C is for ...

My Fiction Addiction

Welcome back, or if it’s your first time dropping by here, WELCOME! My blogging A-Z theme this month is favorite characters.

So for letter C:

Chris in the Morning, the silver-tongued, mellow-styled, full of witty charm dee-jay in Cicely, Alaska (population 800) from the early 90s TV show, Northern Exposure. Oh boy did I have a crush on him back then. Everyone loved Chris in the Morning.

Chris was an ex-con who grew up to an alcoholic dad who was never around. He definitely had some skeletons in his closet, but what I loved about him, is that he didn’t let it define him. He was okay with it, and used it to deepen his own soul, as well as his understanding of mankind. I loved hearing him give advice to the citizens of Cicely. He just had this really great way of seeing the world, and respecting everyone and everything for who they are. Okay, he was a hippie, basically. LOL

But here’s a quote from Chris:
“There’s a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there’s a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain’t no either-or proposition. We’re talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can’t hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol’ dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!”


And as a bonus for today’s letter, I wanted to include another fave:

Chip Douglas from the 1996 film, The Cable Guy. 


This has always been a fave movie of mine, and I adore Chip’s character. Yes, the film is dark and the humor is considered black comedy, and maybe that’s what I like about it, but Chip’s character is so demented, it’s like a train wreck… you just can’t look away. Masterfully played by Jim Carrey, Chip comes complete with multiple quirks and a lisp, as well as some of the best movie lines ever (that I still use to this day.) He defintely has his layers, and if you want to know why his character is so wacky … well, there’s a backstory there, but it’s much more fun if you watch the film. Chip is far too under-appreciated in my opinion. 


I’ll leave you with the trailer if you’re interested:

SO the theme for these two C characters today, is their rich and developed backstories that make  them who they are. One became a better person for it, the other … well, he needed severe counseling. lol


How about you? Do you give your characters fully-realized backstories? How about plenty of quirks? Ever written a really quirky character before? And what do you think of these two guys Chris and Chip?

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