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?
A couple of my characters are also part outcasts as I too moved around several times (military family) and it was always a challenge to settle into a new place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today!
I'm drawn to outcasts too. Thanks for co-hosting with me this month.
ReplyDeleteI like that analysis. Sounds like you have characters that feel real :)
ReplyDeleteJemima @ jemimapett.com
I agree that a little piece of me is in all of my characters. Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Every teen definitely feels like an outcast at some point, so that's a solid angle for the genre. And I definitely see pieces of me in every character I write -- whether directly from me, or the loved ones who have had a profound influence. It took me a while to realize I was writing my dad into several characters -- who passed away when I was 24. Maybe your caregiver concept comes from something like that?
ReplyDeleteI also put many of my traits into my characters. Have a nice September. And Thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the caregiver character creates a forced proximity situation. Analyze what comes of the arrangement plot- or relationship-wise, and you'll likely have your answer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
I tend to write about women in challenging circumstances who have to overcome a challenge to live a fulfilled life. I don't think my characters are like me, but they are surrounded by snippets of my life, descriptions of places I've known or things that have meant a lot to me...all disguised as fiction. Thank you for co-hosting today!
ReplyDeleteHi and thank you for co-hosting the IWSG this month. I loved your analysis of the characters you like to write and recognised the confident best friend who is an important character in my WIP.
ReplyDeleteAlso curious about the reluctant caregiver. Happy IWSG day.
You have some interesting characters among your favorites. I think we can all relate to the young "outcast". Those YA years are so exciting, but they can also be a challenge while we learn to be grown-ups. Thanks for the great job of co-hosting today!
ReplyDeleteI, too, moved a lot, so making new friends became a specialty for me, a born extrovert. But the constant cycle of leaving friends when I moved warped me, too, because of the sorrow, so making deep friendships has been tough. As an adult, I sought to end the moving and have lived in the same home for 40 years! Yay!
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting and sharing your character choices with us -
We lived on our saiboat, in Mexico, for a number of years. The sailing community is very transitory. Sailing from one marina to another.
ReplyDeleteI learned keep people at arms length. Detached. Protecting myself from building friendships that would soon leave.
Thank you for co-hosting!
https://la-vita.us/insecure-writers-support-group/
I'm all about the hero and the explorer archetype when I write fantasy. They both go and grow through challenges. While the latter, more the former, strives more towards freedom and gaining independence.
ReplyDeleteBut in romance, I lean more towards the nurturing caregiver, the charmer/player and romantic idealist.
Thanks for co-hosting today!
Your thoughtful comments about how your characters reflect your life experience resonate with me. I also moved frequently as a kid, in an out of foster homes. I was taller, so often stood in the back, quiet and unobtrusive. And so we persevere -- and write!
ReplyDeleteConfident best friend is a good one. I've written a few of those, too! @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
The outcast is the perfect teen character. I create upper middle grade and have used the "forced care-giver" character.
ReplyDeleteIt is so tough to move about when growing up. It seems like you need to begin again each time you land in a new town. Thanks for cohosting this month!
I think a lot of us writers were outcasts--or at least outsiders--growing up. I definitely was, and I had some confident best friends who really helped me grow and get more comfortable in my own skin. They show up in various forms in my writing.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to pick a favorite character archetype, but since I know what it's like to be an outcast, most of my characters definitely stand out from others in some way. Maybe not in my first book, but in the rest that's usually the case.
ReplyDeleteThose are some interesting choices: an outcast and a reluctant caregiver. I can relate to both in life, but I never tried to write about them in fiction. Might be a worthy journey to explore either one as a writer.
ReplyDeleteYour choices are all easily identifiable characters. I'm sure it makes for enjoyable reading ;-) I can imagine you being the best of bestie friends having learned early on the importance of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
I moved a few times. It's annoying as hell. I twice moved in my own school district and omg it's like why was that *news*? Get a life, people. I was on a different bus, I got to school 2 minutes later. This is not the drama people made it out to be. My school was dumb. Idk.
ReplyDeleteThank you for co-hosting, Kate! Your characters sound like a good hang. I bought Standing Too Close, and I hope I can forestall my audiobook addiction long enough to read the ebook one day!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've got some good characters. I was lamenting to one critique partner that her character is a bad friend. I would much rather she be a confident one like your list!
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
Happy IWSG 15th Anniversary! Thanks for co-hosting this month. I too love a good confident best friend. I find that all the characters I write have a bit of me in them as well. I look forward to perusing your titles.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you moved around more than me, but I can definitely empathize with moving around and having to keep relearning roles and such. Funnily enough, I had several people I went to high school with tell me I always came across as confident when I posted about how miserable I was at my high school and how I didn't fit in, so that was odd. But I think, like you, I ultimately decided I was going to be me, no matter where I was.
ReplyDeleteI use a lot of archetypes but the magician and the outsider are ones I'm drawn to the most, which makes the outcast also very similar to the outsider.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting you noticed the 'life-of-the-party' type is a person who counter-balances your outcast type and it's the kind of person you wonder if there is an underlying desire in your heart to be that kind of person.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder about some of my characters. I think the mentors in my stories are the kinds of person I'd like to be. It's just that I don't have a lot of control over whether I am someone's mentor because you kind of need to be recruited to a degree by the person you are mentoring.
Thank you for co-hosting! I love the idea of a supportive confident best friend <3
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