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Bad Habit
The windows are down and the air is so thick you can see it hovering over the road ahead of you. Twilight dances on the horizon and the road is blissfully free of traffic so you stick your foot deeper into the accelerator. The wind breezes by you, smelling sweet with honeysuckle and fresh cut hay and you just want to stretch your arms out in the sunroof and fly. You think about all those times you spent hauling ass home three hours late on curfew when the weather was just like this. Memories, memories... memories all around you. Now you only need a cigarette and a bottle of Boone’s and a reason to be at Finger Lakes at three am. Just lay out under the stars on the hood of that old Ford and be thankful for the wide open skies of Missouri countryside while drinking my Boone’s from a paper bag and listening to REO Speedwagon.
The other night on my way out into the country at one am, it was just like a night I had when I was eighteen. When I was 18, I was driving home, speeding of course, with the T-tops down, the windows down and the music blaring. The air was stale and sticking to your lungs with each inward breath. There was a low fog settled in the valley and the moonlight glared off it like blue fire. Years later, in the same place, I had this moment of overwhelming sadness come over me as I sped towards the creek valley, so I slowed down and turned the music down. I was tempted to pull over but I didn’t want my girlfriend to freak out as she sped past me on the way home. Instead, I tried to breathe it all in. I tried not to let the sadness creep into me. Tried not to let the panic make me turn the opposite way. I thought about how I’d grown and what I’d accomplish since those days. But it’s always to get carried away in those moments and do things in the extreme.
I picked my speed back up and cruised down the winding back roads north of Columbia and drove down a gravel road that is as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. I thought about the drive home and my girlfriend mentioned she had the same déjà vu moment I’d experience and had the overwhelming urge to call her ex. Instead we went to bed with things on our mind. Which led me to think about vices later that night while trying to sleep. We all have them. It wouldn’t be right to have a main character without some. I'm riddled with them. Only fair to share the love.
What are some of the vices you’ve given your main character and are they anything like your own? Readers, if you read a character with the same vice as you does it help you identify with that hero/heroine more? Any vices you can’t stand in a character?
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82 comments:
Coffee is my worst vice. I need at least two or three cups per day never fail. And my hair. No matter how broke, I get my hair done like clockwork.
My vices.... Well, I am a coffee addict too. Other than that, I'm completely perfect. *cough cough*
Some might say that my reading habit must be fed like any other addiction. I always assumed vice had a negative connotation though, so I'll leave reading off.
My heroine tended to talk without thinking. Sometimes she would know she needed to keep her mouth shut and it would just be impossible for her.
And my hero drank a lot. Though he wasn't a drunk or alcoholic, just so consumed with clearing his name that he would be sucked into frustration sometimes. So, he drank.
Why does it not surprise me you had T-tops? And I was addicted to REO Speedwagon when I was in third grade. Of course then, it was a new release and not playing on the oldies station. And I was listening to an 8-track. 8)
My heroine is stubborn as hell. Exactly like me. Though she's a pessimistic stubborn where I'm an optimistic stubborn. My hero is a control freak and a bit OCD. I'm not OCD, but I'm all about control. So I guess I gave them my worst vices.
Great blog, Sin. Are there any vices that are too far gone to ever be able to redeem the character? Short of criminal stuff.
I have to come clean with the coffee addiction as well. I have Starbucks at least 3-4 times a week. No wonder I'm going broke. LOL I guess I'm more of a caffeine addict than anything else.
JK, unfortunately, I wish I had the hair vice. Most of the time I could care less what it looks like. LOL. I once went three years without cutting it.
Marn- I'm a book addict as well. I'm always buying books. Or going to the library. Or scouting for new books. Or series. Or new authors.
And you can have a negative connitation from reading. It can cause you to not even come close to your writing deadline...
Ter- I have to confess that I was listening to the REO Speedwagon on cassette (NOT CD). I've been known to pull out the records too and play those.
