Not so Loveable - Character Development + giveaway

Axel ducked his head and rubbed a knuckle against his temple as a smile tugged at his mouth. “Truth is, Eliza, I wasn’t so sure about this whole arrangement, but after seeing you, I think I might be coming around. And not just because you’re as pretty as you are. When I saw you climbing down from that stage, it occurred to me the kind of courage it must have taken for a woman like you to travel all this way on your own. And I respect that. I don’t think marrying you is a decision I’m going to regret.” 

Elizabeth’s face warmed. Not from his praise, but from the fact that making him regret this marriage was foremost on her mind.

That is an excerpt from my newly released novella, Mail-Order Revenge. 

To give you a clearer picture of the characters, here is the back cover blurb:

Elizabeth Landvick knows of one man to blame for her family’s loss of fortune and her parents’ deaths. Now, she will stop at nothing to take her revenge and recover their wealth. Even travel across the country to marry the man’s son.  

With his on focus his sprawling Arizona ranch, Axel Forsberg has little time for wooing a woman, so when his father finds him a bride from the east, he trusts he won’t regret the convenience. Until horses go missing, barns burn to the ground, a range war begins…and he loses his heart. 

Starting out the story with a woman bent on making the hero's life miserable is fine and dandy until your readers fall in love with said hero and decide the heroine is a witch. After a while they can't read anymore because she makes them so mad.

While I love conflict, I must admit to having put down a few books because I could not understand the POV character and they were driving me mad. There are only so many times you can throw a book against a wall hoping to knock some sense into the main charactor before you don't pick it again...or have to take it in for repairs as in the case of an e-book. ;)

I had a similar problem when writing the Patriot and the Loyalist, (yep, this is a sneak peek at the cover!) the second book in my Hearts at War series (the first book is now available for preorder!) that will be releasing next year. For a time, a couple of my critique partners were ready to strangle the heroine--I mean, how heartless can a woman be? Especially when the Hero is trying so hard. Here are three things I learned from my beautiful British spy, and my vengeful bride...

1. Motivation: As I fed the reader backstory, I had to make sure it was clear what made the character the way they are. 
Have you ever read a book or watched a movie where you found yourself almost rooting for the antagonist and feeling a little bad for him when hauled away to jail after you learned he'd lost his mom as a kid, and then his dog got ran over, and Santa never brought him anything, and his ice cream fell out of its cone...Pretty much just one tough break after another? Lay all that history out for the reader and show how it affected the character. 
But, please, no info dumps! ;)

2. Motivation: What outside sources are at play? Physical threats? Perceived threats? The basic human instinct of survival? Are there events and situations that corner the character until the only way they see out of the problem is over or through someone else? 
A person can sometimes get away with murder if they believe it is self defense.

And next...

(Brace yourself for this one as it may come as a surprise.)

3. Motivation: What is currently happening with the character's emotions that compels them to act so heartless? Where is their heart really at? What do they feel in the moment as they light that match and let it drop into a stack of dry hay...oops, no spoilers!

So the tall and short of it seems to be motivation and letting the reader in on that motivation...sooner or later. The timing is really dependent on whether you want your audience to like the character or hate them. 

What are your thoughts as a reader, or writer, about characters who drive you mad with their decisions. Leave a comment for a chance at a free e-book copy of Mail-Order Revenge. Now available on Amazon!

Angela K Couch is an award-winning author for her short stories, and a semi-finalist in ACFW's 2015 Genesis Contest. Her childhood was spent listening to her father read chapters from his novels, and Angela decided young to follow his path. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. Angela lives in Alberta, Canada with her "hero" and three munchkins. 

Visit her at www.angelakcouch.com, or follow on Twitter or Facebook!

Not as They Seem

Sometimes we can be too quick to make assumptions or judgements about people and want to peg them as a specific type of person.  A person I know always came across to me as self confident, assured and perhaps a little bossy and wanting to take charge. They came on so strong that I could feel myself shrinking inside. It can be hard to relate to someone when you feel intimidated by them. Or when they make you feel inadequate.

A change of circumstances meant we were thrown together more than I initially found comfortable. Surprise, surprise, I found a whole different person and that my initial reaction had been way off the mark. The person was nowhere near as confident and self assured and in control as I had thought. In fact they were quite vulnerable.  Over a while now, I have loved getting to know this person and appreciate their numerous good qualities. When talking about this change of my attitude towards the person recently with a young woman I know who is wise beyond her years said this.  ’ It’s often those who appear most confident and assured that need the most care and attention.’

In real life, it means taking time to get to know the person at a deeper level.  It’s not that much different when creating characters. The more we come to understand them and their motivations for acting as they do, the more we are drawn to them or not. But think there is one big difference. I find it hard to continue reading a book where I don’t like the characters.  It takes a very skilled author to convince me to read about people I don’t care about.

Mostly when I read I need to be emotionally connected in some way to the main characters. So that means when it comes to creating characters we have show that there is enough that is likable about them, so the reader will want to keep reading and will care what happens to them. This might mean showing them in a situation where a softer, more compassionate side of their character comes out or where they will stick up for something they believe in. If a character is opinionated, selfish and unfeeling about others why would we want to read about them? I certainly wouldn’t. Often it can be something that has happened in their background to make them the way we are. If so the reader needs to know, so they will understand and be able to hopefully associate.

In an old movie starring James Stewart, my husband and I were watching recently, as soon as it started and we saw the cast, we immediately picked out which ones would be the baddies. Why? Because they always are. It’s like someone has typecast them and they believe they can only play one role. We don’t want our characters to be typecast or one dimensional. We want them to stand out from the crowd. We want them to come across as fully fleshed out people, which is why motivation for a character's actions are so important.

Sometimes the easiest way to deal with that is to think how we would react if we were afraid, or in love or feeling guilty, or grieving - whatever the situation may be. Then give those responses to our character. But the trick is to make sure the characters are not clones of us. The character has to be different enough from us.  I always try and make my characters as different from me as possible in appearance to start with and then add different characteristics. But human emotions are much the same.  Just watch any half a dozen people in grief for example and you will find while some things are common, each person has their own way of dealing with grief. Some close up. They keep everything tight inside. They cut themselves off from people. Others open like a flower in bloom. 

They like people around them sympathising, and talking about the loved one who is gone. Some cry and maybe even scream and be angry at God. Others find solace in quiet moments reflecting on their loved one. Just as there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there is no right or wrong way for a character to behave. We just need to ensure their words and actions are understandable and believable, even if at times they may seem to contradict each other. Let’s face it, as humans we often do that.  Books about personality types and motivation can be helpful too, within reason.  My suggestion is not to be confined by personality types because few people are just one type. So make your character a mixture and therefore more complex. Love to hear your thoughts on how you develop a character.

Dale writes fiction, poetry and children’s fiction. She has also written articles, bible studies and Sunday school lessons. More information about Dale can be found at www.daleharcombe.com or on her Write and Read with Dale blog http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale/