Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, writing-related question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.
QUESTION: If you write fiction, who is a favorite character in any of your works? Please tell us a bit about him/her. If you’re a reader and not a writer, please tell us a bit about a character that has stuck with you.
Julie Hennrikus: Boy, is this a hard question. I like the main character of my mystery–an ex-cop turned theatrical general manager named Sully Sullivan. She is a bit of a mess, but a fun character to write about. But a favorite character? I find the side characters who demand more attention are the most fun. I created an artistic director named Dimitri–he was going to be on the sides, but was so much fun to write and so over the top, he has a few pivotal scenes. And will have more in the future. And then there is the serial killing stage manager I just used in a short story. I have the feeling I’ll be seeing her again.
Lisa J. Jackson: I have a favorite character I’m still developing. He started out as a secondary character in a post-apocalyptic novel I have, but really demands center stage. Hank is curmudgeonly (one of my favorite words, if you recall, from a recent Friday Fun post), artistic, especially with anything involving metal, and is passionate about helping kids be confident and independent. He liked being in the novel and working with a sexy FBI-like agent, but he’s forcing me to put him in children’s stories now so he can sit on the floor and giggle with the little ones. 
Susan Nye: I’m a fiction newbie but I have been developing a character named Lizzie Grant. She is a lot like me, a corporate type turned freelance writer and foodie. Since I get to write her, she is smarter, quicker and, I hope, funnier than me. I could have, maybe should have given her movie star legs and hair but didn’t. You can meet her in Murder on the Mountain a short story in Live Free or Die, Die, Die! (Plaidswede,October 2011). She’ll be back in the next volume of the New Hampshire Pulp Fiction series.
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Wendy Thomas – I typically don’t write fiction (but I dream it in my head all the time.) I’ve loved everything about the world of Harry Potter, in particular, I adore the character Professor McGonagill – such a wise, yet compassionate old bird, she’s who I want to be when I grow up. I tend to prefer older fictional characters, those with scars who can take bitter experiences and turn them into lessons of gold – like Hawkeye Pierce from the book M*A*S*H.
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Deborah Lee Luskin: Rose Mayer, the heroine of Into the Wilderness. She’s sixty-four years old, widowed for the second time, and in the course of the story, embarks on a new life in a new location, embraces change, and finds new and unexpected love. What’s not to like about that?
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Jamie Wallace: There are so many, but most of them are strong, young women. I love the character Lyra created by Philip Pullman for his Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, et al). She has such spirit and such a pure heart, even though – on the outside – she is little more than a street urchin. I love that she is imperfect. She is a heroine without meaning to be one. She is brave and adventurous, but also thoughtful. Traveling as her companion, we get to feel all the changes she goes through as her experiences open her up to the world and open the world up to her. I see Lyra in my daughter sometimes. And, on a good day, I see Lyra in me, too.
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For my own characters, I like the main character of my book. She’s still in the developmental stages, but “Fotis” is as strange as her name. At first glance she appears ordinary but when you get to know her, you’ll question her sanity. Secondary characters overlook her quirks because she’s an open and giving spirit, and her altruism and honest approach win people over.
I suppose she isn’t a far cry from some of the other female characters I came to love as a child – like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, or Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Or, recently, like Katniss in The Hunger Games. Considering the pattern of attraction, I guess it’s safe to say I like strong female characters who seem to linger on the fringes, remain true to themselves despite outside influences, are insatiably curious, and are brave enough to go against the grain in adverse circumstances.
Laura – what a great description of the strong girls and women we love to read about. Have a good weekend – Susan
My old time favorite was Spencer when Robert Urich played the character. In the books I pictured Robert Urich playing Spenser. I miss him. I don’t write, I just love to read.
