On my ride to work today, I saw a camel. No, not the camel from the Geico commercial. This camel was walking along the road with a rather intent stride, unlike the lackadaisical camels you normally witness. He was heading towards the same coffee shop that I was about to stop at. He made it there first because I was stuck at the traffic light.While sitting at the traffic light, I saw an alligator cross the intersection. It was a troubling image that all the others at the intersection seemed unconcerned by. As the light turned green the alligator disappeared and I pulled into the coffee shop, but there was no sign of the camel.
I know. I know. Put your glasses on, woman!
Fortunately it's a very short drive to work.
In the recent series I wrote, the hero has a visual impairment. He sees things more outlandish than camels going to the coffee shop. His flaw has no impact on the heroine, however. She was in love with him from book one. How often do you give your characters flaws? As readers, do you want the hero and heroine to be perfect, or will you accept them with physical burdens?
Maureen A. Miller
www.MaureenAMiller.com
9 comments:
The characters have to have flaws to be human (even if they're not human they have to have flaws) so that the reader and writer can identify and empathize. *Put on your glasses, I'm sure you can see alligators and camels with them on.* We don't want to lose you.
Maureen, if I didn't have my glasses on to drive, all I'd see is the inside of the emergency room.
Who wants a perfect hero or heroine? I need characters who feel human, otherwise I won't care about them.
I do wear my glasses or contacts 90% of the time, I promise! It's that 10% of the time that the camels come out.
I like character imperfections, but I might draw the line at having a hero who has seven toes on one foot. :)
Hahaha. Now put your glasses on, woman! :)
Characters definitely need flaws. It makes them more human and more believable. I lose patience when the hero is super handsome, super sexy, super rich and super everything else. I need a real character that I can care about.
Flaws...gotta have 'em. ;) I think the stories I like most have characters who are the underdogs, or the forgotten because of what society perceives as their flaws...and then the flaws turn out to be their greatest strengths. Those are the most powerful stories, for me.
My characters have internal flaws and misguided beliefs. A book for some where down the road has both characters with physical scars along with the internal ones. We shall see (but not camels and gators.)
Maureen, You did make me laugh. And I've just devoured all three books in the Fifty Shades series. Christian's flaw are what makes him so compelling. Who wouldn't want to sort him out? Course, the money helps! Yep, I'm into flawed heroes in a big way now.
Oh your heroes have to have flaws. Otherwise they're not worth keeping. Think husband. Uh-oh, I didn't say that.
LOL You had me at camel. I think flaws make a character interesting. The idea that a person isn't perfect makes them more approachable. No one likes someone who is perfect all the time.
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