Do your characters walk right out of the book? We’re supposed to make them as “real” as possible but where is the fine line of reality and likeability? If I make my character too snarky, someone won’t like her.

Too imperfect, they may get tired of how many times she messes up.

Sweet, charming and beautiful, we’ll all hate her because she’s too good : )

Writers – how do you create believable, likeable characters?

 Readers – Tell me about a favorite character in a book you’ve read and why you like them.

Book Giveaway: Answer one of these questions in a comment and you’ll be entered into a contest to win Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney.

                             but what if you’re not a mother?

                           or your mother has died?

Either of these facts tend to make Mother’s Day a very difficult time. If you relate to this, how do you deal with Mother’s Day? I’m re-posting this from last year because I feel it is important. There were so many heartfelt replies so I know many others deal with this day and often struggle through it.

I’m doing good with the no kids part, check out my Kidless & Content article with Sasee:

http://sasee.com/2011/10/01/kidless-and-content/

But I can’t seem to get over missing my mom and Mother’s Day hits hard.

Please leave a comment with how you manage on this day.

Any suggestions or encouragement for each other in either circumstance is most welcome.

I know Jesus is the only One who can fill those empty places in our hearts.

And I also know the Lord will pass the following message on to my mother – the very best mother in all the world. What a day  of rejoicing when we’ll be together again!

I’ve been watching a BBC series on dvd almost every weekend. Mid-way through the series, one of the main characters died very tragically. I was angry!  Could not believe it. After the anger passed, I felt like I was actually mourning the character.

I know, it’s a movie, not real, just a story. But somehow the family life of the series had become part of my emotions and I still miss this guy. He was an integral part of the story. An elderly man who was a bit of a crank and definitely eccentric. Yet still likable. I know I’ll have to get used to him being gone, but I’ll miss him : )  Obviously good writing.

So…how do we make our characters likable?

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and thought about the characters long after?

Or actually mourned a character?