YOUR HERO' S FATAL FLAW

Good Morning Seekers, I have the privilege of introducing Laurie Schnebly Campbell to our loop today. She is a multi-published author.

Her first novel was nominated by Romantic Times as the year's "Best First Series Romance," and her second beat out Nora Roberts for "Best Special Edition of the Year." Laurie loves giving workshops for writer groups about "Psychology for Creating Characters," "Making Rejection WORK For You," "Building A Happy Relationship For Your Characters (And Yourself)" and other issues that draw on her background as a counseling therapist and romance writer. Her book, Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams, is one of my favorites and a must for all authors.

Here's Laurie with

YOUR HERO'S FATAL FLAW

What fun to be at a site where the refreshments seem to get better every week! I’ll throw in some cake to start...

Now, back to the idea of fatal flaws for our characters.

A few weeks ago a friend asked me why her hero NEEDED a fatal flaw. Wouldn't an ordinary flaw be good enough? And I realized that it's misleading to call these flaws fatal...because how often, at least in a happy-ending book, does the hero wind up dead? (Okay, we won't count the gorgeous vampires.)

But unless we're writing about James Bond or someone else where the action matters more than the character, every single person we write about will have some kind of flaw.

Same with every single person we know in real life. And it's those defects, or the desire to overcome them, which can lead to some pretty interesting stories -- both in books, and in the everyday world.

You’ve probably heard of ANY-uh-grams, the nine personality types? Everybody is one of the nine enneagrams -- but we all have some of EACH type within us. In fact, we can spot types we know just from their names...the perfectionist, nurturer, achiever, romantic, observer, skeptic, enthusiast, leader, peacemaker.

So which are you? And which are the people who interest you? Well, let's see:

Type One, the Perfectionist, is a classic white-hat-never-black-hat who LIVES for Truth-Justice-Right. They hate mistakes; as perfectionists they get angry when they (or anyone else) doesn’t live up to their high standards. Trivia: they’re hardly EVER overweight, because that would be Wrong!

Two, the Nurturer, loves to be needed; they’re constantly giving. Great helpers who’ll go out of their way to care for others, and they take pride in being needed. If they go overboard, it’s a case of them forcing chicken soup down your throat because they identify themselves as Givers.

Three, the Achiever, is the golden boy or golden girl who succeeds at whatever they do and always looks fabulous. Even if they’re cleaning the garage, their hair is ARTFULLY messy! But they can get so wrapped up in the fabulous image, they might indulge in deception to keep it going.

Four, the Romantics, are never afraid of their feelings; they love big emotions...drama, tragedy, falling in love. They have glorious visions for how life should be, “scripting” what they hope for. If everyday life seems too ordinary, they fall into envy -- not of others, but of their perfect dream.

Five, the Observer, isn't interested in emotions, except academically -- they're all about thoughts, analysis, study. They keep to themselves, preferring comprehension over participation, and while they don't care much about material goods, they're greedy for personal time-space-privacy.

Six, the Skeptic, is constantly alert to risk (for themselves and their loved ones). Because of this fear, they're very aware of the rules and determined to always keep them...OR to always break them. Either way, they're deeply loyal and determined to keep their team safe, no matter what.

Seven, the Adventurer, is enthusiastic about everything and everybody, and they want to enjoy every possible new experience...to the point where they might be accused of gluttony. They prefer not to commit to just ONE of anything -- whether a favorite restaurant, a job, or even a mate.

Eight, the Leader, is very self-confident and accustomed to being in charge, running the show...always protecting that vulnerable core. Their lust for power can create trouble if someone else expects to share decision-making, but it also makes them exceptionally good at getting things done.

Nine, the Peacemaker, likes to avoid conflict, avoid taking sides...even choosing chocolate or vanilla. They’re likable because they can appreciate everyone's viewpoint, and rarely express their own. Instead they kick back with whatever's comfortable...sometimes to the point of sloth.

See how each strength has a corresponding weakness? That's likely to come out under stress, which happens in EVERY book. And that's only the beginning!

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN

I've talked enough, here, but if there's anything you'd like to know about the type of your characters -- or anyone else in your life -- I'll be checking back for questions all day.

And anyone who speaks up will go into an end-of-the-day drawing to win still MORE enneagram info...with your choice of free registration to my current yahoogroups workshop on "Creating Your Hero's Fatal Flaw" at www.WriterUniv.com or an autographed copy of my "Believable Characters: Creating With Enneagrams" book.

So I'm rolling up my sleeves and hoping I won't be the only person at the party today!

Laurie, with a big thanks to Sandra for inviting me J

Thanks to you Laurie for the great information. Remember to include your email address if you want to participate in Laurie's drawing. The winner will be announced on the weekend special edition.