Question Box : Creating Characters

When creating a main character, is it better to start with a good girl/guy with a drop of "bad", or a bad girl/guy with a drop of "good"?

I have been pondering this question for three days now. First, that is way too much energy for my little brain to expend. Second, I have been so stuck I actually asked my husband for his opinion.

Seriously?

I am going to tackle this to the best of my ability. If the answer is convoluted I apologize :0)

I am guessing my struggle with this question comes from none of my characters being all good or all bad. Each individual has the potential for both extremes. Therein come the fun in playing with them. Pushing their limits and watching what happens. Personally, it is more fun to push a good character over the edge than making an evil character good.

My logic-- simple human nature leans toward good. No one is pure good, or angelic, there is always a sliver of bad in the foreground, that keeps them human.

Pure evil, all bad is much more accepted. Think about it, if someone is too good we automatically assume a screw is loose. No one is without darkness.

However, there are characters that are truly embraced because they are the essence of evil. Is this because in the bad we want to find the good or the other way around?

Some of the most romantic tales are those portraying true love conquering pure evil. A strength of emotion between two people blurring all lines and erasing all fear and doubt.

Now, so I can say I honestly answered the question. Is it better to start with one or the other? I say neither is preferred. It is all gray to me.  

The Almighty Crush (Hooray For Eye Candy) !!

One of my favorite things in the editing phase is character analysis. Most people do this before they start writing and then forget about it once complete. I started it before, add to it during and review it in the editing stages to ensure the character I see in my mind is that character coming out on the page. One of those items that is so important for reader connecting and general depth are the silly inane things that make us unique as individuals. One of these is, of course, the crush.

Crushes are something teenage girls have on movie stars, the local football jock, or the boy she sits next to in history with the dreamy smile.  The almighty crush is something of legend and by the time we age and become adults the crush shouldn’t be a word in our vocab right? When we think of a crush, it is defined as unrequited feelings for another.   In the world of adults it takes on a different tone, I believe Ross Geller from Friends called it his top five. It is perfectly normal for all of us, single or committed to be attracted in one form or another to other people. We are in fact human. It is also healthy to share these ‘crushes’ with your partner as they probably have them as well.

So here is my question, who does my character have a crush on. Who makes her giggle or him smile wide and bright. It is not necessarily a sexual crush, there are all kinds of crushes. Personally I have several.

Physical – Their body makes your body…uh huh… you are happy to have the movie on mute is just to see the rippling abs.

Romantic -  Not necessarily hot bodies but definitely dreamy, these crushes are more romantic fantasy than physical hotness.

Intellectual – Their brains get you riled up and you are just in love with their brilliance!

Same Sex – Someone of the same gender that we just drool over because they are so amazing.

As we all have these types of admiration for people so should our characters. I

discovered that my heroine has an intellectual crush on Anderson Cooper. I have an intellectual crush on Seth McFarlane, Physical crush on Bruce Willis and Romantic crushes on Daniel Craig, and George Clooney. My Female crush is on Ellen DeGeneres, I am just so enamored by her spirit. If you look at my choices and think about them you can probably discover a lot about me.

So who are your crushes? Too many to name? Spread them around a bit, share with your characters and weave it into what makes them unique! This is also another way to make your characters relatable, grounded and more real. You think this might be a wasted detail but you never know how something so buried could pop up in the end.

*And yes, I did this topic just so I could look up fabulous pictures of hot guys!! LOL!