tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post628219081406697147..comments2023-09-10T06:13:15.389-04:00Comments on Nine Naughty Novelists: The fine line between sympathetic and annoyingkellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865842550376328393noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-25368124081171893152010-05-10T22:02:39.902-04:002010-05-10T22:02:39.902-04:00PG: send me an email and tell me what you're r...PG: send me an email and tell me what you're referring to - I've read all the Dresden books but they get jumbled in my mind and I can't recall how Proven Guilty ended.<br /><br />In general, I like heroes and heroines who have big noticeably flaws - esp. heroines. I don't like the beautiful, brilliant, kind, quirky, perfect heroines, so when a heroine does something that annoys me, I actually like her a bit more because she's believable. I'm not talking about Too Stupid to Live, but you know what I mean.<br /><br />I find that Amanda Quick's regency heroines tend to annoy me - I know they're supposed to be daffy/eccentric but sometimes they just seem stupid. And I used to think I stopped reading Anita Blake because of the weird sex, but lately I've realized - no, it's b/c she's depressing and a bitch.<br /><br />I'm looking forward to reading Lead Me On because I know lots of people who found the heroine annoying but from what I've read about the book, she sounds annoying in a sympathetic way.Kinsey Holleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07131588359263181570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-29390565713685982302010-05-10T18:48:36.705-04:002010-05-10T18:48:36.705-04:00Yes I most certainly have met, I mean READ, (man I...Yes I most certainly have met, I mean READ, (man I am losing it!) characters who've annoyed me. I'm not sure what that fine line is, though. I do think that a character who's self-aware and knows their little phobia or fear or issue and struggles with it, is more sympathetic than one who just lets it control their life.kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13865842550376328393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-66032606722932262622010-05-10T16:02:12.282-04:002010-05-10T16:02:12.282-04:00Hmm... Meg and PG have good points... if I can to...Hmm... Meg and PG have good points... if I can totally relate to the character, then I can be understanding of that weakness, but if I can't, that is going to translate into some unforgivable flaw that becomes more and more of a problem.<br /><br />Maybe part of it is whether s/he comes to recognize the problem--it's one thing when s/he can acknowledge the issue and grows because of it; it's another when s/he clings to this misguided belief or way of being.Fedorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10879033776125666713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-58400744192106914152010-05-10T13:08:46.961-04:002010-05-10T13:08:46.961-04:00I think it all depends on the reader. We all have ...I think it all depends on the reader. We all have our quirks--and, frankly, I think they matter so much more than anything the characters say or do. <br /><br />Your character can be as well written and motivated and sympathetic as all get out, but if something about them hits a nerve with a particular reader, ain't nothing's gonna save 'em.<br /><br />Take Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden, for example. I like the series, like the character...or, at least, I <i>did</i>. But there's an incident that occurs at the end of Proven Guilty that was a total FAIL for me.<br /><br />The mother in me was outraged to the point where I haven't even read the last three books yet...although I've promised my daughter I will. Probably. Some day. Maybe. I did read White Night (book 9) because I love Thomas to death, but other than that...just can't do it.PG Fortehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00819909187492632526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-12424166923114800622010-05-10T10:13:07.224-04:002010-05-10T10:13:07.224-04:00True Meg. It's easier to forgive a fear if we...True Meg. It's easier to forgive a fear if we can totally understand where it's coming from! And we all have them right? :)<br />ErinErin Nicholashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09216604251011058060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-334971464359338872.post-91150483725748227932010-05-10T08:04:52.102-04:002010-05-10T08:04:52.102-04:00To some extent, I think it depends on how successf...To some extent, I think it depends on how successful the author is in getting me inside the character's head, and making me like him/her despite his/her problems. And on how likeable the character is in general. If a character is a real neurotic, then the fear seems like a character flaw. If she/he is actually a great person with one blind spot, I'm more inclined to give her/him a pass.Meg Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01081153466394828760noreply@blogger.com