And I was a bad girl. Of course I had t-tops. I decided at the tender age of 9 I wanted a Camaro. Now I want a '68 to restore.
That's a good question you ask, Ter. I was wondering about that myself when I wrote the blog. See, the whole vice thing came from the thoughts of our ex's whom we both despise but for some reason we stayed with them for the longest time. So I got to thinking about my vices and if I had any that could be considered a huge character flaw.
So what constitutes a vice that's unredeemable (save the truly criminal ones)?
Infidelity (hehehe...makes me think of REO again) seems to be the big one. Which could also be called MASSIVE STUPIDITY.
And I really want an old muscle car. My dad would have the time of his life restoring it for me and I'd get to drive it. Though, are there any muscle cars that were automatics? LOL! I want an old fast back or a Roadrunner, but I would never turn down an old Camero.
Women all have the same fatal flaw: we're fixers. We think men are like houses--if the structure looks basically sound and the outside paint isn't peeling badly, we figure anything inside is fixable if we stick with it long enough. Then you realize you're married to The Money Pit.
I also call this the work and release program--because generally about the time a man gets decent enough to live with, he decides he can now do better than you and dumps your ass--and all your hard work goes to waste. Unless you like being that environmentally friendly. I don't; there is a reason why social workers drink on the job.
*And* I also call this flaw the girl who thinks she's a missionary and is seeking a missionary position. I am *never* seeking a missionary position; and I'm certainly not going to wait around for an Act of God to enlighten the guy to stop being an asshole.
Yet, those are the guys we love the hardest, isn't it? It's absolutely perverse. Like we're a bunch of little Marquess de Sades with ovaries.
My characters:
Ben: stubborn and pig-headed persistence to the point of detriment.
Livie: pessimistic and always looking for the other shoe to fall.
~~~~~
Adam: stubborn; pig-headed; and not very forgiving/let things go
Eve: type-A, prickly and easy to temper, destructive of other people's property if provoked, shrewish, and definitely unforgiving
Lucy: smokes, drinks, fornicates, frequents strip clubs (though he tips generously--so he's not stingy), plays the guitar (some believe that's a vice, you know; favorite song: Stairway to Heaven), drives too fast, lies by omission, and tends to try to play the odds in his favor
Good grief, Fran. That's horribly depressing. :) LOL!
That's me: depressing.
I agree about the fixer thing, but I'd like to think we can learn from our mistakes. I'm not signing up for a fixer-upper ever again.
But men have the opposite flaw. They believe a woman will stay the exact same without changing one iota. That's where the "Who the hell are you?" question comes from and the "You're not the woman I married!" one has to be my favorite. It's a wonder any marriages make it really.
interesting Fran... I always say us writers are a bunch of masochists. We are often beaten down, and when we do finally pick ourselves up again, we look to get beaten down again...
I say this every time someone rejects me, or says something not nice about my stories... Were all just a bunch of f*cking masochists...
Hellion- I don't think you're depressing. Although, I did get a laugh out of marrying the money pit and that's sad in a very true way.
PS. I think Lucy could be me if I were male.
Marnee: you're just smarter than the average woman and married a nice guy. He may be more of a peeling paint issue (okay, so you might have to buy him new "non-holey" shirts occasionally so you can be seen with him)--and not have the entire inside gutted and burnt out by arsonists.
But I still attest all women are always trying to fix men in some way, whether by its getting him underwear without holes in it or trying to get him to stop drinking through all his paychecks. Fixers.
Ter- I have to agree with infidelity being a huge vice that's hard (almost impossible) to redeem a character for. I think even some forms of lying is hard to redeem a character from.
Tiff, I always enjoy when you break out the *f* word. I was just talking to Marn about that last night. Being a writer means getting beat down often so that we can stand back up and try again. Now, with that being said, I don't have anything to be rejected for so I should probably shut up and sit down. LOL
Tiff, darling, I know you're a Marquess de Sade with Ovaries. But you do make it look so elegant...
