Your favorite character in your stories

[SimonDoom]

Of all the characters in the stories you've written, which is your favorite, and why? You can pick more than one if you can't choose one over the other.

In my case, it's the two characters in my light-BDSM story In The Hallway -- Janna and Tom. I had to think about it for a while, but I settled on them, and I couldn't pick one over the other. It's an erotic D/s encounter between two people who've never had an encounter like that one before. The story was more character-driven than most of my stories. Each of the characters goes through a process of self-discovery and exploration.

What's your answer?

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Of all the characters in the stories you've written, which is your favorite, and why? You can pick more than one if you can't choose one over the other.

In my case, it's the two characters in my light-BDSM story In The Hallway -- Janna and Tom. I had to think about it for a while, but I settled on them, and I couldn't pick one over the other. It's an erotic D/s encounter between two people who've never had an encounter like that one before. The story was more character-driven than most of my stories. Each of the characters goes through a process of self-discovery and exploration.

What's your answer?

I really liked that story. I don't usually like the BDSM stories where the woman takes one look at the man and just, you know, SUDDENLY DISCOVERS that she's really been a submissive all her life and now will let him do whatever he wants. I liked the premise you worked from to make the whole thing make sense.

I'm not going to answer for myself, because I don't think I have enough stories to choose from yet.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Rutherford “Ruthie” Lewis in my story Investing Time. Ruthie’s kind and patient and funny and an anchor and brilliant and he’s dead. Died in 2012 shortly after the FMC Kiera (Cara), his granddaughter, was abducted from Hungary to Italy; never was sick a day in his life and had a heart attack at seventy-eight. His death was been hard for the MMC, Brian, and rest of the Lewis family to get over.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Wow, that's a good question.

Since the character Dwight in My Fall and Rise is, basically, my husband, I ought to say he's my favorite, but he doesn't read here...

I can't say I have one particular favorite, it fluctuates based on who I have been writing a lot lately.

One of my favorites in Mary and Alvin has always been a minor character, Stanley Pierce, the father of Alvin's first wife.

When he first appears, it's in a flashback to when a very young Alvin first dates his daughter Bonnie. He's just your typical working guy, with a snarky sense of humor.

Bonnie's father opened the door and saw Alvin standing there in his Dad's jacket, holding the small bouquet he'd picked up at the florist, and bellowed over his shoulder, "Bonnie! You going to the prom?" But as Alvin stepped into the room, he patted him on the back and grinned.

Bonnie came down the stairs in a pretty pale green dress. She smiled at Alvin and took the flowers. Her mother came in from the kitchen and introduced herself.

"You two have a lovely evening," she said, as Alvin helped Bonnie into her coat.

"Bring home leftovers," her father said from behind his newspaper.

"Oh hush, I've got chop suey in the oven," his wife admonished him.

"Bring home lots of leftovers," he muttered.

But his life life is disrupted by tragedy and when we encounter him again, later in the story, he's become a lonely, pathetic figure.

The door opened on his second knock. A short, bald man stood in the doorway, dressed in sweat pants and a bathrobe.

"Alvin, by god," the man's face lit up, "It's good to see you, come on in."

Alvin entered the apartment. "Jeezum, Stan, you got it warm enough in here?"

"I don't control it, it's all centralized. Come on, sit down."

They sat at the formica table in the little kitchenette. Stan smiled nervously at Alvin. "Say, uh, you didn't remember to, you know..."

"Did I ever forget?"

"From Amato's?"

"Classic cold cut Italian," Alvin said, pulling the paper wrapped sandwich from his coat pocket and setting it on the table.

Stan smiled and began to unwrap it. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"No, Stan, dig in."

"I'd offer you something, but they don't let us have a lot here. I could get you some coffee."

"Coffee'd be good."

Stan got up and filled two cups from a coffee maker on the kitchen counter. He gave one to Alvin and sat back down.

"Sorry it's decaf."

Stan took a big bite out of his sandwich.

"Mmm, thank you, Alvin," he said, still chewing. "Charlotte come by a couple weeks ago. She said she talked to the nurse, so she wouldn't bring me Italians no more."

