Sara, from Taos, NM asks, “When you write a book, do you have a favorite character?”
My own way of writing a book is by endless (or so it feels) rewrites. When I begin one of my books I really don’t have a sense of the characters. It’s in the process that characters become more and more defined in my mind. They emerge. In that sense too, I come to know them and like them. The more you know your characters—ALL of them—and can put that knowing into a text, the better the book will be. It is important, I think, to like even the unlikable characters—your scoundrels, if you will—because that will add much to your books. Gives them real depth. That said, there are characters I come to care about a great deal. I can think of many. Here’s one example.
When I wrote The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, I thought I had finished my work, when my editor (Richard Jackson) called. “We left out a scene,” he announced.
“Did we?”
“When Charlotte leaves the Seahawk, she doesn’t know she will be coming back. She needs to say goodbye to the crew.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Thus, the very last part of the book I wrote were the few paragraphs in which Charlotte makes her farewells to the crew. But—as she was making her goodbyes—I too was saying goodbye—to her. As I wrote that brief scene, I shed real tears.
Moral: The more you love your characters, the more your readers will love them.
2 thoughts on “But do you like them?”
As you know, I love Charlotte Doyle! I LOVED the ending. 🙂
I’ve found that although I develop a fondness for my antagonists, I have to be careful not to let them become too soft just because I like them…
This is a lovely post. I’ve never read one from you that that wasn’t genuinely moving. This one is especially touching because I believe we all shed tears as we identify with characters who live within us. Thank you for this and all your posts. They are much appreciated!
Gillian