6 Characters Who Are Bound to Make You Smile

I have found a link-up that is destined to be marvelous! I adore link-ups and everything that goes along with them. 

This weekly prompt is hosted by the girls at The Broke and the Bookish. The idea is to have a top ten post every Tuesday. 

This weeks prompt is "Top ten books which feature characters who..."

I adore books. I live off them. I sometimes feel as though my only friends are in my books. And my absolute favorite of these books are the ones whose characters are bound to make me smile and totally forget the complete horror of reality. 

You'll notice there are only six. In a "Top Ten" post. I tried dearly to come up with more, but it felt more like filler than me actually thinking the characters fit the post. So I modified it to be just six.

1.  Razo from the Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale

I love Razo. He is seriously one of my heroes. He's quick witted, funny, down to earth, and just all around a good guy. Plus, he's got the older brother protectiveness syndrome that I find quite wonderful.

2. Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the Heroes of Olympus series' by Rick Riordan

Oh Percy. An obsession with blue food, an astounding ability to be simultaneously the smartest character in the books and the dumbest character to ever have been written. There isn't a lot of in between for my dear friend the son of the Sea God.

3. Gilbert Blythe from the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery

Gil is the kind of character that if you aren't in love with by the end of the books, you need your head checked. He's just wonderful.

4. Dustfinger from the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke

Dustfinger is amazing. His character has such depth. He is so pained and in anguish and trying so hard to find a lucky streak in life. It's hauntingly beautiful to read about him. (Though I suspect highly entertaining to write). I love how involved in his story I get when I read these books. 

5.  Sadie Kane from the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

Sadie is pretty much one of my favorite characters ever. She's funny, sarcastic, totally real, and entertaining to read. On the days when I need a serious pick-me-up or escape from reality, I turn to Uncle Rick's books, and most often, the Kane Chronicles. (Although Percy Jackson never fails to disappoint either.) 

6. Leo Valdez from aforementioned Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

What can I say about Leo? He's totally crazy, entertaining, uplifting, and optimistic. What do I not love about this guy? Oh yeah. He's fictional. 

What do you think? Did I miss any? Which characters can make you smile no matter what?

Writing Characters Who Are Your Opposites

How DO the bad girls think?

A few days ago, I was stuck on this question. This was my free write from that day:

"I've been stuck on this question for about 45 minutes. Im trying to write a character summary for the bad girl in my new WIP but I can't seem to empathize with her at all.

I'm a homeschooled quiet girl. (Not a "homeschoolER" mind you, just quiet.) So the brain of a rebellious girl who's always putting others down and chasing the hot boys is foreign to me.

I don't even have friends even remotely like this.

It's quite the problem. I know I need to write this summary so I can understand this character and so she isn't a boring shell of a person but I just can't get into her mindset.

I've been asking myself; "Why does she do these things?" "What are her dreams? " "What keeps her from these dreams?" But it's not working too well."

After I wrote the last sentence, my brain kind of exploded. I knew a girl who used to be a little like this. She wasn't mean or anything, just dark. She didn't chase boys either but that's beside the point. All of a sudden I had ideas. I felt like I'd just broken the surface of the water and could breathe.

The character summary isn't quite what I had hoped. It's lacking in a happy ending. I dont feel that bad for her, but I think I understand her better.

The secret was looking at WHY she's like that. (Ana's her name by the way.) Why does she chase boys? Her dad died when she was little and she's starving for male attention in her life. Why is she mean to others? No one is ever nice to her. Her mom was distant and now she's dying. Ana doesn't know what to do. She's at her wits end and the only way she knows how to deal with it is take it out on other people.

As simple as that. But I couldn't figure any of that out until I found someone I had met who I could sympathize with. If I don't have even just an inkling of sympathy for my charries, they end up flat.

And the only way I found that sympathy was free writing. So next time you're blocked,  try free writing. Maybe it'll open a new point of view for you like it did for me.

How do you write characters who are the opposite of you?

Donna Noble

Note: This post is Doctor Who related. If you are a hater like most of my IRL friends, please don't comment with hate. Just ignore this post! Easy! Thank you very much! :)

She didn't feel important. She was just another woman. She wasn't special. She had nothing to give.
Donna Noble. The Doctor's companion. His best friend.

"Doctor, you can stop now."

This woman had no idea the role she would play. She didn't realize how important she was.

She covered up her insecurity with the most fierce of temperaments. Sarcastic and witty. And perhaps a bit hard of hearing.

"You just want TO mate?? Well, you're not matin with me spaceman!"

Donna Noble is my favorite companion for five reasons. If you hate her or think I'm crazy, bear with me. I think I have some pretty good reasons.

Reason #1: She makes me laugh. I adore her humor so much. She is so fun to watch. I think Catherine Tate did a fantastic job!

