tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post462869461779570380..comments2023-12-09T00:33:24.572-08:00Comments on Novel Matters: The Care and Handling of CharactersBonnie Grovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-22959486736806881902010-08-12T07:40:43.049-07:002010-08-12T07:40:43.049-07:00Thanks for your observation, Megan. I recently put...Thanks for your observation, Megan. I recently put down a book for similar reasons. It also had a large ensemble cast and I needed one main character to step out from the rest and keep my attention. 'Devastating' also applied to that story, but it was warranted. Unfortunately, I only knew how it ended by skipping ahead (naughty, I know!).Debbie Fuller Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09174333267329587740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-36831180468124386372010-08-12T02:50:40.298-07:002010-08-12T02:50:40.298-07:00I'm currently reading "Suite Francaise&qu...I'm currently reading "Suite Francaise". It was written by Irene Nemirovsky during her time in Auschwitz as a prisoner of Nazi Germany, where she later perished with her entire family. The story follows a disparate collection of people as they escape Paris after the German occupation. <br /><br />"Devastating" is the only word I can use to describe this situation. It's simply horrendous, as is the terror that the writer herself faced in the death camp.<br /><br />Which is why it's really hard for me to admit that I really don't care about these characters! The combination of a large ensemble cast and picking it up at the end of the day and reading a chapter at a time is making it hard for me to keep remembering who's who, and why I cared in the first place. Ouch. I should care...but I don't.<br /><br />I read another book recently: "Self Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King (AWESOME - recommend it to every writer!), where they talk about narrative distance, and how the more intimate the narrative distance is the closer you'll feel to the characters. I think that's where I'm at right now with "Suite Francaise" - the narrative distance is too great for me to engage, or want to engage. I like "close" books. Maybe some day I'll come back to Suite Francaise and find the gold in it - but right now I'm moving on.Megan Sayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15410068162701570057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-59754262726859701112010-08-11T14:40:02.650-07:002010-08-11T14:40:02.650-07:00I don't like words like "devastating"...I don't like words like "devastating" in book blurbs. Always feels melodramatic to me. I might not think the events are so devastating.<br /><br />But I do love characters that make me care for them, to root for them, to ache for them. I might even feel devastated when things don't go quite right. :-)PatriciaWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04572087157439187319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-39676004603022594662010-08-11T10:39:54.975-07:002010-08-11T10:39:54.975-07:00I hate characters. That's why all of my (unpub...I hate characters. That's why all of my (unpublished) novels feature only characterless animals like Ellie the Elephant and Tony the Toad.Kay Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191017747436436526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-34552162258076803462010-08-11T08:21:59.119-07:002010-08-11T08:21:59.119-07:00Wendy, Lori and Latayne - I'm with you. It...Wendy, Lori and Latayne - I'm with you. It's a powerful word and I think I'll look for one that's not so worn. <br />BK, Nicole & Heidi - Sometimes the internal quiet 'devastation' is the worst kind and best reveals the character of the protagonist. For me, that can be the most rewarding read. No one wants to spend time with a character they don't respect. Jane Eyre is a great example of that inner strength. <br />When authors write the back cover copy or the short description for a proposal, they tend to use powerful visuals meant to draw the reader in. I think that is the tricky part.Debbie Fuller Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09174333267329587740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-1820224162037965982010-08-11T08:04:13.690-07:002010-08-11T08:04:13.690-07:00I agree with BK, too. There has to be more than ju...I agree with BK, too. There has to be more than just devastation, because if I don't like the character, I'm not going to care how he/she handles the devastation and how well they fare. (Wow, sounds harsh.) And not all devastation needs to be melodramatic and overwhelming; I think that the definition of devastation can be different for each character.<br /><br />But when a writer can make my heart ache for a particular character, then they've done their job well. Like Charlotte Bronte with Jane Eyre.Heidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01901886302578503906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-69647253865248932552010-08-11T07:03:05.459-07:002010-08-11T07:03:05.459-07:00(I so agree with BK. Totally.)(I so agree with BK. Totally.)Nicolehttp://hopeofglory.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-38996728762810163622010-08-11T07:01:41.961-07:002010-08-11T07:01:41.961-07:00Always the exception to the rule--or just plain st...Always the exception to the rule--or just plain stubborn . . .<br /><br />"Devastation" is real for a lot of characters, even characters who are incredibly strong (i.e. Mitch Rapp in Consent to Kill), but for many people, devastation is an exaggeration.<br /><br />I think it takes perhaps more imagination to write without "devastation". To take charcters through "normal" disappointments and sorrows and bring the reader into complete identifications with them and create empathy. But it depends a lot on the genre. In thrillers we expect havoc and devastation. Maybe also in historicals (don't normally read them). <br /><br />I'm just saying . . .<br /><br />Sadness, trouble, some turmoil, but the sense of a character(s) who can or will overcome:<br /><br />The Passion of Mary-Margaret<br />June Bug<br />In High PlacesNicolehttp://hopeofglory.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-25368390783157264122010-08-11T06:57:32.765-07:002010-08-11T06:57:32.765-07:00Empathy for a character--sometimes this misfires i...Empathy for a character--sometimes this misfires in books. I don't need the devastation to be life and death--there are many ways a person can be potentially devastated, but lacking redeeming qualities is the #1 character turnoff for me. <br /><br />I will sometimes see books that want to paint a particular character as sympathetic b/c they had a "devastating" childhood for whatever reason--but if the character has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, I could care less about them. <br /><br />There needs to be a lot more going on with "poor so and so" other than fate and circumstances to make them a likeable character.BKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14347297074791079439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-76229888349246352502010-08-11T05:52:10.231-07:002010-08-11T05:52:10.231-07:00Yup, guilty as charged. I wrote in my synopsis tha...Yup, guilty as charged. I wrote in my synopsis that the church in Rome was devastated by x, y, and z.<br /><br />But they really were. . . and that's your point. Unless the reader feels that important things are truly at risk, he or she won't engage emotionally. <br /><br />Thanks for a great post, Debbie.Latayne C Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-91559097451341637812010-08-11T05:30:51.202-07:002010-08-11T05:30:51.202-07:00Double ha! I've used "devastating" i...Double ha! I've used "devastating" in a pitch, too. It was to describe a war, which I think deserves the word. A word I tend to overuse is "struggle." <br /><br />word verification: losemLori Bentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04714197239425827339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-25472593192310149882010-08-11T05:20:06.617-07:002010-08-11T05:20:06.617-07:00Ha! I have that word in one of my pitch sentences....Ha! I have that word in one of my pitch sentences. Will rethink.<br /><br />I love to feel empathy for a character. I know a work is written well when I feel it for characters of any age or gender. <br />~ WendyWendy Paine Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136235074351188350noreply@blogger.com