Creating a Character with a Conscience
How hard can it be to create a character with a conscience? It’s not always easy, especially if you’re a guy trying to create a female character.
Readers of early drafts of my first novel, A FALSE DAWN, often told me that Louise, my character, seemed selfish and spoiled, caring for no one but herself. Who wants to read about a main character like that? Perhaps as a guy, I was trying too hard to make her bold and assertive, which is how I saw her.
It’s a challenge for a guy to write about women. Readers (especially women!) are very touchy about the characters they decide to like and follow. If Louise was too assertive, some women might see her as cold and selfish. If she’s too gentle and quiet, other readers might see her as weak and unappealing. It’s not as if I could draw on my own personal experience as a woman to create this character!
My challenge was: Give Louise more of a heart without making her look self-sacrificing at her own expense. The illustration in this post shows you one solution I found: She’s giving out clothing and supplies while she’s searching through French army camps in 1740s America, looking for the family that’s been torn apart and lost in the fighting between the French and the British.
I hope those of you who read these posts might want to check out my novel. What do you think of Louise?
About The Author
Jeff Heller
I'm a historical novelist who focuses on Colonial America, particularly the French-Canadians who settled North America in the 1600s and 1700s. My first novel, A FALSE DAWN, features Louise, a young wife and mother who must search for her son and her husband when the English invade their home in French-held Montreal and torch the city.