Getting Inside the Romantic Hero’s Head—Part III
How do you know what a character is like inside? Sometimes, we can see into their persona by looking at their quirks, their interests, and passion. Personality quirks can reveal a character’s personality by showing us a side of themselves not many others see. Click to Tweet #InsideHerosHead #donnalhsmith #writingromance101
In this contemporary romance we’re creating, which I just named “Romancing the Rabbi” we’ve created our two main characters, Tovah and Judah.
Tovah is the rabbi who is usually self-assured, except when she’s around Judah. They’ve just met. We learned that Judah was just as nervous about actually talking with Tovah as he thought maybe she was in meeting him.
Let’s build on that this time. Plus, give Judah some sort of additional quirk we can use to reveal more of his personality to Tovah.
Just before Judah entered the synagogue, he ran a hand through his hair a few times. He liked it longer, even though most corporate executives wore it short or in a crew cut. He’d always fancied himself like Samson of old—without the vices. Strong, capable, smart, but he’d observe the letter of the Law. His bar mitzvah had been the happiest day of his life. He read from the scroll and he answered every question perfectly. Smiling at the thought, he pulled his yarmulke from his jacket pocket and slipped it on the back of his head.
When he’d entered the synagogue this morning, he’d noticed a few things not quite right, but chalked it up to his perfectionism he’d adopted. No one was perfect, but shouldn’t a synagogue have everything in just the right place?
The lady rabbi was certainly attractive. He’d noticed her as soon as he entered the meeting room. Surely she paid enough attention to detail to make sure everything was right, didn’t she?
What do we learn here from Judah in this short foray inside his head? That he’s a perfectionist. I could have delved into the things he thought were out of place, such as the ark not being covered, or some other such detail. If I were really writing this, I would.
Paying attention to detail, especially when writing a romance and getting into a character’s head who notices each little thing is important. Click to Tweet #InsideHerosHead #donnalhsmith #writingromance101
Donna L.H. Smith 