“For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I’m surprised where the journey takes me.”
--Jack Dann
I’ve been having a spot of trouble getting into a certain character’s head so today, at critique group, I mentioned it and asked for their advice. What excellent advice they gave me!
I’ve never done this before but I sat down and began composing diary entries from the perspective of this rather reluctant character. I’ve interviewed my characters, drawn up histories and charts and pedigrees, but I’ve never written journals for them. Since I’m lousy at writing in my own journal, I expected the same kind of reluctance when writing for my characters.
Not so! What delicious fun this is! And do you know what I discovered about this character? She’s a terrible gossip and a liar! (Some of you are saying, “Wow. That fits the bill.” Well you’re wrong. I don’t lie. Much.*) What I really love about this exercise is that I’m seeing sides to my character I didn’t know existed and the parts of her I did know are so much more realistic than I thought. Whoa. She’s a person. How weird is that?
I’m having a lot of fun watching her write these entries and discover that she’s willfully deceiving herself. I knew she felt that way but I never saw it this clearly. How surprising. What’s even more surprising is how much she loves to talk about other people. Not in a vicious, vindictive kind of way but rather a self-protective way. Like if she talks about other peoples lives—even in her own diary—she doesn’t have to confront the way she’s living her own.
What do you know? My character is deeper than a wading pool. I’m totally shocked.
So tell me, do you have moments like this? Do your characters ever surprise you? (Yes, I’m totally channeling my character. Dish! Dish!)
--L.T.
*I seriously do try my best to be honest and kind. Sometimes I fail. I’m working on it. =P
44 comments:
I find that is highly fascinating.
Wish I could do that with art characters... That would be SWEEET...
You know, I do that all the time to my characters.
That is so funny! I love that she is a gossip and a liar.
I've never tried this approach before, but yes, my characters are constantly surprising me. When their personalities conflict with the plotin unexpected ways, things get very interesting... in a good way. So, yes I feel my characters are real people. Sometime I'll have to try the journal. It could be very enlightening.
Funny post!
I never started doing this until recently, when I revisited an old novel with four mcs and wanted to get into their heads better and write more individual pov passages. The journal entries really helped to make each voice unique.
Good luck with your writing!
Sheer genius!
I'm nowhere near as far along on my writing journey as you are on yours, but I have experienced watching my characters hijack a scene and turn it into something entirely other than what I had planned. Maybe I don't want my characters to be too real because I'm a control freak at heart? Hmm...intriguing...
I was pretty sure I would be the main protagonist of my book - meaning that, as the characters unfolded, the star would have my personality.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered she is nothing like me, and I'm actually her MOTHER!
I can't wait to read all of this, Laura! The little bit I have read (neener, neener everyone else!!) I absolutely ADORED!!
(Hey, did you ever decide about Storymakers? I'm saving a seat at the cool table for you!)
(Yes, that means I'll have to tie up a couple of the cool girls and stash them in the broom closet first. But then, voila! Two seats at the cool table!!)
What a cool idea! I recently picked up a manuscript I hadn't worked on in a while, and to my horror, I couldn't remember some very important details about my characters. Makes me wonder if I ever really knew them.
You are totally honest and kind. =) I can't believe you mc is a gossip. How funny.
My characters surprise me all the time. Silly characters!
Sometimes. I think sometimes my writing gets to the freewriting point and my subconscious does all sorts of random nonsense. One guy ended up into this girl I'd thought would be a complete witch, because he saw a side of her that I didn't see. So much for omniscient writers.
Wow - sounds like fun,I may have to try it. A gossip and a liar - intriguing.
I have an award for you at my blog.
I haven't ever done diary writing for any of my characters. For me, a character can really emerge when I write their dialogue. Their personalities really spring out!
What a divine exercise!!! I must try it out!! That may help me get them from the flat and sorry state they are in right now!!!
How fun. I'd love to get further into my characters' head, especially Octavion. LOL Thanks for sharing a wonderful idea.
I love this post, I'm saving the link to it for future reference.
Just this morning I had a thought about one of my characters, that she wears two t-shirts as a sort of talisman. I don't know more than that, but she does. It came to me clearly while I was microwaving oatmeal for my kids, so I scribbled it down.