I actually felt bad about Stanley. He'd been full of life, and I kicked it all out of him. So I tried to make things right with him. But hey, read the damn story if you want to know more. It's only, like, 30 chapters so far.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Amelia from Rope and Veil - my first character where I really explored depth and complications and an alternate take on sexuality. Her story was the first time I thought I might be fairly competent with this writing caper.

And I've always a soft spot for Maerlyn from my Arthurian myth thing, because he was a ton of fun to write and, as usual with my characters when there are too many options, can't make his mind up who he wants to tantalise him most. A bit of an alter-ego, I think.

 

[NotWise]

Of all the characters in the stories you've written, which is your favorite, and why? You can pick more than one if you can't choose one over the other.

Why do I feel like I've answered this question recently? It's like deja vu.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Why do I feel like I've answered this question recently? It's like deja vu.

A few/couple of weeks ago there was a "which of your characters would you like to have sex with?" thread (or words to that effect).

 

[SimonDoom]

Why do I feel like I've answered this question recently? It's like deja vu.

I wondered the same thing when I posed the question. I don't specifically recall it being asked, but I suspect that over the years most ground has been covered. Doesn't make it worthless to raise old questions again considering there's always an influx of new contributors.

 

[NotWise]

I wondered the same thing when I posed the question. I don't specifically recall it being asked, but I suspect that over the years most ground has been covered. Doesn't make it worthless to raise old questions again considering there's always an influx of new contributors.

I searched. I think there were four threads with "favorite character" in the title, but the recent one that Belle remembered is probably what I was thinking of.

But you're right. New stories, new authors, new answers.

My answer hasn't really changed, and I still struggle to make male characters interesting.

 

[vanmyers86]

Nice question!

In thinking about it, I realized a couple of favorite characters are bit players, but they're vivid and fun and bring a gust of fresh air to their stories. Officer Tori Wagner in Michelle Makes a Move is a mere walk-on, but she's profane and funny and makes me smile. She's in a follow up story (if I ever finish it), and is just good company.
Likewise, Uncle Henny in No Men to Love Ch. 2 serves as comic relief. He's another one who's a pleasure to write and spend time with.
As for main characters, I have a soft spot for Andy in The Minister Takes a Break. Like Uncle Henny, he's the kind of loving and caring (and smart and funny) minister I wish the world had more of.
All my male leads have some quality that I love - wish fulfillment, no doubt. But Andy is special to me.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Nice question!
As for main characters, I have a soft spot for Andy in The Minister Takes a Break. Like Uncle Henny, he's the kind of loving and caring (and smart and funny) minister I wish the world had more of.
All my male leads have some quality that I love - wish fulfillment, no doubt. But Andy is special to me.

Rev Andy was really special; funny and charming and gives some moving homilies and prayers. The Minister Takes a Break is a special story

 

[Hypoxia]

They're all my faves, even the lousy ones, else I'd not have written of them.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

Aw, crap...

Ummmm...

Well, I've fallen hard for Karen from the Alexaverse, but I also love Becky from Time Rider, because she's nuts. Really good-natured until you get her angry, and then she's Miss Krav-Maga 2019. And then there's Nanu, also from Time Rider, who is from ancient Egypt, but living in our era. She has absolutely no sexual scruples at all, but somehow manages to remain naive and innocent in most ways.

I also love Freja and Jeanie, because they're both completely deranged, and would give Nanu a run for her money in alley cat morals. They're just fun to write. One's a depraved genius, and the other one's an air-headed slut with a heart of gold. And they're married. What's not to love? They're my insane power couple.

It's so damn hard to pick, but I'm gonna go with Karen, lest she set me on fire with her mind.

 

[RetroFan]

I had a lot of fun writing about Uncle Merv from 'Leanne the Lusty Lifeguard', a loud-mouthed, sexist, homophobic and chauvinistic used car salesman from Sydney, Australia because he takes political correctness and smashes it to a million pieces. If the special snowflake SJW's around today encountered Uncle Merv, I think they would need to retreat to their safe spaces and recover for several days, drinking plenty of soy to aid their recovery. Uncle Merv most certainly lives up to his nickname, 'Merv the Perve'. Luckily for the SJW's, Uncle Merv was born in 1927, Leanne the Lusty Lifeguard is set in 1979-80 and given his love of unhealthy food, beer, cigarettes and his disdain for sunscreen (it is for poofters) Uncle Merv would be long dead by now.

