E: Energy
What makes a character sparky? I’ve thought of this many times while I write out character profiles. In spanking romances, sparkiness is often exhibited by brattiness and rebellious behavior in females. In more traditional romance, a woman might be a “kick ass” girl, or she might buck the tide of her era’s customs.
Men are sometimes seen as more energetic when they do some physical activity, or use a keen intelligence to solve a thorny problem. Their spirited defense of the heroine is always a symptom of energy.
Words that come to mind when thinking about energy in characters are: rebel, outcast, bluestocking, fighter, termagant, brat, angry, pugnacious, and ruthless. These word associations produce a nearly visceral reaction in readers, making them hyperaware of what might come next in the story: is a conflict eminent?
What makes you think of energy in a book? Are there words that you link with a sparky character?
For your hopping convenience:
I love sassy, fiesty, willful, stubborn characters! Spirit is very important and helps you get into that characters role.
I think when they are sassy that makes me think energy.
I think of action sequences with lots of movement oriented words as energetic: dash, stride, tumble, race, stagger, whirl. Thought provoking post!
I don’t even know. Does that count as an answer?
I think of feisty, fierce, bubbly, effervescent, sassy, spitfire, well, you get the idea.
Thrillers have energy. Chase scenes, the word action, conjures up energy also adventure.
I also like willful and stubborn. 🙂