It's the first Wednesday in September, so it's time for the Insecure Writers Support Group!
Our wonderful co-hosts this month are:
Kate Larkindale (that's me!), SE White, JS Pally, Olga Godim and Natalie Aguirre!
This month's question is an interesting one:
Do you have a favorite character archetype you tend to gravitate toward in your writing?
I'm not sure any of my characters are archetypes, but I certainly find I have characters who fit into certain roles in a number of my books. I often write from the POV of characters who are outcasts, whether they have been made that by other people, or if they have put themselves in that box. I also seem to write a lot of characters who are reluctant or forced to be caregivers.
The first I can kind of understand. I write primarily YA, so my characters are young people and when I was young, I felt constantly like an outcast. My family moved a lot when I was a kid, so every couple of years I found myself in a new school, in a new country, with a bunch of new kids I knew nothing about. Learning all those new sets of rules to try and fit in grew exhausting after a while, so instead of bending myself to their ways, I learned to embrace my difference and even to highlight it.
The reluctant caregiver I often write isn't so easily explained. I actually have no idea where that comes from, but you'll certainly find them in my books whether it's as blatantly obvious as it is in Standing Too Close or Chasing the Taillights, or more subtle.
Another character type I seem to be drawn to is the confident best friend. A lot of my MCs are kind of shy or socially awkward, but almost all of them have a bestie who's the complete opposite - the life of the party, the one who will stand up and tell the world what's what, who will grab the world by the horns and force it to bend to their will. I think this is the person I've always wanted to be, but because of the whole moving thing and wanting fit in, I've always been far too much of a people-pleaser to be.
In the long run, I think every character has pieces of me in them and because of that, it's hard to pick a favourite.
Do you have a character archetype you keep coming back to? Is it something you enjoy writing, or do you just find yourself doing it without really thinking about it?