Another character I had a lot of fun writing about was Todd, a fat 300-pound bully from my 'PTA Queen Bee and Teen Rebel' stories. He is so stupid that he thinks about himself in the third person, and gets himself into no end of trouble thanks to his gluttony, laziness and stupidity. In one scene Todd bullies two younger boys and pisses of one boy's older brother, who makes clear his intention to beat up Todd. Todd takes refuge in the girls' bathroom, puzzling over why there are no urinals and what some strange blue bins are in the stalls that aren't in the boys' bathroom. Things only get worse when some cheerleaders go into the girls' bathroom, the captain of the cheer squad suffering a nasty dose of food poisoning ...

 

[Bramblethorn]

I wouldn't want to meet her, but I'm rather fond of Dr. Ashley Marchand from "The Floggings Will Continue..." I don't often write outright villains, and she was such fun.

 

[JPGmvny]

My favorite character is Evelyn Manners.

She started as a minor character in a draft of the first part of a story, but I pulled that scene out and saved it. I knew I needed to use it so I put her back in part 2 and then that part and the final one ended up turning chiefly into her story with Bridget Casey. I loved writing the scenes with her and watching her evolve as a character, especially when she realized she was in love after doing something horrible with someone else.

Very Rich: Part 2

Very Rich: Part 3

 

[HeyAll]

No favorite character, but I love writing hardheaded and determined female detectives.

 

[SimonDoom]

I wouldn't want to meet her, but I'm rather fond of Dr. Ashley Marchand from "The Floggings Will Continue..." I don't often write outright villains, and she was such fun.

Good character, good story, great ending!

 

[YDB95]

I think it's a tossup between Elizabeth and Sally from Beware the Quiet One.

Sally was a rare case where I knew exactly the point I wanted to make but I didn't have any real-life friends or acquaintances in mind to base her on, so I really had to focus on spelling things out as to her personality - there was no risk of things falling through the cracks because I already knew them and forgot that readers wouldn't. Also, the dynamics of her relationship with her friends - loving, but a touch condescending, and she teaches them all a lesson in the end - came out exactly as I'd hoped, and the comments on the story have backed me up on that.

With Elizabeth, I was taking a pretty big risk basing the whole crux of the story not only on one physical characteristic, but on an exceptionally private one. She could have turned out utterly one-dimensional as a result, but instead I ended up with someone I actually felt like I knew pretty well. Also, the unique writing style I used was a big challenge, but also a fun one. And her sex scenes were a joy to write, which is unusual in my experience - usually that's the hardest part to nail.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Why do I feel like I've answered this question recently? It's like deja vu.

Deja vu all over again?

I have a couple of ones I like, but I think I identify most with Meg from, oh yes, Meg.

 

[vanmyers86]

I wouldn't want to meet her, but I'm rather fond of Dr. Ashley Marchand from "The Floggings Will Continue..." I don't often write outright villains, and she was such fun.

I just finished this and absolutely loved it! Deft use of humor, which often doesn't work as well as one might hope in a sexy story, and skillful plotting, writing and overall execution. Well done.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I wouldn't want to meet her, but I'm rather fond of Dr. Ashley Marchand from "The Floggings Will Continue..." I don't often write outright villains, and she was such fun.

Yes. She was interesting in a fearsome way in a really good story. Though, I'd kinda like to meet her and pick her brain.

~~~~~~~~~
Reading some of these descriptions I'm now thinking that I need to get much more inventive with my characters... Another task to add to the "how to write better" syllabus.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes. She was interesting in a fearsome way in a really good story. Though, I'd kinda like to meet her and pick her brain.

I'm working on another piece that involves her, although it's a very different kind of story. I have way more backstory in mind for her than I'm ever likely to get written.

 

[Voboy]

Huh. Good question.

You can tell who my favorite characters are, because they get more than one story. But if I had to pick one, I'd probably go with SF space heroine Pixy Pfeiffer. She might not get any more stories, though; I'm not sure. Her muse has been quiet for awhile.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I'm working on another piece that involves her, although it's a very different kind of story. I have way more backstory in mind for her than I'm ever likely to get written.

I just figured out the phrase I was trying to come up with, to describe her. Hers is a very inventive kind of sociopathy. And the thing is, I've met a few psychologists I could see using their knowledge to inflict maximum chaos.