Painting a Memorable Portrait
I love the people I love because of who they are. I don’t love them because of their looks or their clothes or the car they drive. I don’t love them because of any of the outward trappings I can see; I cherish them because of their inner essence, the real person that shines from their eyes, the words that come from their mouths, their actions, their thoughts and ideals and their heart. These all go together to make up, not personality, but character.
I enjoy history and the outstanding people who have shaped our history. I may remember the way those people looked; if their voices were recorded, I remember the voice, but I admire and respect them for who they were and what they stood for. I appreciate their courage in the face of overwhelming odds, their wisdom in shaping documents, their love of freedom and how much they valued it. It’s their character that shines down through the halls of time, a guiding light of hope to those of us living now.
The same is true of the characters in books. Yes, the plot was the framework through which the people moved and the setting was where it all took place, but it was the characters that made the book outstanding, a cut above the average. Long after I’ve closed a book, I remember the people who lived there.
My friend Peg said something the other day that is so true. She picked up a book and started to read and then realized she didn’t care for it at all. Why? It was the characters. She said she just didn’t care about them. They didn’t seem real or likable and their dialogue fell flat. She wouldn’t recommend that book to anyone.
And, that’s the core of a good story–the characters, the people inside those intriguing book covers. Anyone who reads a Darcy and Flora cozy may remember what happened to Darcy’s first car in The Cemetery Club, and they may know she now drives a different one but that’s not why they pick up Grave Shift, or Best Left Buried, or Grave Heritage. They read the series because they like Darcy and her mother Flora and can identify with their feelings.
Although Ned McNeil inherited a beautiful Victorian house in Moonlight Can Be Murder, that’s not why readers remember her. They remember her courage and identify with her loneliness and root for her relationship with Cade Morris. Hopefully, they’ll want to know more about her and continue to read with By the Fright of the Silvery Moon.
Artists use colors and brush strokes to paint an unforgettable portrait but writers use words. We can’t tell you how admirable and fine a character is but we can show you by portraying the fictional person’s thoughts and actions and words. We only hope we do it well enough that you remember and like them and want to read more about them. That is successful characterization.
Answer to today’s Mini-Mystery: Ned defends a homeless animal against a cruel man who could easily have harmed her in By the Fright of the Silvery Moon.
Countdown to Release of By the Fright of the Silvery Moon: 5 more days!
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