Terr: you're right about men asking the opposite question! *LOL* That's totally what they do! *LOL*
Sin: really? What sorts of lying? And yeah, you could probably be Lucy...could be why I love you and Lucy so much. *LOL*
taking it like a true sub, eh, Sin? LOL
Yes elegance, that's me... lol
I think the lying depends on what it does to another person and how redeemable they are through the hero/heroine's eyes. Say the hero lies in a major way to the heroine and breaks her heart so bad that she sinks into the pit of despair, starts to waste away and then comes to find out that he didn't mean a word of it? It becomes a trust issue then and trust is hard to come by no matter how deep the love.
I enjoy a good beat down just like any other Tiff. Put me in latex and strap me down. LOL
This is taking an interesting turn. I blame Tiff. LOL!
But the motivation behind the lie is the issue. If he lied to save her from some other kind of heartbreak, or because he wants her so much and knows he can make her happy that'll he'll tell her anything she wants to hear, then that's better than lying for selfish motives.
Though that second one does sound like selfish motives too. I just know I'd rather have some guy lie and tell me I look great than be honest and tell me I look like a whale. LOL!
Yeah, that kind of lying is hard to recover from. (That's not what Lucy does. Lucy lies so he can commit more sins. If he owns up to what he wants to do, then he'll be told he can't do that. So his motto is: Do as the Christians do. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission, so if you really want to do something, just do it. They'll probably forgive you anyway...and if they don't...*shrugs* Who cares? You'll have gotten what you wanted.
I live by that rule as well. I don't ask. I just do it and deal with the aftermath later when I can blow it off.
*grin* Whatever you say dear.
Ter- I'm talking a more substantial lie other than a white lie. I'm talking like two days before you get married he comes into your bedroom, touches your face briefly, memorizing everything about you before ripping your heart out. It doesn't really matter if he does it to keep you safe, he still lied. And once your heart has been ripped out by that person before it's hard to go back after that. There's always that fear "It happened once, what keeps it from happening again" sort of thing. Once a big lie has been uttered, how do you redeem a character fully to regain full trust? I'm not sure you can in life or in character.
Sin - you're right that that kind of lie would be hard to redeem but to me, in a romance, not impossible. For me, intention is everything. I can forgive most things if there was a good reason for it. And besides, after a black moment like that, the HEA would be sooooooooooo satisfying.
Hmmm...vices. That's like half my genetic make up there. My female character is a lot like me. She's addicted to coffee, a workaholic, stubborn, attracted to bad boys and loves food.
My male characters are molded towards my real life friends or acquaintances, and they are a quirky and creative bunch. They don't lie, but they omit things, and then you have to ask them a million questions to get to the whole story.
Tres annoying :?
Oh, and Hellion, I didn't say YOU were depressing, just that thought was depressing. Even if accurate, still a bit sigh-inducing.
LOL! I'm not smarter than the average woman; I just lucked out I think.
I do admit to spending years prior to DH trying to twist some man into something he wasn't. And like anything you patch up or put a bandaid on, you are left constantly wondering if all your hard work will fall apart when you aren't paying close enough attention.
Too exhausting for me. :) I like my angst inside my head. Real life drama and I never mix well.
I don't know. What Sin just described...I don't know if you can forgive it. Besides, what she describes sounds like a man who "did it to PROTECT her from his darkest self" which that excuse is just reason Sin needs to skin him and tack his hide to the wall for all other who follow him. Sin doesn't need protection. And being a P-[BLEEP: Hellion, I can't believe you THOUGHT that word!] just reveals you don't TRUST HER, so why should she trust you.
I am depressing, aren't I? Maybe I should go as Debbie Downer for Halloween instead of the Princess of Thieves theme.
That's it! Women love drama! And then about 70% of the population usually wises up enough to save their drama-fixes through Soap Operas rather than dating one.
But I still think lying can be redeemable.
And you are not depressing. Stop that!
