Let’s Talk Bookish – Character Love

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and is hosted by Aria @BookNookBits. Each Friday, there is a discussion topic for bloggers to write about, this week we will be discussing…

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WHAT MAKES YOU LIKE A CHARACTER? 

SUGGESTED BY RACHEL @ A BOOKWORM’S PARADISE

Prompts: Are there any physical qualities you look for in a character? What personalities tend to draw you to characters? Are there any archetypes you prefer, are you always falling for the villain? What makes you like characters?

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Are there any physical qualities you look for in a character? I think we’ve all seen either the memes or discussions talking about how clearly we picture a character. Most people seem to “see” everything except a clearly detailed face, though some readers have the equivalent of a movie playing in their heads. I, however, have the vaguest, blurriest, briefest, flashes of tiny details. So I might picture the characters hair, or could imagine (in a way that seems to be somewhere between a Van Gough and a Picasso painting) eyes, or clothing, or an item. I am able to produce some sort of mental image, so do not have aphantasia, but these images are so weak and vague that I don’t feel all that far off either!

So to cut a long story short (ha!) I tend to have one “male” image and one “female” image and it doesn’t matter how the author describes them, I always see a heroine with dark hair and a hero with dirty blonde hair.

What personalities tend to draw you to characters? Are there any archetypes you prefer, are you always falling for the villain? So for me personality is everything. I love my heroines to be determined, get-on-and-do-it types. Within this they can be kick-ass or bumbling along narrowly avoiding catastrophe, but I don’t care for high maintenance heroines. I do love me a good anti-hero, one who becomes a Nobel Demon for his heroine. However I also enjoy the stoic, moral alpha male, the one who might not always be perfect but who owns his mistakes. Generally I’m fine so long as the character isn’t a doormat or so inconsistent they cause whiplash.

What makes you like characters? This is a really tough one, I don’t know that I can list specifics but I do know that I have to believe in their decisions. I have to feel I would (possibly) have made the same choices and had similar reactions to a situation. Good writing and a well paced plot helps, as does humour and a good rapport between protagonists. Banter and snarky comments never hurt either.


So, what do you look for in a character?

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