I'm trying to get a better idea of what makes a character stick, and I've got a question: Who's your favorite character in fiction, and can you give a sentence-length description of him or her? Dwight Schrute is among mine. He's got this boyish fascination for the CIA and secret missions, and with seemingly some sort of Aspergers, he falls for the pranks pulled on him.
I don't really have a favorite character, but I do have a large number of favorite descriptions: "Limb by limb, it appeared that he was sound enough, but the sum of these several members accrued to an unexpectedly twisted total."
Relatively average teenage girl, for whom everything goes horribly wrong. That's Hannah. There's a certain joy, I find, in writing people who are just normal, give or take some. She's just going about her life, no absurd personality traits, no tragic backstory (that's what the novel is for), no end of the world. Everything, conflictwise, stems from her normality and unfortunate starting conditions.
Mine is probably Case from Neuromancer, best described as: "In the bars he'd frequented as a cowboy hotshot, the elite stance involved a certain relaxed contempt for the flesh."
Could it be this guy? I wasn't sure about the hunchback, though. But I like what you did, giving a description without a name. Can you guess who this cartoon character is? Low impulse control, high alcohol intake, when we laugh at him we're really laughing really at the American "everyman".
@rem: Nope! Uhm, this reference didn't occur to me.. actually I used the words of the author of the novels to describe this MC. Sorry about the unintentional coincidence.. I have to pass at the guessing-game, I don't know any cartoons sorry Hint: Sci-Fi space opera series
One of my favourites is George Smiley, who appears in several of John le Carré's spy thrillers. He's an awkward, bespectacled, middle-aged chap, with a bad marriage and a flabby waistline, who is also a master spy.
Your reply is as good as any. Being here to learn about writing, I asked myself which characters stay with me even after I close the book, and I thought it a nice writing exercise to capture their essence in a sentence. I'll leave the guessing open for anyone to try. It's a series that's been running on TV for quite a while. I haven't seen or read a whole space opera, so I suppose others can make a guess.
"Favourite." I'll need to do a few. I'll start with this one. He's actually a god, he's kind of in the wrong country, he laughs a lot, he is mysterious, and gets spanked on the rump once.
One of my favorites is Walter White. The creator said it best: Mr. Chips becomes Scarface. In more words: A chronic underachiever and pushover with a kind heart rediscovers his talents at engineering and entrepreneurship via an illegal business, gets drunk on money and power and the sense of accomplishment he always craved, and sells his soul piece by piece and his relationships one by one to become a legendary badass.
Miles Vorkosigan ... That's the character I was going to pick but not with that description. He doesn't aim for world domination, he aims to prove himself to his ancestors. He just happens to keep dominating the world around him by accident.
@doggiedude: you're objectively right, but remember what Cordelia says when he finally learns to walk? Or what he says of his own kids later? How would you describe him?
All she wants is to be with the girl she loves, whether that makes her the world's savior or its greatest villain.
“1. Never trust a cop in a raincoat. 2. Beware of enthusiasm and of love. Each is temporary and quick to sway. 3. If asked if you care about the world's problems, look deep into the eyes of he who asks. He will not ask you again. 4 & 5. Never give your real name and if ever told to look at yourself, never look. 6. Never say or do anything the person standing in front of you can't understand. 7. Never create anything. It will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life.” I love this character! This is not a sentence, but any of these sentences could work.
Captain Picard: A calm, collected, and practical well spoken leader with the upmost respect of his friends and foes.
Truly good, in the sense they are willing to do the worst of evils so long as the outcome is ultimately for the betterment of all.
Now that sounds like a fascinating character. It also sounds like the mindset of most dictators. I like it!
Leonardo da Vinci from Da Vinci's Demons (a tv series). A crazy-prepared genius with a mindset way ahead of his time who tries to fight the oppressive and corrupt Catholic Church.
No. None of my favorite characters can be summarized in a sentence. And that's what makes them so special. Any really good character is poorly served by a quick summary.
