What kind of characters do you like?

[KanoasDestiny]

Do you like characters in a story that are "perfect", or are you drawn to the flawed ones? For me, I think it depends on the book, but I usually like characters who have their act together rather than the ones who are struggling internally as well as externally.

 

[Remali]

I tend to like the more "flawed" characters, and those with a sense of humor too. But, ya, it does depend on the book.

 

[susanne]

.

If they are well-developed and believable, they will each have light and dark. I don't like nicey-nice, as that is never true, even for Mother Theresa.

Of course, I'm not particularly fond of any writer who views the world through rose-colored glasses. Life has peaks and valleys, night and day, and so must good literature.

 

[lucky seven]

I like characters that are believable. Someone that I would enjoy meeting if they were real. I don't like books that are too "wordy",and the plot is important. I always liked Parkers Spencer novels but not the Jesse Stone. When I read Spencer i think of the actor who played him on tv. Tom Selleck doesn't do anything for me as Stone, his character is way too dry for my tastes.

 

[KanoasDestiny]

Very good point, Lucky. A character has to be someone you connect to. I never thought of it as being someone you'd like to know in real life. I always end up comparing what they do to what I would do in that situation.

 

[Jill]

I like almost any kind of character if the author "fills them in" enough so you feel like you uderstand what makes them tick

I don't like a book if I cannot relate to the characters... because I can't care about them before I feel I understand them. They can be very different from me, but I have to be shown what makes them who they are.

 

[susanne]

They can be very different from me, but I have to be shown what makes them who they are.

Exactly. I can thoroughly enjoy a character who I would not like in real life, as long as they are completely fleshed out and believable. When I don't like a character, it is usually because they do not ring true due to the writer's failure to fully build the character.