Are You Heroine Material?
Nov 23rd 2009
Nicole JordanGoddess Grins
Heroines are supposed to have strengths and flaws and quirks to make them interesting, right? Well, recently a fellow writer in my local RWA chapter created a fun database of personality traits/quirks to use for future book characters. Her instructions to play her game were to “Simply come up with 25 things most people don’t know about you.” And the first rule was, your things don’t all have to be completely true. (You’re invited to read and post on her blog at www.daisy-daisydaisy.blogspot.com)
I’m not going to ask for quite so many, but I will ask you to name at least one thing that most people don’t know about you, true or not. I’ll start with a few of my own that are 100% true (probably).
= As a kid, I used to eat Campbell’s Vegetable soup for breakfast, since I didn’t care for sugary cereals.
= I actually proposed to my dh … in front of an instant banker machine at a
shopping mall.
= I haven’t worn a dress in over six years, except at recent author photo shoot when the photographer made me do it – and even then my own mother didn’t recognize me. (Yes, that’s really me there on the right.)
So what deep truths are you hiding about yourself that most people don’t know? Would your traits/quirks work for a heroine in a romance novel (or hero, for that matter?) Why or why not?
39 Comments »
39 Responses to “Are You Heroine Material?”
B on 24 Nov 2009 at 4:03 am #
Nicole, first of all, I have to say, what an awesome picture! You look really pretty.
I often say I have I always felt I’d be a really good heroine. Why? Here’s something most people don’t know about me: I’ve been through more than a fair share of hell. People who look at me every day, all sweet, bubbly and colorful, have absolutely NO IDEA what I have to deal with every day. I’m incredibly messed up, and, if I turn out all right despite everything, great heroine. If I lose myself in the world, I’d be a great villain
Something else? I speak in my sleep. Personally, I think it would make a funny scene, the hot, hot, HOT hero sleeping next to me, and bam, there I go, start chatting away.
I was trying to think of something else, but it’s way too early and I got a school presentation in about 20 minutes. Ugh. Wish me luck!
MizMacgyver on 24 Nov 2009 at 4:56 am #
Something most people don’t know about me is I am a true bi**h, I hide it rather well. Years and years of supressing my natural instict to slice someone open with words. I don’t think that would make me a good heroine but I could be the villainous with ease.
Trini on 24 Nov 2009 at 6:36 am #
mmmmm It’s no easy to answer because I am a quite transparent person, despite I give an image of self-confident woman and in fact I am quite uncertain.
I adore perfumes and eau de cologne, so I have about 25 different ones because I used them following the humor that I have every day.
When I’m alone at home, I put the music loud and I do my housework singing and dancing like a crazy woman…
Everybody thinks that I am extroverted because I am glad and with facility to speak, but in deepest of my being I am quite shy…
Could I be an heroine???? Yes, sure…. a very crazy and unbalanced heroine….!!!!!!!
Margaret on 24 Nov 2009 at 7:01 am #
I don’t know if I could be heroine material or not. I figure I’d be out being one if that were true. LOL However, I can pretend.
Like many a heroine, I managed to raise 2 kids while a single mom. I don’t think I scarred them too badly. One is even a good friend. The other disappeared years ago off my radar. Not due to me but to his doings.
In a crisis, I can rip my petticoat and make bandages with the best. If I had a petticoat, that is. Meaning I am calm & cool when needed. Like Claudia, I haven’t worn a dress in years. I don’t even own one. And I would never look as gorgeous as you do in that pic, sweetie.
That’s about it for my heroine-like qualities this early in the morning. Aren’t heroines allowed to sleep late or must they always get up before dawn?
Freshechelle on 24 Nov 2009 at 7:41 am #
Gosh, wish I were a mystery but I’m kind of an open book.
Most people don’t know:
I read romance novels
I’m a notary (I always follow this announcement with “It’s a wonder I’m single, right?”)
I have an unfeminine amount of upper body strength
Heroine quirks that work:
Flaws. Ex: Sabrina’s last book, the heroine was the oft-seen opinionate, strong-willed heroine but she didn’t have the wanderlust so often used as a character trait, she was a homebody – a nice change for that type of character.
I like flaws like that, natural & common, not flaws that are the same old plot device to create a woman who needs to be saved.
