Memorable, Forgettable & Annoying Character Traits

 by Maureen Bonatch 

I love a good pair of socks. I can’t describe exactly what makes them ‘good', but I know when I find them, or when I wear them. So the only person who really knows this about me, is me. 

Close friends and family probably know that I always have my Blistex and that I can’t get enough water, read as much as I can and/or that I’m rather introverted until it’s time for dancing. 

I love music, and my favorite artist as a teen and for years after was Prince (even through his time as a symbol and as the artist formerly known as Prince). 

I was heartbroken when he died and then shocked at how many people reached out to me on social media from the present, and way-way in the past, because they remembered that I loved his music. Some of my Prince CD collection...

Character Traits 

You might say these are things that might be identified as my character traits. These are things that other people might notice and remember more than saying I have brown hair or my height—because I’d bet there are a lot of five-foot seven brunettes walking around and unless someone is standing by a ruler, I’d be hard pressed to narrow down their exact height.

 

Think about how you might describe yourself, or how others might explain how to identify you. It might be something a little more subtle, or not-so-subtle like my hubby. More than one person who didn’t know his name has referred to him as, ‘that big, loud guy.’ 

 These are also things that help make the characters in a story memorable, whether you’re reading the story, or writing it. 

Character traits are what bring me back to a series to revisit those characters I love, or what stops me from reading further because I can’t relate to them, or they annoy me.

 Memorable Characters 

As a reader, I love to find a new favorite character and then discover that they have an ongoing series. Just like hanging with a good friend, I want to visit them again and again. As a writer, it can be challenging to craft that character that is memorable and that a reader can relate to. 

In addition, when you’re writing a series, you have to want to stay with that character for a long time so it’s helpful to like them and enjoy their company.

 I still recall the very first novel I wrote (still in a ‘drawer’, suffering through many edits, but still may never see the light of day). When someone reviewed that story for me they said that my hero sounded like an a$$hole. Umm…not much of a hero, lol. 

 Sadly, their assessment made sense, but I was grateful that they shared that because it really helped me understand the importance of fleshing out a character—and that sarcasm doesn’t always come across well. 

 Speaking of characters, let me introduce you to Marissa

I’ve been spending a lot of time with her as the protagonist of my Charmed Cocktail Cozy series. Her pink hair might make her memorable in appearance, but I’m hoping her kind heart, quirky sense of humor and dogged determination to overcome her lackluster spelling abilities make her a character you want to get to know better. 

Hi, I’m Marissa Hale. I took a summer job at a nightclub in Florida to escape the cold Pennsylvania winter, and to visit Gran. Although staying with Gran at the retirement condo with a bunch of nosey witches becomes the least of my worries when I stumble upon a corpse in the club freezer. 

I can only hope to avoid making this a permanent vacation in the slammer by solving this murder mystery with the help of Gran, a talking cat, and a demon with a real devil-doesn’t-care attitude. 

Curses, Cats & Corpses in the first in the Charmed Cocktail Cozy series and available for preorder now with 10 other author stories in When the Cat’s Away. 

USA Today bestselling author Molly Fitz has gathered a fantastically talented group of emerging and established talent in the Cozy Mystery genre. Together, she and her ten author friends are ready to present the ultimate bookworm staycation.

Pre-Order your copy now: 

https://mollymysteries.com/WTCA_Kindle 

https://mollymysteries.com/WTCA_Apple 

https://mollymysteries.com/WTCA_Nook 

https://mollymysteries.com/WTCA_Kobo 

Just a small-town girl, Maureen Bonatch leads a double life. She lives in a magical world as a novelist, and as a nurse leader in reality. Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a new-fangled thing. She’s since changed her focus to writing paranormal cozy mysteries as M.L. Bonatch and urban fantasy as Maureen Bonatch. 

While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible. She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival. 

Follow M.L. Bonatch all through cyberspace- she's new in town and can use some friends!

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When Fiction and Reality Become One

 By Maureen L. Bonatch

Crows lurk around the office where I work at the day job. They unexpectedly fly at the window and startle me, and others, from working. Just the other day one stared me down in the parking lot.  Cawing. I had to force a little extra courage in my step as I approached him while he watched me with a narrowed eye. I’d seen him before. Sitting on top of the light posts in the parking lot. Watching. 

When I see him, it makes my skin crawl a little. 

I’ll glance back to see if he’s still there. He is. If he’s still watching me. He is. 

He can’t fool me. I know who he is. That crow is Randall Flagg.

Characters That Invade Reality 

If you love Stephen King books, as I do, and especially his book, THE STAND, then you’ll know exactly who I’m talking about. The demonic, evil figure of Randall Flagg appeared not long after the plague in the story. He could disguise himself as a crow—and I’ve never been able to look at a crow the same since. Randall Flagg was a character I loved to hate. A character that has lived on in my mind for years, and I’m not the only one.

I can mention seeing “Randall Flagg” to people and some of them don’t question it. They nod and don’t even frown, or question my sanity. Because they know who I mean. The character has lived on beyond the book in their minds, and mine, and become part of our reality. To me, I don’t think of him as a character in the book. He’s moved beyond that and stepped from the paper into our world.

True to Life Characters

The art of creating a true to life character is something to be admired. It displays an author’s ability to create a character as real to others as it is to them. One that had previously only lived in their thoughts. 

Randall Flagg has stepped over from fiction to reality so far that he has his own Wikipeida page. So I know it’s not just me keeping a wary eye on any crow that lingers a little too long. 

What Fiction Characters Have Become Part of Your Reality?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Little Things Can Make Your Ordinary Characters Memorable

By Maureen L. Bonatch 

Every time I see a butterscotch candy, or bread with an inch of butter piled on it—lots and lots of butter—I think of my grandmother, who we called, Nanny. 

Nanny has been gone for many years, but these simple things evoke my memory of her.

Visualizing a Character

I visualize Nanny's appearance in my mind, but I don’t describe her that way. I could describe her typical cotton dress, and her ever-present panty hose rolled down to ball just under the knee. I could detail her cropped, curly, white hair, and heavy glasses perched on the end of her nose. Or how she always cut the sides of her shoes to make room for her bunions.

Building a Setting

I could describe how she depicted her devout roman Catholic beliefs in her home. Or perhaps how she was always in the kitchen. That her freezer was never without ice cream and how she opened her heart, and her kitchen, to feed every person that walked in the door. 

Focus on Key Characteristics

But those aren’t the first things that come to mind. It’s the butterscotch candy resting in the glass dish in the parlor, and the mounds of butter stacked on a slice of thick bread that stuck with me for all these years. Those would be key elements if I was making my Nanny into a character. The rest might be essential in developing character backstory to help me understand the character better, but sometimes just a few little things can make a character memorable. 

My Writing Process

When a new character introduces themselves, they get right to the point. They start telling me their story. I might notice a few memorable characteristics in their personality, body language, or speech mannerisms and—off I go to wrap the character around those traits. It’s kind of like I found the egg and work backwards to find the chicken that created it. 

True confessions of a panster.

If you’re a heavy plotter, you might find this next paragraph upsetting and want to skip it. Since my writing begins with these few key elements, I’ve sometimes discovered I’ve written an entire book without identifying the color of the heroine, or the hero’s, hair or eyes. That my stories lacks those key descriptions. 

That’s because as a reader, I like to picture some of those characteristics myself. How I see them. Everyone doesn’t read/write that way, so I keep that in mind and go back and add some extra details.

In your Reading and/or Writing, What Comes First—the Egg, or the Chicken? (I.e: The Character or the Characteristics)

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter