Love, love, love Colin Bridgerton from Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.
In case you haven’t had the chance to read Quinn’s Bridgerton series, you can find out about it here. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is the third installment in the series and my absolute favourite, followed closely by It’s In His Kiss but more about that another time.
The reason I love this character so much is Quinn’s constant reassertion that he is just so…
Nice.
Hmmm. A word that many men I have met throughout the years shy away from…”nice guys finish last” or the fact that women only like “the bad boys”.
Nice can get a bad rap as bland, ordinary and without complexity. But in this novel, Quinn shows us that nice is in fact the exact opposite. Nice has depth of feeling, ability to understand life’s conundrums and takes them in stride with a lopsided grin.
Nice is refreshing. It’s a person who doesn’t resort to a stormy temper the minute something goes wrong – not to say nice people don’t experience anger, perhaps they take longer to get there. It’s a person who can smile and find solutions instead of problems. Nice is light and airy and romantic.
Have you stopped yourself from spending time with someone because they were so nice?
Have you stopped yourself from using the word nice when building your characters?
I used to. But Ms. Quinn certainly changed my mind about the word nice through the unforgettable and charming Colin Bridgerton.
The next time you’re writing and are having trouble with adjectives for your protagonist – give nice a try. You might just be on your way to creating an unforgettable character.
Caryn Emme 