LoriHandeland on 24 Nov 2009 at 7:45 am #
You look so great, Nicole! Just gorgeous.
I don’t think I’d make a very good heroine. Not only do I have very little patience for any type of BS (ie conflict) but I have the seemingly unbreakable habit of telling people what to do, how to do it, and when it needs to be done. Must be a side effect of living with all these men.
My mom continually tells me I’m lucky my husband is laid back. Don’t I know it.
Although my nephew once told his mom that he “needed a wife just like Aunt Lori. Because she tells Uncle exactly what he did wrong and why that was stupid.”
Another one of my adorable traits no doubt . . .
Amy Scott on 24 Nov 2009 at 8:27 am #
I would be the strong willed stubborn heroine. I would probably drive the readers nuts, so I don’t think I would make a great heroine.
I hide the fact that I am a great manipulator. I can usually get someone to do what I want, while making them think it was all their idea. If that doesn’t work then I go into super stubborn mode. I know it sounds very childish, but I am trying to work on it. I also have a hard time hiding my feelings if I dislike someone.
P.S. I am currently reading your backlist Nicole. I just finished The Seduction, and I must say….I loved it! It was HOT HOT HOT!!
Claudia Dain on 24 Nov 2009 at 8:31 am #
What do you mean, ‘could I be a heroine’? I =am= a heroine. At least in my own life.
Fresh! Me, too! Or at least I used to have an unnatural degree of upper body strength. When I was 17 I happened to wander into the weight room in my high school. Two boys were on the bench press. I watched them, asked what they were doing, then laid myself down and bench pressed my own weight. Without a bit of preparation. They were shocked! I didn’t realize until years later what a feat that actually was. Of course, those days are long gone. Looooonnnng gone.
Lori, I write a lot of heroines like you, and I think they’re all wonderful. So, yes, you are heroine material.
Beautiful photo, Nicole! I’m glad the photographer talked you into it.
nancyg on 24 Nov 2009 at 8:38 am #
Great picture, Nicole – as the French say, incroyable!!
hmm….heroine material? maybe, maybe not.
It seems I don’t have a mouth filter – if someone asks me for my honest opinion, I’ll give it. I also tend to buck convention – don’t tell me what to do because I’ll be sure to go in the opposite direction. Family comes 1st – ALL others 2nd.
Things people don’t know about me…
I can pick up items off the floor with my feet – dirty socks, my dog’s stuffed ducks.
I take off my bra almost as soon as I hit the front door… hate ‘em!
I *hardly ever* pay full price for ANYTHING (don’t worry, Coach store, you’re safe!).
my current hair color is 2 shades lighter than my natural color – apparently, I can’t pull the darker hair off anymore!
I’m a total grade Nazi with my girls (their friends think I’m the “cool” mom!)
By the time I get to the end of an argument, I’m already over it.
I do all the home repairs & assembly around my house except electrical.
I’m a “candle-holic” – any shape, size, scent… and I change them out around the house seasonally, lol.
Pesky on 24 Nov 2009 at 8:50 am #
Well you look like a younger Raquel Welch in the picture.
Quirks, what a lovely word. My family is fond of calling them my eccentricities.
- I was a closet drinker when I was 3. I used to sneak beer from the fridge and run into my parents closet to drink them. My brother was 11 and kept getting blamed for the missing beer until my mom was sitting at the dining room table and I went running past in all my red pig-tailed cuteness with a six pack under my arm and then proceeded to barricade myself in the closet. She’s on the one side trying to get me to open the door, worried I’d cut myself on the flip top and begging me to open the door, I’m on the other screaming… NO! It’s my beer! You can’t have it! Strangly this was in a house where nobody drank a lot and still doesnt. Maybe a beer once in a blue moon…
- I have a cat that’s 100% concentrated evil coated in fluffy cuteness.
- I won’t eat meat out because if it’s not properly prepped and I get tendon it triggers the choking impulse and well…that’s not really attractive.
- I love rock scrambling and ridge running but am deathly afraid of heights when I go up to the top of a tall building.
Pesky on 24 Nov 2009 at 8:55 am #
contd-
- For several years I carried a type of top secret clearance. Which for some reason my friends thought was hilarious.
- I can’t watch movies where people embarass themselves. It makes me uncomfortable for them.
