The Word Cloud

Figured I'd make a dedicated thread for this, given the conversation over in the critiques section.

Oops - didn't see this!

I replied:

Thing is - people *do* act like this in real life. Yes, it is annoying, but it is something that I see every day (working with teenage girls means I see more of this behaviour than is possibly healthy...), and therefore does have a place. I agree that it shouldn't be all the time (Miss Bella Swann, please stand up...), but it seems that people get criticised for it even if their character displays the merest hint of anything that may equate them with the damsels in distress of the past. Personally, I am as sick of the 'she's as good as any man!' stereotype as I am the wet hen - it's like male characters can have the most terrible flaws and no one bats an eyelid, but make your female character, for example, sulk and suddenly she's 'wet' (she's allowed to be cold or nasty, because they are assertive negatives - I am talking of passive negatives here). To me, it's almost an apologetic knee-jerk to years of women being portrayed as the damsel in distress - now they all have to be sassy and spunky (even Hermione isn't allowed to really make mistakes - yes, she can sulk, but she's not allowed to be vindictive or stupid, like Ron and Harry frequently are) otherwise we feel a twinge of 'eek - bad old days - mustn't go there again!', but it means that whole facets of a character's personality have almost become totally taboo. I actually like exploring the more negative sides of my characters - for me, it makes them more human - and would rather my character act honestly (for example, the first time my teenage female protag is faced with a grin-faced man holding a sword, she cowers in front of him and begs him not to hurt her. She's not sassy. She offers no witty remarks. Why? Because she's never faced a man with a sword before and she's freaking *terrified*! It doesn't exactly portray her in a positive light, but I really feel strongly that it is a far more realistic reaction than her staring him squarely in the eye and making a spiky comeback) than being 'cool'.

A real life example - I met an actor I am rather, uh, fond of a couple of years ago (Jason Momoa). Did I shake his hand and offer a witty, cool comment to break the ice, like I had practiced in my head so many times before? Did I hell. I went bright red, giggled, forgot how to talk wouldn't go near him for about half an hour. I acted like a total clutz - it was pathetic, to be honest. But that is how people react when faced with someone they really like - they go to pieces (I even apologised to him for wasting his time. Gah, I cringe each time I think about it. Not my finest moment!)

You raise very good points. Ummm... I'll try to agree with individual pieces.

In today's mainstream market, the key is to have a M/C who faces a negative life changing experience, is challenged by continual conflict and who fails at every twist and turn until the end when he/she succeeds.

The antagonist, on the other hand, always succeeds in thwarting the M/C right up to the last moment when everything seems lost for the M/C - but by some miracle of fate he/she turns the tables - and everyone walks off into the sunset.

It is a tried and tested formula that sells books, because readers relate to and want your M/C to succeed against all odds.
I cannot see a 'drip' being able to do this with any hope of dragging readers along with him/her. That's why there are sassy heroines...
stephen

I suppose all characters have to be a little bit larger than life, otherwise it would just be:

1: Are you coming to the pub?

2: Yes. In a minute.

* go to the pub*

*come home*

1: work tomorrow.
2: yup.

"Sassy spunky and spiky" as you so alliterately(is that a word? It should be) are traits that I think cover a larger than life female protagonist.

The truth is that most people, male or female, wouldn't have witty or sassy comebacks when confronted by a man with a sword. We'd all do something unspeakable in our underwear. Its proabably ok if your MC does too (though less so if he's male) so long as they still arene't doing the same thing by then end of the story (and provided it doesn't take them so long to grow a set that readers are screaming in frustration long before the end of the book.

The thing to remember about writing fiction is that it's fiction. It needs to be believable and "accurate" but it doesn't HAVE to mirror real life. If its appropriate for your MC to giggle at the sight of a guy she fancies then have her giggle away. If it isn't then witty comebacks to the fore. Either way though the MC better have grown during the story or readers will be left wondering why they bothered. I suspect though, that readers will abandon a one much quicker than the other.

BTW- just thought of another type of Protagonist that might has nessisary omph but isn't all that say- The absolute scientist/journalist. Someone driven by an burning desire to KNOW. this trait will throw them into sticky situations, but doesn't necessitate an abundance of witty comebacks. I could imagine a rather enjoyable sort of protagonist with a sort of dreamy, dissasociative streak rather than spunk.

BTW (again)- why can't a MC be spikey and naive? These terms aren't mutually exclusive in any way. I mean... think about it, they can be stubborn, and smart mouthed, and still make some horrific blunders or say things which are just plain silly or sulk. Just so long as they KEEP GOING.

'Sassy, spunky, and spiky'
In the late 80's - I think - may be early 90's, there was a tv series called 'Prime Suspect'. It had the excellent Helen Mirren as the chief officer (Jane Tennison?) leading a team of recalcitrant male detectives (Tom Bell was one). The bad guy was a pervert-cum-torturer who was chaining up his victims and leaving them to die.
Tom Wilkinson was the love interest, but he was half-hearted and flitted off, if I remember.
I am reminded of this series and the characters every time I read a modern crime story. Of course it worked brilliantly, and my own memory of it is clear. And I'm not saying these characters are stereotypes. Well, not much. Not more than male cops have to be 'tough and abrasive.' Perish the thought of a sensitive one.

I've been distracted, and I can't remember what I was going to say next. Maybe something about being time to move on. And let's be a bit more imaginative.
Sorry, I can't finish what I've started.