If that BLEEP word is the one I'm thinking of, I yell that in traffic all the time.
See, that's the difference with me and Sin. Connotation. LOL! Because guys in my imagination (and unfortunately my books) are not deep enough to have a dark side. So I never think of that.
Today's a much better day. One of my students said I was awesome at customer service. I told her I loved her.
Good grief you aren't depressing. LOL!
I think lying for the right reason is redeemable. Lying just to lie, not so much.
Sin's men/heroes make Anita Blake characters look like happy fuzzy bunnies.
Terri, which letter follows your P-word?
I know what letter follows my "P" word. I bet it's not the same as either one of you are thinking.
Nic! Girlfriend, I ain't seen you in a hot minute! How goes it darling? What's new?! How are your characters treating you?
And I'm highly flattered you think my characters make AB look like happy fuzzy bunnies. That made my morning.
Hellion- you're always sharing the love.
Vices are what makes characters fun. Of course, Kate's vice was chocolate in TACOM. I had a lot of fun making sure I got her vice down exactly by eating lots and lots of chocolate. LOL.
I have a hero on the horizon who is a (recovering/recovered) drug addict/alcoholic. But, he's going to be HOT when I write his book.
The other hero... his vice is that he hates romance books. Which gets him into trouble. LOL.
And I always successfully kill off my own blog. LOL
Go, Ely! Great job getting into the role of VICE.
*sucks in a breath* He HATES romance novels? *eyes wide* You know I don't think that's forgivable.
Ely, LOL, a man hating romance books.. go figure! I can't wait until you handle him!
And I can't wait for more of this other hero. He sounds dark and delish!
Sin my characters are roughing me up at the moment..lol. They want to do all sorts of things that I just don't have to time to write about right now. Thank God for The Trusty Notebook. Other than that I'm just trying to keep the 26 Federal blog alive so that the fans don't kill me.
Nic, at least you have fans willing to put a hit out on you if you don't update fast enough! And you deserve those fans too. But not in the want to kill you way. The obsessed fan way- of course. LOL
Hellion - "r"
Is this where I admit chocolate is a MAJOR vice of mine? Not my heroine's though. I mean, she's female so she's not turning it down, but her problem is she never eats. She's wasting away. Good thing her hero is a chef. :)
Thanks for agreeing with me, Marn. I was afraid I was going to be the one dissenting voice again.
I hear that Sin!
I'm waiting on you to post something new and oh so vicey so I can get my fandom on too.
*waits*
Then yours is a different P-word, my friend. I don't do the Pr-word anyway. I go straight to the D-word equivalent. *LOL*
Terri, your heroine doesn't eat? I don't trust skinny women. I don't blame Bryan for being put out by her.
But you don't like men without necks so you won't like Bryan either. hehehe
Now, Max, you can have Max. He's right up your alley. And he likes older women! LOL!
OMG. I think I just heard an explosion on the boat.
I also already know how to cook. Men who cook don't make my toes curl. Men who do dishes however...as they are rhapsodysing in detail about my superb cooking, I love them.
I'll take Max. I like younger men.
SEE!
No explosion. Hellion knows what I mean. That was the point of Max's story. He's 25 and the heroine is 35. Trust me, she will have no qualms about sailing away with Max.
Terri she doesn't eat? My mind can't even wrap around that as right now I have visions of a hamburger topped with avocado,jalapenos, onions and lettuce. Can you tell it's lunch time here?
Thank god. I was thinking about the quickest way to jump off the boat.
Geisha - My heroine doesn't eat, but unfortunately for me, I don't suffer that problem. I finished my handburger about 20 minutes ago. LOL!
Sin: Chicken. *LOL*
Geisha: YUM! Can I come have lunch with you?