- I cry whenever Christmas Shoes or Christmas Carol comes on the air. I’m a blubbering mess for most of the Holiday season as soon as they start playing those two stinkin songs.
- If you are my friend, and you call me for an emergency I will be right over. I will drop everything to help within minutes. However I can’t make a lunch date on time to save my life and if you give me grief about it, I have this passive aggressive thing where I end up getting later…and later…annnndddddd llllaaattter.
Looking at these traits, I don’t think I have the right stuff to be a heroine. Maybe a sidekick….
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:10 am #
Oh, wow, these are great traits for book characters, y’all! LOL.
As for the pic of me, the photographer did an amazing job, The phot. was trying to make look like a historical romance novelist, and I think she succeeded, but it’s true, my mother didn’t recognize me.
Oh, and the other 2 things about me are completely true, too. My dh still rags me about my proposal.
SheridanLA on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:17 am #
Fresh, you crack me up.
Pesky, I think the closet beer drinker might be one of the funniest “kid” stories I have heard in a long time.
My “quirks”
It really, really, really bugs the heck out of me when people are late. especially the chronic late people (sorry, Pesky) If I can make it on time, so can you… for the ones who are perpetually late, I give them 20 minutes then leave and rarely make future plans with them alone. No matter what is going on, I am insanely punctual 98% of the time…even if I TRY to be late.
I can also work and hook up most any electronic device – but get frustrated trying to find the proper buttons on a remote control.
Other then that, I am a pretty strong, intelligent, creative, capable and flirty woman…not sure about being a heroine, but I am sure I could be a great partner in crime.
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:18 am #
>>>> I speak in my sleep. Personally, I think it would make a funny scene, the hot, hot, HOT hero sleeping next to me, and bam, there I go, start chatting away.
B, I think that would be hilarious! Especially if you were the villainess. The hero would get all your secrets, lol.
MizMac, I’d be happy to use you as a villainess, but your ability to slice people open with words is a fab trait for a heroine. Readers love to watch that. Wish I could do it myself! I have to work really hard most of the time to come up with cutting dialogue.
Trinia, that’s really fun about all your perfumes, and your crazy dancing too. Those would both be great in a novel.
B on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:22 am #
Pesky, I think you’d be an ABSOLUTELY awesome heroine. You totally crack me up.
B on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:27 am #
I’m like Lori and have no patience for BS. I’ll tell you as it is — I’m bluntly honest, and mostly very sweet about it. If you don’t like it, it’s your problem, I did my civil duty telling you how to improve yourself or the situation. I don’t pat anyone’s head, and I don’t feel sorry for people — sympathy, maybe, but not pity, and I self-pity annoys me more than anything else on human beings.
and I always add a smile to my criticism because I think it makes me look sweet.
I have the habit of talking about completely nonsense hypothetical situations (like, if an elephant feel from the sky right here, right now) and build complete reality around them, as if it’s a true possibility. My family does the exact same thing, and to any outside observer, we’d totally be seen as nuts.
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:28 am #
>>>In a crisis, I can rip my petticoat and make bandages with the best. If I had a petticoat, that is.
Great skill for a heroine, Margaret!! And so is the single mom thing. That is so admirable. Don’t know how you did it. The dress thing, though, makes us sisters.
Fresh, that’s a funny line about the notary. I actually have big shoulders and chest, makes it REALLY hard to find a bra that fits cause my bosoms don’t match my chest size. Nobody makes 38/40 AA bras.
Claudia, love your story about the gym!
Lori, you make a fab heorine, lol!
Amy, strong-willed works great if it’s tempered by something softer and well-motivated. And I’m thrilled you enjoyed TS!
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:33 am #
Great list, NancyG! I’m with you on the bras (see above post), but I admire your electrical fix-it abilities!
>>Looking at these traits, I don’t think I have the right stuff to be a heroine. Maybe a sidekick….
No, no, these are perfect, Pesky. Especially the 3-yo closet drinker. I choked on my tea.
>>>Other then that, I am a pretty strong, intelligent, creative, capable and flirty woman…not sure about being a heroine, but I am sure I could be a great partner in crime
Great heroine qualities, Sheridan, lol. And yes, that would work for a p-i-crime, too.
