As a rule, I do not write characters that I do not enjoy.
However, I’ll admit that occasionally there’s a character role that’s neglected because I don’t want to write it, and in that case I take a couple steps back and think about what in a character I can like while simultaneously filling that role.
For example, Trope Tower. Trope Tower is the story I’m currently working on, and it’s a point in the story to parody as many aspects of story as I possibly can. This includes giving my main kick-ass female lead (one of my signatures) a roommate named Mary Sue. As you may guess, Mary Sue is a Mary Sue, which is perfect for the story’s comedy, but I just can’t stand Mary Sues.
Usually, I’d just cut the character anyway and put in someone else good for the comedy, but this is just too perfect considering the circumstances. Which basically means that I need to reassess my distaste for Mary and figure out what about her I like. Which, it turns out, there can be a lot of things. Mary is a sweet girl, she’s a little shy but overall likable. As a point of her character, she’s good looking yet overly-modest. These are all things that make me want to barf and at the same time I can find I enjoy. It’s almost like revisiting some old guilty pleasure of mine from early teenage years or something.
Anyway, once I start to write Mary, I’m going to have to work to find all the aspects of a Mary Sue that are appealing, and when I find and exploit what those things are (which they’re there- considering how many Mary Sues exist in literature) I’ll be able to develop a character that’s likable despite the reader’s predispositions. Besides, it’ll be funny, considering the whole thing is a blatant joke on the Mary Sue trope and how it affects the other story elements.
By this time, you probably know what my favorite kind of character to write is. Badasses. Male or female, if there’s a character that can hold its own in a fight, I like it.
However, I’ll admit that occasionally there’s a character role that’s neglected because I don’t want to write it, and in that case I take a couple steps back and think about what in a character I can like while simultaneously filling that role.
For example, Trope Tower. Trope Tower is the story I’m currently working on, and it’s a point in the story to parody as many aspects of story as I possibly can. This includes giving my main kick-ass female lead (one of my signatures) a roommate named Mary Sue. As you may guess, Mary Sue is a Mary Sue, which is perfect for the story’s comedy, but I just can’t stand Mary Sues.
Usually, I’d just cut the character anyway and put in someone else good for the comedy, but this is just too perfect considering the circumstances. Which basically means that I need to reassess my distaste for Mary and figure out what about her I like. Which, it turns out, there can be a lot of things. Mary is a sweet girl, she’s a little shy but overall likable. As a point of her character, she’s good looking yet overly-modest. These are all things that make me want to barf and at the same time I can find I enjoy. It’s almost like revisiting some old guilty pleasure of mine from early teenage years or something.
Anyway, once I start to write Mary, I’m going to have to work to find all the aspects of a Mary Sue that are appealing, and when I find and exploit what those things are (which they’re there- considering how many Mary Sues exist in literature) I’ll be able to develop a character that’s likable despite the reader’s predispositions. Besides, it’ll be funny, considering the whole thing is a blatant joke on the Mary Sue trope and how it affects the other story elements.
By this time, you probably know what my favorite kind of character to write is. Badasses. Male or female, if there’s a character that can hold its own in a fight, I like it.
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