Characters

When I write a character, I generally have this person in my head, what he looks like, how he acts, what his personality is like.  They usually become my best friends.  Rob Murgatroyd, Benjamin Beerenwinkel, Saul Castle, even Alex Savage.  Some say that there is something of me in every one of the lead characters I've written, and perhaps there is.  But here's the thing.  Though I create these lead characters, I have no idea how other people will perceive them.

Benjamin Beerenwinkel, for example, was one of my favourites.  He was a writer with cancer.  His coping mechanism?  Alcohol and self-destruction.  But the feedback I got was that he was this selfish guy, self-obsessed, someone you could really get to like.  He did bad things and he blamed everyone else for them.  Me, I thought he was a nice guy, but maybe I was biased.

Danny McIllvoy, who was obsessed with one of his work colleagues.  Did people think he was pathetic or was he a man madly in love with a beautiful woman?  Did he just want to save her from the troubles she was going through or was he a sad case?

I wonder what people thought of Rob Murgatroyd, the investigative journalist who'd lost his family in a horrific car crash.  I suppose he was on a mission of self-destruction too.  But no one ever told me what they thought of him as a person.

Alex Savage, the ex-SAS soldier, now a hitman.  Divorced, two sons.  Ruthless and yet flawed.  Did people like him?  No one ever said.

And now Saul Castle, a former teacher now down on his luck, addicted to alcohol, seeking redemption.  Saul doesn't blame anyone for the mistakes he's made in the past.  He's very open about what he has done.  Maybe he's too open.  He's seeking redemption, but what do people think of him?  Is he weak?  Does he deserve to be where he is?  Does he deserve to be judged, or should be give him a chance to make his life better?

See, when people tell me they don't like one of my characters, I'm slightly offended.  But I'm not offended because they dislike somebody I've created - that, in itself, is actually wondered, that someone I've invented can generate an emotion from someone who reads about them.  I'm offended because I see these guys as my friends.  I like them, for all their flaws.

But how about you tell me what you think of these guys?  I'd be intrigued to find out.