A Writer's Guide to Fangirling

In my family, if you want to fangirl over something, it's best if you do it in private. Otherwise it will catch on and next thing you know, everyone is fangirling with you, except that they're really obnoxious about it and it goes from "oh look I really like this" to "OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS MORE THAN AIR".

My family knows for a fact that when I like something, they're going to hear about it. But I save the real freak out moments for private meditation... or Pinterest. *smug grin*

Pinterest is the one thing that got me through my online driver's test. 10 minutes of work, 5 minutes of the "Geek" section on Pinterest (alternating with "Women's Fashion", but that is way less exciting). It's as if all of the nerds converged onto Pinterest at once. Everything you could think of --- Doctor Who, Star Wars (which I still only have baseline knowledge of), Lord of the Rings, Sherlock, you name it --- lines the Pinterest boards of dorks around the world. I feel right at home.

Doctor Who, for the win. Who doesn't want a bunch of (pretty) fans who can actually follow a complex storyline?

This post is more than an excuse to further my love of geeky pins. It is to address a very serious situation that many of us writers, usually female, find ourselves in...

*shmirk*

... love with our very own characters.

My impression has been that this is more of a female writer's problem. I mean, writers are usually readers, and every female reader learns about the opposite sex primarily from reading literature. Well, maybe not primarily, but they do indeed learn from literature! So it seems only natural that when we find ourselves on the opposite side of the publication process we want to conjure up the most swoon-worthy hero ever known to all of mankind.

Swoon-worthy Gentleman, Section 2.6: Two words: Mister. Darcy.

That's wonderful! This world could use a few more swoon-worthy gents. Sometimes I feel like the world is in short supply... (Male readers are not to take offense.) Alright, so you've written up a genuine heartthrob. Congrats! You may even be in love with him just a teeny, tiny bit. And that's okay! Until...

Why settle?

... you start fangirling within the pages of your own book.

Chances are, you've done it a little before. He's such a dreamboat, so you write him in a little more often. Then a little becomes a lot. Then you sort of forget to write about his flaws. Flaws, shmaws, who needs 'em? Then the descriptions start to get a little too perfect. You've used the words "handsome", "attractive", and "supermegafoxyawesomehot" so many times that they are almost invisible in your manuscript. Before long, he's beyond dreamy and has become the epitome of all things charming. Prince Charming.

If you get this, I will love you forever.

You may not see this as a problem. After all, this character has started appearing in your dreams, and nobody minds having a handsome gent roaming around their dreamworld. Problem is, your editor might have a few bones to pick with him. Your readers too. Because, sweetie: Nobody like that exists.

Part of the reason everybody lurves a good hero is because, quite frankly, he's not quite perfect. Everybody has an Achilles heel, and your male character(s) are no exclusion. How is your character going to develop, change, or progress if he (or she) is already perfect? Oh wait: They can't.

The best characters are so real, you can essentially count them as your friends. That means flaws galore, as well as some redeeming qualities. They have secrets, uncharted territory, likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses. They have a breaking point and limits. If you're really close with a friend, you can probably rattle off a list of things about them... including their not-so-glamorous aspects. Same goes for your characters.

Even 900-some year old, handsome Time Lords can be awkward sometimes. ^_^

I am about to quote the movie version of Harry Potter. Brace yourselves. Sirius Black, take it away:

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

Heroes aren't just a big pile of good stuff. Villains aren't just born evil. A person develops their conscience and chooses to act. Now, I am going to tack on C.S. Lewis.


"Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it."

Your character is fighting an inward battle. They will sometimes go the right way, sometimes the wrong way. What matters is what side they ultimately end up on. So please, no Prince Charmings. Let him fight like the rest of us and choose a side.

Did I mention this sort of applies to all of your characters? Well, it does. It's just way easier to fall into the pitfall of a perfect guy versus a perfect girl. It tends to be that perfect heroines aren't as perfect as we think they are... which is another post for another day. Now, I leave you with some parting advice.

* Reading and writing updates to come!