Reason #2: She is relatable.  Donna is insecure. She sees herself as someone who couldn't possibly have any role to play. It makes it so much better because she was so wrong.

Reason #3: She's the Doctor's support. His best friend. There was never anything romantic between the two. It's so refreshing to watch a friendship instead of romance sometimes.

Reason #4: She may not have been the most beautiful of the companions, but sometimes I feel like she shined the brightest. She had a gorgeous smile and amazing eyes. Her personality and sensitivity made her stunning. She was the nice one in the library. She was sensitive to other's needs. She could see the hurt in others.

Reason #5: I won't give away her ending if you don't already know but I will say, it killed me inside. The look in her eyes, the Doctor's sacrifice, and Wilfred's promise. My heart just broke in two. She didn't deserve it. She had just begun to see herself as special. She was beginning to see her worth. I think that's what made it worse for me.

Donna Noble is an amazing character. No matter what anyone says, she will always be one of the best companions.

And so, so important.

The Post of Nine Posts (Intriguing, no?)

Hello my dear blogglings! For those of you who follow my blog, I must bring you grievous news...I won't be able to post here for two weeks... I really wish I could but my summer job as a missionary is taking me away for training. :( (By the way, if you could pray for me that would be such a blessing!) However! I have a surprise! I have put together a list of 9 blog posts from around the world wide web for you to read! One a day. (Plus a couple I will set Blogger to post so sometimes there we be brand new content. Hopefully it works.)  So if you feel the need for some extreme inspiration, or if you just miss me, stop by this post and pick a link to read! (Sorry for the weird formatting. I'm doing this on my ipod so I'm not sure how to fix it...) 

I shall categorize them for you as well. No need to thank me.*bows*

Writing Pep Talks:

Just Write (by the lovely Magic Violinist!)

Three Questions Every Writer Should Ask Themselves

Never have Writers Block Again

Description:

How To Paint Tangerine Dream and Marmalade Sky Word Pictures

Inspiration:

How To Inspire Your Writing...Now!

How To Unlock Your Creativity And Stop Feeling Like A Failure

Charries:

Three Tips For Naming Your Characters

Why you Need To Find Your Character's Tipping Point

Antagonists: A Closer Look At Their Goals

So You Want To Write?

Many say it.

"I want to write a book."

Writing a book (though I've never actually finished one. Working on it.), is difficult. But it's fun and you will definitely learn something from it. I know I've learned a lot from it!

Why should you? In the words of Jeff Goins: "Because it's hard."

Everyone should have to do at least one hard thing in their lives.

So writing a book. What do you need?

Well you have to have an idea for a story of some kind. Novel, novella, short story. It doesn't matter. You'll be writing and that's enough.

Finding ideas can be easy too, you just have to know where to look.

Did you have a dream about rabid monkeys invading an ice cream shop and stealing all the cones from the poor nerdy girl who works there? Hmm. Sounds interesting!

Do you see fairies and goblins in the gardens and forests outside your house? Bam! Story idea! (Or mental illness. Get yourself checked out, then proceed with the story writing process.)

There are stories all around us. I was reading a blog a couple weeks ago written by a girl who had just published a novel set in the aftermath of the Japanese Tsunami. She knew where to look for a story, our world. (www.siennanorth.com for anyone curious)

So now, you have a story idea. What next?

Now you'll want to add your main character.

She/he might have come pre-packaged with the idea (I.e. nerdy girl who works in ice cream shop), or you may have to create your own main character (I.e. fairies and goblins are all well and good but you probably want a main character to interact with them).

Next, side characters.

You don't have to come up with them all now. Just one or two sidekicks and/or a love interest. 

You'll want characters who can be charming, 3D, and believable. And by that I mean, the sidekicks need to be pretty in depth people. We shouldn't be able to see that you threw them in for added humor or to kill later. (Guilty...) They need to be developable. Three dimensional. And they need to be relatable. Or they'll fall flat.

They need goals and motive just as much as your MC.

Dustfinger. Will Turner. Annabeth Chase. Murtagh. Halt. 

The sidekicks. The ones the MC can't live without. (Or maybe they'll have to! *evil laugh*)

You need a world to put them in. Are they going to live in Texas present day? During the reign of Queen Elizabeth? In the land of Cacklmaginklefas? Whatever you want! But if the place is real, make sure you do your homework. It would be pretty embarrassing to set them in Romania but not know that Romanians drive at alarming speeds all the time and the country is still recovering from a communist rule. Those are pretty big things! Do your research!

You'll need a plot as well. You can either sit down and just start writing, (the Pantser method), or you can map your way first (the planner/plotter). Find the right fit for you and go with it! I find it easier to do a little bit of both honestly.

So what's stopping you? Anyone can write a book if they really try to. It'll be fun! You comin?

Go, live your dream. -Ruffian, Tangled