| Question Home |
Position:Home>Books & Authors> Are red-haired main characters a cliché? (Aka, book writing no no)?Question: Are red-haired main characters a cliché!? (Aka, book writing no no)!? I recently heard that you shouldn't have a redhead for a main character- specifically if your mc is a girl!. I wanted to know what the reading populace thinks, being as I'm writing a book and I do indeed have a redhead!. I know the gene is rarer than most others, but I wanted to know exactly how outlandish/boring/over used it seems!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Redheads by themselves!? No!. The feisty, Oirish-me-luv lass with red hair and green eyes and skin the color of alabaster who can play a mean pennywhistle and just loves going to ceilidhs with her man Seamus O'Reilly (but watch out for that terrible temper)!? Oh, heck yes!. Like you said, redheads are IIRC a recessive gene, so they're rarer than brunettes (especially if they have green or blue eyes), but they're not a de facto cliche!. It's the rest of the stereotype that _is_!.Www@QuestionHome@Com maybe you shouldn't write directly that her hair is red!. Maybe you could write that her hair is mahogany red with flecks of blonde!.Or auburn or titian And there is alot of red haired character out there!. Almost all the red heads in books are clumsy or awkward, and sometimes mischievious, and some even become the heroin of most plots!. Here are some famous red heads : Ron Weasley the rest of the Weasly clan Bella Swan Achilles Mary Magdelene Queen Elizabeth Lily Potter Albus Dumbledore Mary Jane Watson !.!.!.!.Lindsey Lohan(i guess) most red-heads have a racist nickname by being called 'ginger'Www@QuestionHome@Com No more than vampires are!. Seriously - it depends on the type of character you are writing!. However hair color is a very minor issue!. What matters is her characterization!. I have written redhead characters myself once in a while!. But it is really something only mentioned in passing or in conversation!. Their hair color really has nothing to do with them!. I just read a Robert Crais book where Joe Pike was protecting this wild rich girl who happened to be redheaded!. She cut her hair short and dyed it black as a disguise and she was just as wild!. Pax-C (Redheaded myself)Www@QuestionHome@Com I think that using the redhead as a device to show the differences of your characters from others ie to differentiate your character from the crowd is a clihe!. But if you use other qualities to do it, you're OK!. As an aspiring writer myself (be it that I'm still mapping my story), I would advise you to stick with anything you want to be in the story!. Let others help you, but its only your work if you keep your influence in the story!. Best of luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com I thought blonde-haired main characters are cliched!.!.!.!? Anyway, their physical appearance isn't as important as the character within!. Whether your characters are Goldilocks or redheads--they will still suck if they're flat cardboard cut-outs with a poorly developed personalities!.Www@QuestionHome@Com I don't know why!. *I'm* a redhead, and I don't think of myself as a cliché (though maybe it's only redheaded girls!?) I guess it depends on what type of book you read!. Not too many redheads in most of the books I read!. (But, then, maybe I'm biased) RonWww@QuestionHome@Com Redheads are a minority among the population irl, and there are TONS of redheads heroines in fiction!. For me, yes, they are as cliche as virginity is in romance!.Www@QuestionHome@Com haha reminds me of Archie :) i think its fine thoughWww@QuestionHome@Com red heads make me randy!!! go fer it!Www@QuestionHome@Com whats wrong with redheads!?Www@QuestionHome@Com |