Julia London on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:39 am #
If my schedule gets disrupted, I get cranky. I’m a baby that way.
I am physically strong.
I think men are kind of exotic, sexy, and sooooo predictable. I like observing them in their natural habitat.
Pesky on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:55 am #
“And Jim and I are setting up cameras at the watering hole. A place where the struggle for life and death is abandoned and the rituals of mating and peace can be observed. What Luck! Here is a prime specimin now. As you can see his plumage is designed to attract a potential mate….and first he goes in for a drink, it looks like a Bud Light…”
Rachel Gibson on 24 Nov 2009 at 10:06 am #
My maiden name is Reed and kids used to call me railroad. I know, not every interesting stuff, but it’s all I got this morning.
Amy Scott on 24 Nov 2009 at 10:32 am #
Nancyg- I am with you, I can’t stand bras! I can’t even imagine what it felt like to where a corset.
Pesky- That beer story is one of the funniest things I have heard in a long time! Thanks for the laugh!
Angela on 24 Nov 2009 at 10:52 am #
I can sing every part in a chorus. SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass)
I can sight read music.
I am quite intelligent, opiniated, stubborn, impatient.
All very good qualities for a heroine, naturally.
As soon as I come home from work, all the work clothes go off and my truly tacky dorm shirt goes on.
The current one has a frog on it and it reads Someday my prince will come.
I have a weird sense of humor, love Carol Burnett and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Well that’s it for me unless I come up with something better.
I once dressed up as a monk for an opera. I was in the chorus and there weren’t enough men.
Oooh! Cross-dressing. There’s something good for a heroine.
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 11:59 am #
Julia, I’m the same kind of baby, only I get cranky about a lot more things, lol.
“Railroad” Rachel? I would love to know where that came from.
Amy, I agree, thanks for the laughs!
Your musical ability is amazing, Angela! I don’t think I could get away with using that in a book bc everyone would think the heroine too perfect to be true… unless she was a prodigy. Come to think of it, Susan Mallery did that recently, a book I loved.
The monk cross-dressing is a cool idea, lol.
Janae on 24 Nov 2009 at 12:35 pm #
I’ve good observational skills, which goes with good instincts that I know to trust. I see things that people don’t. It took a few years of marriage for my dh to trust my instincts, and there are times when he still doesn’t listen. There have been times he’s disregarded my instincts, like not looking for one more contractor when we re-did a bathroom a couple of years ago. He was looking at prices, while I was gauging price with the vibes that I was getting from the contractors. I didn’t really like the vibes that I was getting from any of them. The 5th contractor wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I wanted to interview a couple of more, but my dh was finished interviewing people. I wasn’t surprised when the contractor became difficult or took credit for my design.
Other quirks – Honestly, I’d be considered a bluestocking because I can’t not read; I remember nearly everything that I read; I can’t dumb myself down; and I can’t stand extreme POVs either way and will say something about it. I like to put things in the context of the ‘big picture,’ so you don’t get tunnel vision.
TrishD on 24 Nov 2009 at 12:45 pm #
We have great heroine material here. I’m not too sure if I have it in me to be a heroine, I’ll let all of you be the judge of that.
Here are my unique traits….
When I was in college I knew the entire dialogue to Young Guns 2 by heart.
I hate to cook but love to bake and make killer peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
I’m part of the “bra hating” sisterhood. I too can lose mine the second I step through the front door without having to remove any additional clothing.
In the 4rd grade I wrote a poem about my pet turtle that has become part of family lore… everyone can still recite it by heart.
I’ve always been considered the “good daughter” because when I was a teenager I told my parents they could live with me when the got old.
My extended family is very musically inclined. Me? My daughter tells me to stop when I sing, it hurts her ears.
I live in Michigan and in my 20’s I drove a Mazda Miata year round.
I’ve embraced my age and decided that I don’t care how old I am.
TrishD on 24 Nov 2009 at 12:55 pm #
Thought of another one…
I like and understand sports. I think this may make me more “one of the guys” than a heroine… at least that’s how it’s been in real life.
Rachel Gibson on 24 Nov 2009 at 3:14 pm #
Nicole. Railroad because my initials were RR. Yeah, really clever.
