tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post6035631899397283151..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Characters Who ActJulia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-65036674605184232062009-05-10T16:03:00.000-04:002009-05-10T16:03:00.000-04:00Good point, Ware. I agree with you that Holmes isn...Good point, Ware. I agree with you that Holmes isn't very "active" in the physical sense. Yet he's the one who solves the crime, and that's what I was getting at. <br /><br />In my unpublished work, it's often the case that the hero watches everyone else acting and ends up not doing much himself. And now I see that's not very rewarding for the reader.Neil Plakcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790700248668484294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-12145175984860445912009-05-10T15:16:00.000-04:002009-05-10T15:16:00.000-04:00"Readers want to see a hero who acts rather than a..."Readers want to see a hero who acts rather than analyzes."<br /><br />I can think of lots of very popular protagonists who were mostly thinkers-Sherlock Holmes comes immediately to mind. Harry Bosch acts when he is placed in danger, but he is drawn into danger primarily because of his failure to fully analyze the problem.<br /><br />Action characters can become cartoonish as well. James Bond is Warehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07900711139447324486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-90398296951488087952009-05-10T12:19:00.000-04:002009-05-10T12:19:00.000-04:00Great post, Neil, and nice to see you on Poe's Dea...Great post, Neil, and nice to see you on Poe's Deadly Daughters. I used the "different gender" method of making sure my protagonist wasn't too much like me. But I struggle with wanting my female sidekick character to be in on the action and not wanting the guy to do all the rescuing.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-3038238099297425022009-05-10T10:41:00.000-04:002009-05-10T10:41:00.000-04:00Interesting post! It made me think about my own se...Interesting post! It made me think about my own secondary characters and how I like to have the reporter figure things out ahead of Detective Jackson sometimes (because she has a different sort of access to people). She's never the hero, but she sometimes contributes to solving the crime. My rationale was that it made Jackson a little more human, but maybe I just want the reporter to look good L.J. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213491074676394406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-41068897227345002312009-05-09T22:27:00.000-04:002009-05-09T22:27:00.000-04:00Thanks for some very interesting suggestions. I do...Thanks for some very interesting suggestions. I do think it's a struggle to work against that natural instinct of the writer to be the one who sits back and analyzes rather than acts-- but as long as we are aware of the problem we can work with it.Neil Plakcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790700248668484294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-79984808883503907792009-05-09T19:36:00.000-04:002009-05-09T19:36:00.000-04:00Neil: Interesting thoughts on making your characte...Neil: Interesting thoughts on making your characters not be you. I think it's difficult as I believe all our characters seem to carry a little bit of ourselves in them. But if we can make our characters different from us it becomes an interesting psychological exercise. For you, with Kimo, it obviously worked to great success! I'm enjoying being "Nicolas" now and hope the results will be Lourdesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-48695374568540721012009-05-09T19:25:00.000-04:002009-05-09T19:25:00.000-04:00I read your post with a sense of relief, Neil -- t...I read your post with a sense of relief, Neil -- the kind of relief that comes from knowing I'm not the only one who struggles with this issue. It *isn't* realistic to put the hero or heroine in the lead in every situation, yet we have to find a way to make it seem real. I think Tess Gerritsen has found a perfect solution, making her cop (Jane Rizzoli) and her medical examiner (Dr. Maura Isles) Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-3272925309599508032009-05-09T18:50:00.000-04:002009-05-09T18:50:00.000-04:00I really enjoyed Mahu Fire, it was a great read an...I really enjoyed Mahu Fire, it was a great read and I did enjoy Mike's role towards the end of the book. Great read!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00735060834697894548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-38710811089851335862009-05-09T14:07:00.000-04:002009-05-09T14:07:00.000-04:00Great post, Neil. I always learn something from yo...Great post, Neil. I always learn something from you.ryan fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13361694356025572544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-52502459799623216832009-05-09T09:09:00.000-04:002009-05-09T09:09:00.000-04:00Neil, I think Suzanne regards ALL her characters a...Neil, I think Suzanne regards ALL her characters as heroes, and she just puts them in different degrees of limelight over her books (the woman plots in 7 book arcs, for goodness sake!--I can't plot 7 chapters.)<br /><br />She did an interested workshop on this at an RWA conference.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-12222176752548389582009-05-09T08:32:00.000-04:002009-05-09T08:32:00.000-04:00I agree, Terry. I think Suzanne Brockmann does thi...I agree, Terry. I think Suzanne Brockmann does this very well in her Troubleshooters books. She sets up all these different team members as supporting characters, and then gives them their own books.<br /><br />It must be tough for her when someone who's had his own book then shows up in support in another. I think I identify with my heroes too much to make them supporting characters in another Neil Plakcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790700248668484294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-87859660981427877002009-05-09T08:25:00.000-04:002009-05-09T08:25:00.000-04:00Secondary characters, even significant ones, can b...Secondary characters, even significant ones, can be such scene-stealers, can't they? I think it's because we don't have to make them adhere to the 'hero' rules and regs. <br /><br />Then they start demanding their own books, and you have to make them toe the line.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-42875258061093291012009-05-09T06:18:00.000-04:002009-05-09T06:18:00.000-04:00Thank you for this useful and interesting insight ...Thank you for this useful and interesting insight in the writing process. <br />As readers, we don´t always know what it is we want, but you are probably right about action :)Dorte Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14535044092722418173noreply@blogger.com