Writings About Writing – Those We Love, Part One

Sherlock Holmes. Nancy Drew. Black Beauty. Charlotte and Wilbur. Velvet Brown. Despereaux. Yes, I’m just listing some of my personal favorite characters.

How did all of these authors do it? How did they make characters that aren’t perfect, but are so well loved? Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous detectives of all times, was often arrogant, broke the law, and had a cocaine addiction. Black Beauty… well, he was a horse. Wilbur was, let’s face it, not the sharpest knife in the drawer. And a pig. That too. Velvet Brown was a skinny, sickly kid who liked to play with paper horses cut out from magazines. Despereaux. He was a mouse. Again, skinny and sickly.

So how come we love Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web and hate Napoleon from Animal Farm? (I’m not the only one who didn’t like Animal Farm, am I?)

Basically, I’ll be discussing these questions and more in this little series.

What are some of your favorite characters? Do they have flaws? Have you made any characters that you absolutely loved, or hated? What made you like them so much?