Doodling, circa 2004
As you may know, my favorite part of a story is strong character development. What a strange coincidence, then, that my beta readers often comment on how well developed and diverse my characters are. Last month we talked a little bit about how to develop deep characters, and a lot about my delight in the entire process. Now, I could talk to you about Rahab and her friends all day, so intead I’m going to let my beta readers speak for me. I find it interesting that each reader has a different favorite character. It would seem as though we all relate to different people. Below I’ve listed some of my readers, their favorite characters, and why they like each particular one.
Mara Beard: Hawkins
“I like how he doesn’t say much and everything is to the point and how he is the best friend. You could completley rely on him.”
Kristina Stevenson: Scout
“I think my favorite would have to be Scout because of the funny things she says, especially the ones I told you about already on facebook.”
The two quotes from Scout that Kristina is referring to are below.
“Ah, sorry, we’ve gotta go to trig. Yay, sine and cosine!”
“Bummer. Chemistry always sucks in my book. I can never remember which
ones have electrons and which ones have protons.”
Aaron Pogue: Rahab
“Rahab’s pretty reserved without being passive. That’s unusual for a protagonist (and it could be a problem), but with all the big dramatic characters buzzing around her at school, Rahab’s level-headedness lets us enjoy their fire from a cool, safe distance.”
Thanks for the input, beta readers! Next week we’ll take an even closer look into the life and habits of our protagonist, Rahab Carmichael.