the writing life

Character Ramblings

Friday, December 12, 2014

If you hadn't noticed, I'm kinda a book nerd.  I love reading books, I love writing books, I love bookshelves full of books.  And I especially love the characters in books.  They are the main things that drive stories!  For this post I found a list of questions about characters that I thought would be fun to answer! :)

#1. The first character I fell in love with.  I'm going to go with the non-romantic route and say  my first "favorite" character was probably Joe March.  Little Women was my book.  I read it over and over and over again until it was falling apart!  I loved everything about it, particularly feisty Joe who loved to write and didn't end up with the person you thought she would. 

#2. The first character I never expected to love as much as I do now.  I think it would be Samwise Gamgee.  At the beginning of the Fellowship I only saw him as someone less important then Frodo.   SO NOT TRUE.  If Frodo hadn't had Sam he would've given up or been killed not even halfway through.  Sam is noble, kind, and faithful.  Everything a true friend should be.  Every time he says "Mr. Frodo" I kind of fangirl.

Another person would be Finnick Odair. At first he seems like one of those run-of-the-mill cliche full of themselves peacocks. But as you get more into the Hunger Games series you find out way more about his character and his life. I really like him too.

#3. The character everyone else loves that I hate.  Mmm. This is the last one I'm answering because I still can't think of anyone. Maybe Odin in Thor 2. I don't hate him but I was certainly annoyed with him. Orrrrr..... James Potter. I don't really hate him either, but I think Lily could've done better. Those are the only ones I can think of now.

#4. The character everyone hates that I love.  This is going to sound odd, and I don't necessarily "love" this person, but I think Bellatrix Lestrange is a wonderfully done sort of insanely eccentric villain. 

#5. The character I used to love but I don't anymore.  Elsie Dinsmore.  No thank you.  I like my characters relatable and wonderfully imperfect, thanks very much.

#6. The character I'd want to be like.  Oh there's lots.  Mmmm the Weasley twins because of their humor and optimism, Sam for his faithfulness to his friends, Luna for her disregard of other peoples' opinions, Peeta and Kristoff for their steadfast love, Elizabeth Bennett  for her opinions, Jane Bennett for her sweetness, Olaf for his naieve optimism, Hermione for her knowledge and heart, Lucy for her courage and her faith in Narnia,  the list could keep going.

#7. The character I'd slap.  This is an easy one!  There's certainly a lot of them.  Grima Wormtongue (Lord of the Rings), Umbridge (Harry Potter),  Lady Katherine (Pride and Prejudice), Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter), the list goes on and on.  One of the things I admire most about authors is when they can make me seriously hate a person who the main character dislikes.  I don't normally hate people.  So the villains in these stories have to be pretty stinkin awful for me to wanna slap them!

#8. A pairing that I love.  Ron and Hermione, hands down!  Mmmm Ana and Kristoff, Katniss and Peeta, John Bingley and Jane Bennett, Pepper and Tony, Will Turner and Elizabeth, Rapunzel and Flynn, Rosie and Sam, Neville and Luna (I know it never happens but I think it's cute), Jessie and Buzz (Toy Story), Hawkeye and Natasha, etc.

#9. A pairing I don't like.  I had to think for a few minutes but once I thought of mine I know EXACTLY which pairing.  Tauriel and Kili.  NO NO NO NO.  First of all, height difference.  It'd never work.  She'd have to bend way down to kiss him!  Secondly, the specialness of Gimli and Legolas' friendship later on is lost, since it's already been done by Tauriel and Kili (a very good point made by my friend Gemma who didn't like this pairing either)  Thirdly, it's so cliché!  It's what the audience expects.  Therefore I don't like it.  

I had fun with these questions!! Here are some book-ish pictures I love:

 
 

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4 comments

  1. Where do you come up with such fun ideas for blogposts?!?! Please share where your creativity comes from!

    Yes, I love Little Women. Actually I just love Louisa May Alcott's writing. She has such an interesting way of expressing things. It's addictive.

    Seriously, I couldn't agree more about Finnick. When he first comes in... well, it's creepy. I certainly didn't expect to like him. BUT (1) his love for Annie-just heart melting, and (2) his sacrifice in Mockingjay. Sheesh.... I kept trying to come up with ways he could "come back to life". He couldn't just die and leave Annie!

    Elsie Dinsmore... yep. The books still holds some charm because I have such great memories with them. But, she's perfect, too perfect.

    I think I disagree about Katniss and Peeta. I was so shell-shocked at the end of Mockingjay, that it just became less relatable. That was by far my least favorite book. Everything is so messed up and mixed up by then... it's just a curl-up-in-a-corner-and-read-the-last-chapter-of-North-and-South-to-get-some-happiness-back kind of feeling ;)

    Did I mention CREATIVE?! I felt like I was having a conversation with you during this post. I loved it!

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    1. Wow, that's probably the longest comment I've ever gotten. =D You are so sweet! This was actually a Pinterest find. Just a list of questions about characters that I thought I'd turn into a blog post!

      AGREED! Finnick was very well done. I couldn't believe she killed him. I just sat there in shock. And Mockingjay. Ugh. That was the most depressing thing I've ever read. I think seeing the movies helped me to like the Katniss and Peeta relationship better.
      Thanks so much for your sweet comment!!!!!!!!

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  2. I LOVED this post, Chloe! Wow, this gets top marks for creativity and just funness (no, that is not a word, yes I am using it :) I first fell in love with the Sound of Music characters, but now I love Elanor from Sense and Sensibility. Oh, North and South ranks up there, too, on characters and pairings. I still don't like Colonel Brandon and Marianne, but oh well, it could be worse. Haha, the second photo - "this WAS twilight" - I got a kick out of that one!

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    1. Thanks so much!! Hey who care if funness isn't a word. I think we should petition it!
      I was thinking about putting Colonel Brandon and Marianne but I think they worked out ok...... But I'd agree it's not my favorite either.
      I know, I love that picture. Any twilight jokes crack me up.

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