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Article ideas | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

another thought (3.00/0) (#2)
by janra on Fri Sep 16, 2005 at 08:13:34 AM PST

For the "favourite characters" idea, why not have "most memorable characters" instead? I think that might make for a more interesting topic from a writer's point of view - what makes a character really stick with a reader for (sometimes) years after putting down the book?

Then it'll also be more inclusive of well-done antagonists too. There are people out there who count villains as their favourite characters, but most people like protagonists because most writers want the reader to like (or at least care about) the protagonist and write accordingly...
--
Who needs to be big and burly when you can just apply physics?

: indeed ... (3.00/0) (#4)
by sabeth on Fri Sep 16, 2005 at 08:23:32 AM PST

there are lots of ways to think about "favorite" or "best," especially in terms of characters. There are characters one might like as characters but wouldn't want to know them in real life. It should certainly be inclusive of the "characters you love to hate" category.
"Most memorable" might also include characters that you didn't like at all -- sometimes it's a character who ruins a book and that isn't appealing either as a person or as characterization. It makes an impression, but not at all a positive one! Although I think readers are less likely to dwell on that kind of character -- and if they do, maybe the author has accomplished something after all ...

--ich sage nicht, was ich will, sondern was die Sprache will--
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Article ideas | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

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