Everyone has certain preferences in their lives. Some of us like rocky road ice cream while others like rum raisin (because they’re heathens.) Some of us like flannel shirts and jeans while others like lacy dresses. Some of us like entertainment (movies, shows, books) about characters who are soft, gentle souls who arouse their protective sides and some of us like characters with tons of jagged edges and razor-sharp teeth. As a reader/consumer, and as a writer, I tend to like the sharp, “edgy” characters.
That’s not to say the gentler characters don’t have value. I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons lately and write about characters who have a little bit less of that trauma going on. Paper Hearts, for example, is a story about a lawyer and a television executive. There is absolutely no murder, and no violence, in the story. (I know, it’s shocking to me too.) My first published book, Midnight, is likewise distinctly lacking in violent conflict.
And I do read books without violence. Changing Lines, for example, is no more violent than any hockey game you might attend. (And had the added benefit of helping me to understand the game a thousand times better, so thank you to R. J. Scott and V. L. Locey.) Bad Boyfriend, too, is kind of lacking in the bloodshed and mayhem departments. I loved the characters in both of those books and I’m genuinely jealous of the characters those authors created.
Most of the time, though, the characters I enjoy most are edgier. They’ve got baggage, they’ve got a lot of complex issues they need to sort out. I get a huge high from seeing these characters succeed. It’s easier and more fulfilling for me to write these characters, and when I’m really feeling lost it’s these characters who pull me right back.
I want to know about your favorite types of characters to read about (or watch, if that’s your thing.) Tell me, are you more drawn to the gentle characters or to the ones with some bite to them?