "take flight."

What's the most bizarre character trait or quirk you've ever read in a novel?

Party Time

Drinks are on the house for our first ever Character Party, lasting all weekend long. If yours wants to mingle, email me your character's name, photo you use for inspiration and a line of dialogue overheard at the party (la-mitchell@la-mitchell.com). A click on the (...) will take you to the character's creator.


"This 'rusty nail' concoction is proving stronger than Dr. Morton's Ether Dome at Massachusetts General." ~Michael Koristiaan (...)











"Ah might could have another one of those crab cake Hors d'oeuvres. Now, you want my opinion? Invest your stimulus package deal into waste management. Garbage is always a growth industry." ~Curtis Waggstaff (...)







"Gimme a fast car, a woman who isn't a witch from hell and a good burger--not necessarily in that order." ~Dean Winchester (...)











"My current project is like Blair Witch meets the original Friday the 13th, except not so funny. And with zombies. I'm opposed to all traditional distribution. We'll be leaving bits of the 16 millimeter out-takes in bus stations to create a grassroots following. Where's the restroom?" ~Roz Denks (...)






"Even teaching can be outsourced. Kids get tutored online via Bangalore. Summer classes, college prep: all online. I have to bring
added value to the classroom to stay relevant. By the way, this Pinot Noir is excellent." ~Esteban Quiroga (...)




"A man could lose himself out west. Disappear, if he wanted." ~Chester A. Farr (...)












"You got a beer?" ~Chaz Trahan (...)

Your Villian is Invited, Too

We're going to try an experiment here next Friday, a mixer of sorts for the characters populating our current novels. Scan photos or send me links (la-mitchell@la-mitchell.com) to those people who inspire you as you're writing a scene. If you're a reader, send who your mind's eye pictured for a character. Include the name of the character and one line of dialogue they're most likely to be overheard speaking at a party. Let's see what kind of crowd we can gather.

Through a Mirror, Dimly

Yes, I used *gasp* an adverb. Sloppy, maybe, but this is the exact phrase I heard this morning. Although in a completely different context, it captured my attention. Of course, the writer in me instantly starts playing with the word choice and connotations: through a mirror, darkly; in a mirror, darkly; "can someone look through a mirror?" and "*warning-cliche ahead*"

The point, however, is that some of what we see in our reflection is not always what others see--it is a dimly lit place of truth, clouded by messy human emotions. A reversal of the power we normally attribute to mirrors. Usually, we are to see in them the honesty we share with no one else, but is it possible for this image to distort in undetected increments the way time alters loved ones we see everyday?

The abused sees shades of unworthiness. The executive finds entitlement in the sharp lines of his brow. The beautiful see only the flaws. Is it possible this is the one thing that creates character depth above all things?

One thread common to all my stories is the longing to return to self. In almost all, the main character has slipped away on a tide of life and circumstance so far from what they believed they would become or what they're capable of, they barely recognize their own image. What greater sadness in a character's backstory could there be than that of a stranger they've become? And, the fact that we're all guilty of shades of untruths about ourselves to some extent, makes the story experience real. Candid. Raw.

Hold your protagonist to a mirror this week as you craft his story. What do you see? How is that different than what your character sees?

Character Names As Symbols

I came across a perfect example yesterday of an author who used a character's name as symbolism. In Peter Abraham's A Perfect Crime, he named one of the lead characters, a man who discovers his wife in the throes of adultery, Roger. This character, screwed over in the literal and figurative sense of the word, makes for wonderful symbolic characterization the reader can sink into when they're grasping for a foothold in a new story. Even "Jolly Roger," the sarcastic nickname by which another character refers to him on page five, begins to carve out the nature of his character.

In Chasing Midnight, it's no accident that my cast of characters battles the death of the heroine, Emma Parrish, throughout the entire novel. Spelling it "Perish" would not only have been rare and less believable, but would have been too obvious--the equivalent of a symbolic gong instead of a subtle whisper of character.

In Chasing Destiny, the sequel to Chasing Midnight, the hero's name is Cole Renton. Cole is a man trying to escape the shadow of his father, the leader of a rogue, black organization intent on operating outside the lines in the interest of national security. A play on the dark connotation of "coal" not only conveys the hero's own past, but establishes his frame of mind in the novel's opening scenes.

When corralling your cast of characters and browsing your baby and heritage naming books, consider using a name that's not only a label, but also suggests something about the character. What about a salt-of-the-earth hero named Clay? A prostitute named Mona? You get the idea.

Can you think of any examples of character names as symbols?