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Idealistic Characters vs. Realistic Characters
Hello! I'm having a strange little issue with this in a story of mine, actually.
See, it goes like this. I have two characters who are women of nobility. One is called Valeria (aged 21) and the other one is called Juniper (aged 13). To sum it up, Valeria has the love of her people for her pure and innocent image. She would never lie to her people. After discovering an underground camp preparing for war she vowed to tell the truth about it to everyone. So in order to shut her up, they stuffed her in another noble's house (one allied with them) to keep her well-fed and groomed and yet quiet. Various events take place and Valeria goes into Juniper (or rather, her father's) custody. But my issue is this. Valeria is a very sweet and nice girl. But she's as thick as a brick - I mean, she's really naive and keeps blabbing on about peace, peace, peace. Juniper, on the other hand, is ridiculously cold and hard on Valeria because she thinks things through and has studied her politics. Valeria is usually wrong about things because she see things in a simple "why can't we all get along" way. But I fear that people will like Valeria and think that Juniper is just being mean which wasn't my intention. My intention is to have them bounce off of each other; some of Valeria's idealism can brighten up Juniper's dark perspective on things and vice-versa. But because Juniper comes across as really curt and blunt I'm not sure if people will like her. I personally like characters like her... but I don't know. People seem to like the naive and innocent type like Valeria. What do you think? Do you think a realistic character can be likable? Or are naive idealistic ones more likable? Or is it possible for them to both be likable? I'm looking for any and all opinions on the matter. And if you need more specifics about the girls, I'm more than willing. |
I think it largely depends on the audience you're writing for. No matter what you write, it's going to appeal to some people and not appeal to others. What you'd need to consider is whether the people who will like your story are the type that will like a bubbly air head or are the type to like a more bitter character.
Determining this requires a lot of impartiality, which can be difficult. It's natural to automatically say "People like me will like it!" but it's not always true. Try to imagine your story as if it were not written by you and you had no investment in it whatsoever. Would you like the story? (I've dropped entire stories before once I realized that not even I would be interested in my story :lol: ) I think that if you're able to do that impartially, it'll be apparent to you what changes you'll need to make. If you don't come across any changes, you could try dialing back the biting criticisms on the one, and making the other say more stupid things. Keep in mind that while there are plenty of bitter people out there, not everything out of their mouth is something icy and cruel. (Of course, don't take this personally, I've not read your story, so this is only general advice, not something based off what you're actually doing or not doing in your story) So try examining whether your character is believably icy or not. If she's just constantly mean, then no, people probably won't really like her. Though personally, I don't really understand you placing that kind of personality on a 13 year old. It doesn't quite seem right for the age... I'd buy it more if she was a brat rather a "ridiculously cold" person who had "studied politics." That's just not really something 13 year olds do. You might risk having her come off as an unbelievable cliche. Personally, I think the characters would make more sense flipped. The older one being more jaded, and the younger one being naive. That's pretty much how things work already, so there'd be no inherent issues with believability there. |
Ah, that's true. I've also dropped things (characters/stories/ideas/everything) because I found out I probably wouldn't be interested in that or buy into it. I just feel a bit biased because usually I dislike those naive bright-eyed girls so perhaps I was being too harsh on her merely for being what I dislike in other things. I should probably take a bigger step back and try to work it out more.
The quality/iciness of the dialogue is also true, I can't believe that slipped my mind before!xD I think that I should reach a balance there. No, no, I understand what you're saying completely and it's very helpful, thanks. Even slight word changes can make a difference in terms of feel so I'll make sure to keep my eyes open regarding that. What I want to do is strike a balance - they're both supposed to be likable on some terms so if one is hated and you're on the other's side it becomes a little unbalanced, I feel. I can understand that your problem with her age, though. I guess my explanation would be due to the era a lot of nobles had to grow up fast. And since she was more involved in the political world than the older I think it makes sense that she acts the way she does. She's also married (the thirteen year old) albeit an arranged one. It's just not a kind time so a lot of people had to grow up fast. That's kind of what I wanted to achieve with a lot of the characters (well besides Valeria) but there's a good chance that doesn't come across so I'll have to work on that. Because she's been held up in a manor all of her life as opposed to the other girl who has seen first-hand what can go wrong. Thanks for the feedback though, I'll definitely think about this some more. Thanks so much for the insightful reply and comments. You've been very helpful! |
Ah, I see what you mean now about the age. That does make more sense. But don't forget that even if she's in an era where 13 is considered much more grown up than it is now, she's still 13 (the beginning of puberty, lots of hormones racing around making her have poor judgment and thoughts), so just be sure you don't completely write as her as an adult. You know what I mean?
Glad I could help! :) Good luck with your characters. If you've got any further questions, I'll do my best to help. |
True, true. You bring up a good point! Actually that could make for some interesting scenes so I'm definitely glad you brought that up!
If I have any other questions, I will definitely come to you, thanks. |
I really like the idea. :) Creative!
I think both characters are like-able. In the end maybe you could tweak the way they think and talk so it's a little mixed. I love the way how you made Valeria, the older one, the more naive character. Most people would think that adults are way more mature and cold-hearted than children, but if you continue with this story, maybe people will see that even fictional books can be real. Good luck with your book! |
I love more curt, blunt characters, who aren't afraid to be a little snarky. Naive characters are cute, but they tend to annoy me when they don't think about situations realistically and are too optimistic, so they need a character around who has a more realistic view of the world and isn't afraid to say it. Valeria and Juniper sound like they balance each other really nicely in that way. Just make sure that neither of them leans to far towards there roles as 'the naive one' and 'the realistic one' -- make sure that as well as balancing each other, they're both balanced characters that could stand on their own.
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