Lessons I learned from a book character

I’m not sure I’ve ever been a person to learn lessons from books. I always hated trying to draw things from texts in my English literature class. So what I’m about to say I learned may well be the complete opposite of what the author wanted, but here we go.

Anne Shirley – I loved all the “Anne of Green Gables” series, but what I particularly liked about Anne was her ability to find beauty in all things, starting with the Avenue (or the White Way of Delight) and continuing up into her adulthood. I also try to find beauty wherever I can.

Ian Malcolm – I’m not going to pretend I understood all the chaos theory in the “Jurassic Park” novels, but if there was one thing it did demonstrate, it is that when people claim they know exactly what will happen they probably don’t. Which is always helpful, as there are lots of people who think they do.

Dr John Watson – Possibly an unusual lesson in this instance, as it refers to the writing rather than the character. One thing I always have hated in books and films is “insta-love”, the ability of a character to fall in love at first sight with absolutely no reason for it. Dr Watson proved that it is possible to write love at first sight and be convincing, which has inspired me to use that trope once or twice and attempt to do so in a convincing way.

So what lessons have you learned from book characters?