One of the challenges I face as an author is creating my characters to be people that my readers want to know, want to love or want to hate.
In the novel I am currently rewriting I have a main male character and a main female character that are in constant tension, constant conflict with each other and around each other. They are rock and roll stars, so they have to have a certain amount of charisma and attraction about them.
In creating them I wanted them to be attractive, to be people that my readers would love and/or hate, sometimes both. I did use attributes of them physically that I myself found physically attractive, but I also left some things about them vague enough that my readers could fill in the rest in their imagination. A reader likes to create the character to fit what they find attractive. My Chad and Sarah will be different than yours.
Yet what also makes a character sexy or attractive is their personality, their actions, and how they react and act within the story. It’s all created of course. One of the cool parts of being a writer is playing ‘god’ as it were with your characters.
Recently I decided to ask my friends what they thought was ‘sexy’ the answers were varied as my friends’ own personalities. However I did notice that the majority did all mention certain things consistently: Outgoing, confident, fashion sense, and the way someone smelled.
So I figure as long as my characters have the ‘universal’ sexy qualities… the rest is just going to be up to the imaginations of the readers.
In creating my rock and roll characters it is really hard not to stereotype them, and I try really hard not to, but there is a certain amount of ‘typing’ that does go into a rocker persona, or into those around them. Some of the minor characters tend to have more of that than the actual main characters do, but you don’t get the depth in the minor characters you get in the main characters. I think part of what makes your main characters appealing is that depth you go into, into their psyche, not just the physical attributes. You get to know what they think, how they feel, and how they are on an inner level, a personal level. That in turns makes them more appealing.
Of course as a romance writer I don’t want you to find my characters simply ‘appealing’ though. I want you to find them sexy. Yet I don’t want you to find them just ‘hop into bed’ sexy. Sexy to me is more than sex. It’s intellectual, emotional, and more. It’s on many levels all at once and that is what I want my characters to come across as… sexy on all levels.
I want you to want them as you would want any one else: Body soul and mind. I want you to be left breathless and wanting more. I want you to fantasize about my characters. That is sexy. If I don’t do that with my romantic characters than I haven’t done my job.
And I have some questions for you:
So, what do you find sexy in a character as a reader?
As a writer what do you draw on to create your character and make them come to life to make them appealing to your audience?
Also, to further my curiosity from my original question posted from my Facebook: What do you consider Sexy?
- posted on 02/09/2010 20:40:49