Remgilm – I too am a Spenser fan … but not a fan of Robert U. – he was too handsome for the Spenser in my head. I love Spenser’s snappy banter and sense of loyalty. Have a good weekend – Susan
Merlin’s beard! Is that a Potterhead I see? I guess I could catch up with you over a few bottles of butterbeer Wendy
I am writing a series of children’s stories based on a character that is not truly fictional but a compilation of all the dogs I have ever owned. He is adorable, funny and brave and has lots of adventures. He has overcome a couple of obstacles in his long life and has made many true friends. It is my take on Wind in the Willows and I guess my dog, Bart, is a character like Badger. I have been making these stories up for years for my grandchildren and they always prefer “grandma’s story” to any book story. They are only 6 and 8 so I guess my stories will have to develop as they get older. Finding time to complete one story before I start dreaming of the next one is an issue for me. I am a great procrastinator as well as a perfectionist!!
H.- What a lovely idea. Who hasn’t wondered what their dogs were thinking as well as how they spent their days? There were no leash laws in our town when i was a kid and our two dogs and their buddies wandered all over the neighborhood. We often speculated about their adventures.Thanks for sharing! – Susan
Check out http://www.catcamthemovie.com Not sure when they’ll post the actual film again, but supposed to be a really good glimpse into the secret lives of our pets.
Thank you I will! That is really helpful of you. Can’t wait to see the film.
Oh, that sounds like a great series! Get down to business – I would SO read those stories!
You know–this one is so difficult. I love the heroine in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” and Anna Karenina (the character from Tosltoy’s famously named fiction piece) BUT Raskolnikov from “Crime and Punishment” tops my list. OR perhaps Dr. Rieux in Camus’ “The Plague”. Yes I loved him too. more recent: Garp in the “World According to Garp” I realize not that recent. I stop here.
Jessica – thank you for the reminder to reread The Awakening – one of my favorite books. Have a good weekend – Susan
Great question! I am working on a novel length story about a girl who travels to a parallel world in her dreams and is fighting to save her mother’s life in the other realm. Lately though, I find her best friends most intriguing as they (and I) are just starting to discover that they have special talents of their own. One, Stevie, a feisty athletic type, can travel to the dream world as well, but only as a cat. Claire, a girl who feeds her own cool girl image by speaking in a fake french accent and flirting with every boy that looks her way, turns out to have a much deeper side when she starts having prophetic visions. Its so fun writing about teenagers, as they are just discovering themselves and the layers of who they seem to be just keep getting peeled away to something more interesting.
It would be a tie between Lizzie Bennett and Fred and George Weasley, which, I suppose, is sort of an odd description of me.
I have a WIP where my favorite character is a Priest. He has a bit of a drinking problem, but has a good heart, and kept the accounting and records for a parish until he sees something he shouldn’t have involving a Bishop. This sends him to the outer reaches of Ireland where there are few people (set in 1295) and where he is free to indulge his habit of drinking. One day he engages in a monologue with God asking for his help and proclaiming regret for his drinking, inevitably promising to quit if God would just show himself. Of course God does in the form of a boy who appears out of thin air in front of the priest. I loved what happened to him when I wrote him, and even though he is not the main character, he is my favorite.
sounds fascinating, can’t wait to read the final version!
I’ll be looking forward to this tale. I love the monologue with God thing…I was recently working on a similar tale- a priest in modern-day west Kerry area- Ireland. An American priest comes to a village and finds the locals not as warming to him as he’s like. He finds himself spending days by the seashore, questioning his calling, when…God appears as a fish. The priest begins making a daily visit to talk with him. The townspeople start following him…and then the story gets more interesting.
sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to hear more!
Thanks for stopping by. Off to visit your sight!
love it!
I’m not an author…yet! I would have to say Amanda Bell Brown in Claudia Mair Burney’s 3 books in the Amanda Bell Brown series. I don’t want to give the books away in case anyone reads them (which I would recommend to anyone) but she is a woman of God despite her flaws. She finds romantic love God’s way despite her deep insecurities, and she commits her life to helping people who fell into the same sin trap she did as a young woman. I am almost done re-reading this series. I have a short list of books that I re-read and this is 3 of them!
My current favorite character in my narrative poetic allegory is Old Stump Woman. I really like her bush nose and her stomping feet and stubby legs and flailing, waving limb-arms. She just blunder-busses her way into doing the right thing and surprising all around her (especially herself) over and over. Love the accidental servanthood aspect of her life!
• Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where is she going? What does she wear? Who will she be with?