You never know when inspiration and character details will come to you, or how!
Lovely! Good advice. I channel them all the time which is unhappy because a lot of them are very bad or very... dead. :)
LOVE S
Don't you love how the depth of a character totally drives the direction of your story? Like, because of who they become, the story MUST go in this direction. I love that - it's like inspiration and karma and destiny all wrapped up together!
I had to cut 2 characters, but that brought 3 minor character up to the plate (2 of which I realized were very similar). I wrote in-depth backgrounds of each of them and WOW, I had 3 unique characters telling me what to do with them.
I really felt like... a creator. I could see how a diary would do the same. And probably something you will hold onto with gratitude.
I am not a writer at all. I mean, I like to write things, but not fiction. Never even tried. But this process fascinates me. All of the writerly blogs I read fascinate me as I read about how characters and plots are born.
Love it! Can't wait to read your book someday. Books.
That ability sounds so...delicious to me!
I haven't gotten far enough into my writing to delve that deeply in my characters. Plus the main one is a childrens book and not a deep one...yet.
You make it sound so wonderfully delightful! You make me want to know your characters.
I am SO jealous of DeNae! I hope to get to read some of your writing someday. For now I'll just have to be content with your blog.
They surprise me everytime I sit down to write. I think I know them, believe I've gained their confidence and then Wham! They smack me with more dirt and darker secrets.
Great idea! I just saw an author who'd created facebook profiles for his characters. I thought that sounded like a fun idea to try.
Journal writing? What a great suggestion and I'm so glad it's working out for you! Congrats!
I love that this worked for you. I interview my characters and it's a lot of fun!
I don't do it frequently enough but I have written from my mc's point of view his thoughts and interviews. Kinda like journals but not consistently. I found out that my MC doesn't want to be a superhero. Which is good because he isn't... but I think it is funny because although I don't want to be a superhero I've always had a thing for superman.
Wow! That is so awesome! I'm excited for you :)
Interviews don't often work for me, but this might ~ thanks to your crit group for the awesome idea!
And yes, my characters OFTEN surprise me!
♥
Flushing out your character in a most unusual manner! Sounds like it worked for you. yay!
I surprise myself, is that enough?
I just found your blog from Anissa's and was struck by how lovely it is! Nice job here. :)
I love it when my characters surprise me. I like to write in the first person from their perspective (as in diaries and letters) if I get stuck, or I write the scene through more than one character's eyes.
I just keep attacking it from every angle until I get it.
what I can't do is too a lot of written out information on the character before I start the book. Then the character flees. It has to be as I'm in the process.
That's a great idea for getting to know your character. Thanks for sharing!
LT, you are so AWESOME.
fabulous idea. utterly fabulous. I'm always trolling for ideas.
I love discovering there is more to people than I thought, both in writing and in real life.
I know, I'm just adding my comment to the long list,but thanks for the post. Yes I have these kind of soul searching sessions with charaters all the time. I never tried the journal thing though, its a great idea. thanks again
What a fabulous idea! I'll have to try this with my antagonist. He's not very cooperative, and as hard as I've tried, I just haven't been able to give him the depth I would like. Thanks for sharing!
How fun! A good gossip and liar can add so much:)
Okay...that's just brilliant! Love that idea.
I should do this with myself. I bet I'd learn a ton.
And you HAD BETTER BE AT THE CBC. If you don't go, I don't go. (Might be a slight overexageration, but you get my point.)
What an awesome exercise! My characters tend to get away from me frequently. One character that was initially only going to be in the last 1/3 of the book kept demanding more time. He now begins and ends the book and makes for the strongest scenes. :)
L.T., I found you here because of our mutual friends on FB. Love your blog and this entry in particular. What a great idea! I'm going to try it with the characters I've been struggling with.
Good for you Laura!
I am happy you found something that works. Now hold onto those journals so when you become NY bestseller, you can turn those journals into books themselves!!
:)
What always surprises me about their characters is how very much they are exactly who they are. My books are character driven, not plot driven, so I really depend on them to tell me what is going to happen next. I was doing some edits on Miss D two the other day and as I read one chapter in particular, I was amazed by what happened. I hadn't thought about it or planned it--it just did. That's what I love so much about writing stories.
I really, really, really like this idea.
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