Thursday, October 18, 2012

Character Flaws

So AR is coming along, decently. I'm about 35k in and probably somewhere close to half-way finished. I've found my pace has slowed considerably. Mainly due to my characters: their inner quirks--and their major flaws.

FLAWS.

Take my MC Finn, his ridiculous vulgar inner dialogue combined with his rash outer demeanor, conflicts with his protective/soft tendencies. He's a see-do-(hold the think) type character <--- Sure this makes him interesting, but it also makes him stupid.
So stupid.
I'm banging my head against a wall right now writing a scene for him.
It's not that I don't love him, I do. Too much so. I don't want to see him fail, but sometimes he does. He has to make those mistakes because it's in his character to do so, but also because it furthers my plot.
(On a side note: keeping up his rude/witty commentary is hard-- after the 'Big Event' this becomes less of an issue, Yay)

Then there is MC Rohan, who started off personality-less. I wrote Finn with such strong personality that she fell by the wayside the first go around. Finn is blunt and states right off the bat who he is, what he wants, and what he's about. Rohan is secretive and sly, and mistrusting, but the further I get into the story--the more I discover about her. Her paranoia has been something I've started sprinkling in here and there. Paranoia is fun.
The one thing that I worry about constantly is whether I'm portraying a strong female character. Physically she is not strong, but mentally-- she is the strongest of them all. That is the point I want to get across, due to the subject matter of AR. Mental strength is of extreme importance.
This is especially evident, after the 'Big Event'. Wherein Rohan transforms--Finn not so much.

Both of my POV characters are flawed, both of them make bad decisions, and both pay consequences. But will both learn from their mistakes? That is something I haven't allowed myself to think about yet. As of this moment I'm putting my characters through hell without any hope of coming out unscathed.

Cue Good song.


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