Margaret on 24 Nov 2009 at 3:46 pm #
Sorry for mixing you up with Claudia this morning, Nicole. Some day I’ll learn to open my eyes before I start writing. Altho, Claudia, you are also one hot chick.
Rachel, the kids at my school used to call me Muriel. After the cigar. My daddy smoked cigars. I drove his car to school sometimes. Cigar smoke and hair spray bond intensely. Does anybody even remember Edie Adams singing the Muriel cigar song? “Why doncha pick me up and smoke me sometime?”. Great Mae West interpretation.
TrishD on 24 Nov 2009 at 3:58 pm #
When playing Monopoly with friends in high school they decided to give me the nickname CC for community chest. My chest didn’t serve a community but they figured it was big enough to.
Claudia Dain on 24 Nov 2009 at 4:03 pm #
Hey, Margaret, love having you here!
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 4:18 pm #
Janae, Bluestockings make great heroines, IMO! And your good instincts are a great asset.
What a fun list, Trish! Those all make great heroine details. And I would love to hear your pet turtle poem.
Ah, now I understand, Rachel. Kids can be so mean.
The same goes for your nickname, Trish. Sheesh. I’d like to shake people like that.
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 4:19 pm #
>>>Hey, Margaret, love having you here!
Ditto what Claudia said, Margaret! And Claudia, ditto what Margaret said about you being one hot chick! lol
elsiehogarth on 24 Nov 2009 at 5:03 pm #
Nicole, you look fantastic. This is definitely a book cover. You should wear dresses more often.
I have to say that I’m also a manipulator. It happened when I read the Prince by Macchiavelli for my Italian class, in college, at 18. It is a strong book but you have to know how to deal with it and people in a diplomatic sort of way. I have a very small version of it that I carry in my bag.
I can keep a secret. I am like a tomb or like the Seinfeld episode…I just lock it up in the vault. I will never break a persons confidence.
Talking about cigars…..I smoke them on occasion. I like a blend that comes from Cameroon. My mom says it’s in my genes because my Grand Dad and Great Grandmother were the only cigar smokers in the family.
Heroines: I like them to be bluestockings. Smart with a sense of humor. Also a heroine that keeps the hero guessing because she is totally not what he is use to.
TrishD on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:29 pm #
Nicole – You asked for it…. (hopefully it’s late enough now that not many will read this!)
I have a turtle,
Whose name is Myrtle.
Who lives in a dish
And doesn’t eat fish.
In the dish sits a rock,
That I found at the dock.
The dish sits on a table,
That I got from Mable.
Myrtle is my pet,
And he’s always wet.
That year I wrote a poetry book for Young Authors, thinking all poems had to rhyme. I’m sorry to say that this wasn’t the worst poem in the book. My sister still laughs at this and will recite it to anyone who has never heard it before. And yes, I did actually have a pet turtle named Myrtle.
Tina on 24 Nov 2009 at 10:50 pm #
You look fab in the dress Nicole.
Nicole Jordan on 24 Nov 2009 at 11:19 pm #
Thanks for the compliment, Tina! I can’t really take credit, though. I just did what I was told *G*
Wow, Elsie, that is some trait, smoking cigars. I think Samantha on Sex & The City did that, too, didn’t she? I’m not wild about c smoke, but I do like the smell of a pipe, probably bc my grdad spoked one, so I can see how you started. I love the Machiavelli angle!
Trish, that poem is adorable. Thanks for sharing and making my day more special, *smile*
Pesky on 24 Nov 2009 at 11:40 pm #
TrishD: Myrtle the Turtle will go down as one of my favorites. Little kids love rhymes, if you don’t belive me read Hop On Pop…just reading it to my nephews had my brother sister and I rolling on the floor laughing as well as my nephews. You could be our next Dr. Seuss.
Leslie on 25 Nov 2009 at 2:06 pm #
I can’t lie to most people. I have a face that just says everything. This is especially dangerous when I dislike a few of my coworkers and I have to try and smile and play nice because if you just take a quick look at my eyes you can see all over them that I can’t stand being around them. It was also a challenge with my husband when we first met because he could see the love pouring from my face and he wasn’t ready for that type of commitment. LOL
My mother was a master manipulator and so I learned a lot. I have tried over the years to unlearn a lot of it but at times it can be handy.