Sin you know your lunch date is always open. Hurry up and get here so we can go ogle the Wall Street guys and some undercovers from the 7th Precinct. Nothing like having some muscles and a hamburger :D
Hellion- Dude. I'm not as dumb as I look. LOL
Nic, if it wasn't so expensive to fly up there I'd hop a plane right now. LOL
Hellion I've got room for you too at the "Ogle Table" :D
So, what about a hero that just loves women. Is that a vice? I can't imagine it would work in a romance for a heroine to catch her hero checking out another woman's ass.
Since we're talking about ogling...LOL!
Depends, does he love her to distraction? If the heroine catches the hero checking out another woman's ass as she walks by she deserves to smack the hell out of him and walk away and find someone better. He should be walking slightly behind her oogling her ass.
My vices: Books & collecting.
Mens irredeemable vices: being a total MCP, adultery. And anyone that uses the word "Dude" more than once in a sentence.
DJS- how about awesome? Awesome, more than once in a sentence (though I can probably assure you I do it) is annoying.
Damn, I say dude all the time. Though probably not more than once per sentence.
Sin - then does that work both ways? Can the hero catch the heroine ogling another guy? I've read that and it's often used to show the hero jealous and more possessive or makes him realize he doesn't like the idea of her eyeing other men. I think we're talking double standard here if the hero doesn't get to ogle. LOL!
Of course I'm talking about a double standard. I will admit that I stare at Mattycakes ass more often than not. *I* can't help myself. But if he were to check someone else out other than me (Lord help him) I'd do it too and it would drive him bananas. His jealousy meter is stronger than mine. He can't stand anyone to look. Whereas, a girl can look all she wants. I'd break her pretty little fingers if she touched. And his too.
If I were to write it, I suppose I might write it the opposite way with the hero checking someone out and the heroine breaking heads and not getting overly defensive about it. He better have a damn good reason- that's all I'm sayin'.
I don't know how Sin stands to talk to me: I'm always using awesome.
And Dude.
Apparently nobody wants to talk to me.
You're all about bashing yourself today. I adore you. Hush. You don't use awesome too much.
Hellion - You use "Lord" and "Bastard" much more than "dude" or "awesome". LOL! You're at your best when you use them both in the same sentence.
Sin - I was never the jealous type but then I never married or dated a guy other women wanted to ogle. Then again, they skipped the ogling and just slept with them so who am I to judge.
But I don't care much when a guy I'm with looks at other women. Makes no sense since I'm terribly insecure. LOL! I guess it's because I fully intend to keep looking too.
I don't think I have any vices; therefore, neither do my characters. I am, of course, in denial which in of itself can be a vice. I know that Jake is most certainly in denial - without a paddle I might add. Get it - D'Nile - without a paddle. Anyways...
Reading your blog brought me back to high school and T-tops and REO Speedwagon. There I've dated myself and that's okay. There are just some things you can't deny!
And Hellion - I am such an idiot! I totally forgot Lucy is the big Guy from down under! I thought he was a she. Shame on me. I'm going to have to mentally add an 'i' to his name as in Luci. I don't know. I'm rattling on now which is my other vice. Melissa tends to rattle on. It works because then Jake gets to growl 'Shut up and kiss me.'
You're right. I do have a foul mouth. *LOL* Much more than a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure mouth.
*sighs appreciatively* I love the Shut Up and Kiss Me moments. And I blame a girl for rattling on. *LOL*
I'm sorry for the Lucy bit...it's what God calls him because it's irksome. (To be fair He calls Gabriel "Gabby".) I'm always afraid to do Luc for fear people will read "Luke".
I have to explain. A young man-translate surfer dude wannabe-had an interview with me for a job. Within the first 5 minutes, he said "Dude" 28 times. The Admin. Asst. started counting. After that, Dude was just not good. No, he didn't get the job.
We are in Pittsburgh. There is no surf in the rivers.
DJS - No surfing on the rivers? LOL! You don't need dude, y'ins have souside n'at. LOL!
Thankfully, I never picked up that accent.
You belong to the Yunzer's Club? I'm headin to Sliberty to get a sammitch. Maybe Primanti's.
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