this one is very hard to answer because basically every character is hard to write >_<
I think the hardest ones are those I do not find compelling, or that are farther from my experience. If you ask me to off-the-cuff a person of another culture, or a person whose value system I don’t know very well, I will do a shit job of it. That stuff needs Prep and sensitivity consultations. Same for, say, a real, believable US high school athlete who isn’t just a jock caricature.
I mostly just cheat by picking areas for stories I feel more confident in telling, so that characters are a little closer to my voice than not. Give me a Shy, Insecure Top, or a Spunky, Gentle Partner, or a Hardass Mom, or — from what I’m writing currently — The Most Ever Dad to Man A Grill.
Image transcript
Kay’s father, who raised her alone after her mother died of an illness when she was very young. While he is not estranged at all, his introvert disposition and gruff demeanor mean that he is a much less active presence in Kay’s life, which she appreciates, since she’s a lot more freewheeling than her dad would know how to handle anyway.
Frank’s whole situation is that he does not quite understand his child and does not really have any peers to help him do so; he feels quite the fish out of water when dealing with the queer cadre of friends, teachers and parents that surrounds Kay’s life. Funnily enough, he’s really a Kinsey 1 himself — if he found the right person, he’d absolutely fall for them, even at his later age. However, that’s very unlikely to happen: he isn’t looking, as on some level he’s still grieving the loss of his wife.
Kay really is the center of his world, even now that they’re leaving the nest; pre-Dawn, he has vague memories of long days of hard work in offices to keep their livelihood, and after the Dawn, now that it is possible, he has retired to a home life to be more present and help her finish her studies. The move in the dorm, as Kay leaves the nest, is hitting him hard, but he’d only admit it very privately and only to Kay.
Frank loves baseball a great deal, cooks a mean meal, frequents his neighborhood pub in moderation, and loves a good night nonfiction book or three, though he has put up with Kay’s growing-up penchant for movie night with nary a snark all their life. His social circle is very small and mostly made of recognizing pub regulars or neighbors at the park, and absolutely disjoint from his daughter’s.
On her part, Kay loves her dad very much, awkward and gruff silences and all. He’s been there for them their entire life, and even when he was utterly unable to help, there was always the quiet understanding that he’d be their unconditionally loving refuge no matter what trouble she’d find herself in.