Comments on: Creating Memorable Animal Characters

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 21:52:43 +0000

In reply to Jenny Hansen. I understand.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 06:31:54 +0000

In reply to dholcomb1. Personally, I'd love to find a hypoallergenic cat that isn't so unattractive. My kid is dying for a cat and I just can't.

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 04:10:04 +0000

In reply to Eldred Bird. Loved Enzo in the movie.

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 04:09:25 +0000

I have a few chapters written with a possible dog adoption as part of the plot, but one character has an allergy. I found a dog known to have less allergen for humans and I asked my allergist about reactions, shots, etc... so the story could be realistic.

denise

By: Ellen Buikema

Ellen Buikema — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 22:45:55 +0000

In reply to Eldred Bird. Excellent! More good books to peruse. I haven't read this Garth Stein book. Thanks for the tissue tip. Using an animal character to show personal growth is a fabulous idea. My main protagonist in my WIP has a tuxedo cat named Macduff. I'm still pondering his role. Now I have more to think about.

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 22:14:08 +0000

One of my favorite animals in literature is Enzo, the dog in The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The story is told in first person by the dog. It's brilliantly written, but keep a box of tissues near by as you read...I'm not kidding. In the third James McCarthy book, Cold Karma (soon to be released...finally) I use animals to show personal growth in the main character. James is afraid of dogs, so the first time he encounters Nestor's over-sized beast (described as a bounding mass of fur, teeth, and tongue), he's terrified. Learning how to face his fear and deal with Nestor's dog gives him something new he can draw on that will come into play later in the story.

By: Ellen Buikema

Ellen Buikema — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 19:40:38 +0000

In reply to Jenny Hansen. Watchers is wonderful. I hope to meet the author some day.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 18:29:53 +0000

In reply to barbdelong. Wasn't WATCHERS the best book ever? And he is such a very nice man. I haven't read LIFE IS GOOD. I really need to. :-)

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 18:28:47 +0000

I always dig it in witchy stories where there is a familiar. I also like authors who let their animals take active roles. I'm thinking about Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series with Bob the Dog. That dog makes me laugh my butt off.

By: Ellen Buikema

Ellen Buikema — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 17:56:23 +0000

In reply to barbdelong. Hi Barb! A Chihuahua familiar is intriguing. I look forward to learning more about your WIP. The character chart has saved my bacon a number of times, particularly if I step away from a project for a while. Life gets in the way for all of us. How fortunate for you to have met and chatted with Dean Koontz! I should have a look at "Life is Good".