Character Profiles: The Bimbo

October 22, 2009 at 5:55 PM | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

We have all come across her. She’s the girl who is always dazed and staring into empty space throughout the lesson. Honestly, I do this too. You probably do, too. But she’s the one who only talks about make-up, boys and the latest episode of The Hills.  Some of you are bound to have her in your novel. She may be the ‘queen bee’ at the high school, the one who can’t keep her paws off your main character’s love interest, or the one who constantly annoys your main characters. She can mean big trouble for your main character, but if you don’t get this character right, she can mean big trouble for you, too.

You don’t want to fall into the trap of making your bimbo a basic stock character.

Stock character: A stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. (from Wikipedia)

Don’t get me wrong, stock characters can be useful. It’s easier for your readers to recognize and relate to them. But when the character is as overused as the bimbo, then it’s official: Houston, we have a problem.

Here are your common ‘Bimbo’ traits:

· Being wealthy and/or spoiled

· Repeat the word ‘like’ every 5 seconds

· Twirls locket of hair, and blink repeatedly when asking for a favour

· Face caked in make-up

One of the best things about novel writing is that you can take cliché ideas and turn them on their heads. Take your common bimbo for a second. Maybe she is only pretending to be dumb – and she ends up being a super spy who is at the school trying to investigate the latest kidnapping. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your character. Readers love clichés with interesting quirks and twists. Readers are always looking for something new and refreshing – why miss the opportunity to give that to them?

There are many pros of having the bimbo in your novel. They usually bring a comedic input into the story. Bimbo tends to be in embarrassing, cringe-worthy situations. You can have a lot of fun with the character, especially with dialogue. She may do or say things that will make the reader laugh aloud. Try making your character interesting by giving her an interesting background. Maybe she is who she is because of family problems, or it’s her way of keeping her guard. Have you seen Legally Blonde? By the end of the film, everybody was rooting for her! So making your ‘bimbo’ a likeable character is a huge plus!

However, there are also several cons. Many people are offended by the concept of a ‘bimbo.’ They believe it represents woman terribly and tends to be very degrading. So, once you use this character, you are treading on a fine line. Be careful!

Amna is like totally out!

~Amna/Geek_Pride