Turtle in the Road
The other day, on a busy stretch of a four-lane highway, I stopped my car to pick up a turtle that had crawled into the road, and I carried it to the side where I sent it on its way toward a pond.
I thought . . . this is the sort of thing my heroines would do.
I've been setting about creating a love interest in a YA idea I am working on. And I thought a lot about what I think is my ideal of beauty. And I thought about all the heroines I have created over the course of all my romantic comedies, and all my other novels. Most are attractive. One or two have been "beautiful"--the kind of woman to really cause people to pause (Ava in The Roofer, for example). But most of them, I think, are beautiful by virtue of their inner selves.
I had posted in the comments section from yesterday the idea that I know a couple of women who are very beautiful on the outside. And very not-so-beautiful on the inside. Almost in proportion to their external beauty. And I have know many, many, many women in my life who have been plainer by society's standards, and they have grown to be so incredibly beautiful in my eyes. They radiate something from the inside that transforms them.
In fact, I suppose by the standards of a lot of romance writers, I spend actually very little time describing the external appearance of my heroines. There's a detail or two. Usually hair color or length. Maybe some unique feature, like freckles (Kate in Freudian Slip). But that's it. Instead, I spend a lot of time describing who they ARE inside.
In my adult wip, Memory Falls, Evie is a documentary filmmaker, and she is very pretty (even when she shaves her head at one point), but to me she is most beautiful when she interacts with an elderly woman and kneels down to look her in the eyes and make a true connection with her.
Those are the moments of beauty in life. Like helping a turtle cross the road. Or kissing a child's boo-boo.
I have a friend [we'll see if he comments] working on a book with an UGLY hero. But I am finding, like Shrek . . . I am rather finding him endearing.
Thoughts? What is beauty? What outer actions reflect your hero or heroine's inner life?
Have a beautiful day!
22 comments:
For me it's how someone interacts with children, the elderly and animals. I'm blessed to have many "beautiful" people in my life and yet I probably couldn't describe them physically. Know what I mean?
Your turtle story reminded of something I did a while back. There was a cricket on my kitchen floor one morning, and instead of stomping him I gently picked him up with a paper towel and set him free on the back patio. As soon as I released him, a lizard darted from beneath the barbecue grill and had him for breakfast.
It was not beautiful. :(
Mary:
I agree. Most of my passion for social justice comes from believing it is how a society treats those three is a reflection on how advanced it is. I feel like we fail on so many levels here.
Jude:
But the INTENT was there. LOL!
Bet that lizard enjoyed his stay at your B&B, Jude. :(
I pick up bugs and spiders and such (not with my hands unless they're crickets or lady bugs) and put them outside.
I prefer to not describe my characters physically and I think this post touches on why. What's inside is so much more important. But I also give them a touch of the not-so-beautiful as well because we all have that.
There are many eye candy people in this world whose beauty falls straight to zero the minute they open their mouths. I think our society values outer beauty a tad too much and gives some of them the idea that it's all that counts.
There's a TV show - True Beauty - that I watch sometimes. It's a contest for beautiful people who don't know they're also being tested and judged on their inner beauty. Fascinating stuff.
Sarah:
I have never seen that show, but I twice or three times saw commercials for it. Fascinating indeed.
I think the same thing on characters. I think readers can create their own mental image. It's more important to show who they really ARE.
You're very beautiful, Erica. :)
I love the way you interact with your kids and the compassion you showed for a stranded little turtle. You are a true heroine in my eyes! ;)
Colleen:
Aw . . . thanks. The outer me shows some mileage. ;-) But the inner me is generally doing just fine.
E
I tend to show outward beauty in the reaction from other characters. Trinidad is beautiful, outwardly and on the inside, though to him his insides are very black. He grabs attention but he thinks it's just from his status as an archwarden, not his physical appearance.
My husband is pretty handsome in my eyes of course, but he has a certain light in his eyes sometimes when he talks to service people, with whom he's generally very friendly. Sometimes I notice waitresses giving him extra attention and I think it's that light. He's handsome, yeah, but he shines when he's being very friendly.
Woo hoo! Sam got a mention!
Yes, in my MG book, Sam is giant and not just ugly, but scary ugly. I just wrote a scene in which a little girl bursts into tears at the sight of him. He is, after all, part-monster.
But Sam is also part-human, and inside he's a 13-year-old kid who resents it when people automatically assume they know him just because he's giant and hairy and ugly. In fact, Sam is sensitive and loyal and whip-smart. And he can lift at least 400 pounds, which comes in handy.
I've never written a character like Sam before, and I'm loving it. In the past, the kids in my books have always been lithe and attractive. Sam is a huge departure, but in a way, I feel like Sam is the most real of all. After all, who doesn't sometimes feel like a giant, ugly, hairy part-monster no one understands?
And p.s., I can't tell you yet what will happen, but Sam is about to learn a MAJOR lesson regarding his own appearance and looks in general.
Starbucks:
Aww . . . that is so cool about hubs. I love the "lights" in my life. Largely the women who have been, without a doubt, the most extraordinary gifts in my life.
E
Starbucks:
And of course, I think all my kids "shine." Sometimes, I see the twinkle in DB and I get goosebumps.
Jon:
I love Sam. I feel he is on his way to learning some amazing lessons.
Interesting. Kristina and I saved four turtles in the last five years. But not by picking them up, since we have a number of snapping varieties here. No, we stop traffic. One time, in Lunenburg near our old home, for about 10 minutes.
What I found amazing is that no one shouted or yelled at us while the little bugger lived up to its reputation. It was a moment that felt special.
Richard:
That is so sweet. I don't know. I guess in an animorphic way, we imbue them with wisdom. Maybe that's why no one beeped.
Actually, for a NOVEL, a character stopping traffic is even better than one picking up the turtle! Somehow, it's more . . . charming. :-)
I am a huge fan of turtles and I LOVE that you stopped and picked the little guy up! That warmed my heart!!
I've always found that beauty is on the inside. I've known some truly beautiful people, on the inside, and their inner beauty shines through.
We often can't choose to be beautiful on the outside (plastic surgery aside) but we can choose to be beautiful on the inside. And that's much more important.
Nadine:
I think my YA love interest is a little plainer, but she shines. I like her already. :-)
I hate it when authors give a rundown of their character's looks. It's distracting and slows the story. Just pick one feature that attracts the POV character and move on . . . like watching the woman run onto the busy street to rescue a turtle. :-)
To steal, and badly paraphrase Judge Judy, "Beauty fades, dumb is forever" It's always what's inside that counts the most.
Ten civilians recently slain in Afghanistan. Ten people filled with compassion, some who gave up comfort and stability in order to give Afghan citizens a better life. That's "true beauty."
magolla:
Sometimes writers can spend a lot of time on it, but ti doesn't help me "picture" the character any better, I don't think.
kath:
That story REALLY struck me, too. Doctors Without Borders-types are heroes to me. Truly.
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