I’ve been slaving away over Beauty and the Beast, and I have to confess, my favorite character to write is the Beast’s shallow, selfish brother, Crown Prince Lucien.
Lucien is unapologetically selfish. He says want he wants, get what he wants, and acts the way he wants. Conversely he is deeply loyal to the Beast, and there is very little he wouldn’t do for him. What I love about Lucien is that he has no sense of reserve. He’s so fun to write because he has very few boundaries and I get to spend my time thinking of selfish, silly things for him to say when I write his scenes. I created Lucien to be a character readers will both like and dislike, so I found it a little odd that I enjoy writing him so much. I decided to look back through a few of my books and see if I could spy a pattern.
In terms of favorites, Britt from King Arthur and Her Knights is certainly up there. She’s easy and diverting to write because even though she’s plopped in the middle of an Arthurian romance she is very down to earth. Asher and Aron–the mischievous Montamous Twins from Life Reader–are high on my list of favorite characters as well. I love the devious twists to their personalities, the fact that they can effortlessly bounce jokes off one another, and I greatly prize their ability to break/hack their way into just about anything. In Red Rope of Fate I really enjoyed writing Tari and Arion, but my secret favorite character is Seer Ringali–Tari’s mentor and instructor. I love the way he holds no criticisms back, stomps over all elvish social norms, and openly wields odd accessories as hidden weapons. My favorite character from the Robyn Hood series is a little more difficult to pin down, but it’s probably either Robyn herself, or the dramatic duo of Much and Will Stutely. I like that Robyn is terrified of being a leader, not at all courageous, and that she doesn’t try to hide either of these facts from her men. When it comes to Much and Will Stutely I like the over-dramatic antics they use to get their points across, and the fact that they’re basically the camp gossips.
I could go on, but after looking at just a few books I realized I typically like the characters who do not mince their words and are straight forward. It’s surprising how that character trait can be expressed in dozens of different ways–From Seer Ringali’s rude observations to Prince Lucien’s incessant complaints. There are exceptions, of course–I’m not entirely certain Britt belongs in the straight forward category–but characters who say exactly what they are thinking are undoubtedly easier (and a lot of fun) to write.
That’s what I think, anyway. Tell me, Champions, what kind of characters do you like?