Age

Today is my dh's 42nd birthday. I've known him since he was 17 and 42 seemed eons away, but he's hitting his stride.



Last night I was thinking about the ages of the heroes we write.

7 summers ago, when I started Hot Shot, I made Gabe 40. That seemed at the very edge of the box for a romance hero, maybe because I was only 34. I needed Gabe to be on the verge of retirement, thinking these kids on his hotshot crew could outhike him, but be determined not to let them.



My next book had another 40 year old hero, because I needed someone who'd been through a rough personal life, was already a detective with some years when he met and fell in love with my shiny new detective heroine, only to endure a tragedy and leave.



For awhile I stuck with 30 something heroes, men who had lived but were in the prime of their lives.







I was in my 30s, too, and didn't feel so far removed.

But my latest heroes are babies. They're in their twenties. I feel I have to balance confidence with a certain level of insecurity to write these guys, or maybe I'm just projecting how I was in my 20s to write them.





I'm wondering, as I get older, will it be harder to write believable characters, characters who act their ages? We've all ready wiser-than-thou heroines who don't speak/dress like any 30 year old you've ever met. How do you keep your characters current?

Labels: writing

posted by MJFredrick @ 6:46 AM