Comments on: Characters–Cardboard or Electric?

By: Etta Wilson

Etta Wilson — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:48:04 +0000

Welcome, Kris. Glad you’re joining in the conversations.
Etta

By: KrisBelucci

KrisBelucci — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:57:23 +0000

Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!

By: Nikki Hahn

Nikki Hahn — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:04:06 +0000

I agree on Anne of Green Gables. You couldn’t help, but fall in love with the character, but some of her personality traits made you feel embarrassed for her. It was a nice balance though in which a memorable character was created.

By: Etta Wilson

Etta Wilson — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:29:45 +0000

Good taste in characters, Jessica! (I want to go to Nova Scotia primarily because of Anne.) Sometimes it’s a help to study in detail the characters we love in books. What do their dialog and movement show about their personality? Not that we would create the same character, but we could use the principles the author used.
Etta

By: Jessica Nelson

Jessica Nelson — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:23:16 +0000

I absolutely loved Anne of Green Gables and the Outsiders.
I also really liked that movie Tuck Everlasting. I have no clue why it didn’t do better. I also didn’t know that it was based on a book. Interesting.
The question of creation likable characters is something I think about a lot. Mine tend to be unlikable and that’s something I’m still working on. LOL

By: Etta Wilson

Etta Wilson — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:27:02 +0000

Val, I had problems with Artemis Fowl as well. Your “one-dimensional” comment nailed it in my opinion. It’s ultimately unsatisfying to read about characters that don’t grow or change which points to the interconnection of plot and character in strong fiction.

Etta

By: Val C.

Val C. — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:43:40 +0000

Eustace Scrubbs is a great character! He started as such a pimple but came around in a thoroughly satisfying way.

I had problems, though, with Artemis Fowl in the first book in that series and he was the same way. Maybe it was because it was so unclear that there was any “good” character in the story at all and Artemis as the main character was so one-dimensionally self-centered and bad to start. There was no hint of redemption. But he did eventually come around so I read more. Mulch really became my favorite character from that series though.

This is going back a bit but I liked Trixie Beldon – at heart a good, warm-hearted character but still so easy to relate to with her very human failings and tendencies (which were also nicely offset by her more polished friend, Honey).

And I like Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He’s just so much fun to look at.

By: Rachel Zurakowski

Rachel Zurakowski — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:54:50 +0000

I actually loved the movie “Tuck Everlasting.” I do think it was a bit “literary” for a kid’s film, but the story was still intriguing and touching.

To answer your question at the end of the post:

Anne from Anne of Green Gables, she has such strong convictions and a big imagination, and her life was so hard that you can’t help loving her.

Christy Miller from Robin Jones Gunn’s Christy Miller series. Christy is so real that her life and her friends become part of the reader’s life.

Harry Potter in the early books. He was a sweet kid drawn into something he didn’t ask for. He was likable until the later books.

Ponyboy in The Outsiders. I was drawn into his life and felt very connected to him by the end of the book. This was surprising because he wasn’t like me at all to begin with, but his character was so good that I really cared about him.

I know there are more, but they aren’t coming to mind right now.

By: James Andrew Wilson

James Andrew Wilson — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:49:56 +0000

Edmund from Narnia. It’s fun to read about a “naughty” character. The other kids seem so sweet and nice–Edmund is a nice twist to their personalities.

Also, in later Narnia books, Eustace Scrubb. He plays a similar role to that of Edmund, and he has a great name.

Peter Pan. What boy wouldn’t want to be him?–even if he is something of a brat at times. Hey, maybe boys want to be him because he is a brat! Sheesh, what a lousy role model.