When I encounter a particularly stubborn character, one that insists upon being a part of the story yet veils him or herself from me, I go through the side door. I peek through the window or slide down the chimney and tiptoe. I observe my character when they are not looking and wonder about things slightly off-center to the story:
Does my character scratch their nose when they sneeze? Is it loud or delicate? Do they like scrambled eggs? Fried or poached? What is their dog's name? their cats or do they have a boa constrictor or a guinea pig? What is the last thing they do before they go to sleep at night, the first thing they do in the morning when they wake? Do they look for four-leaf clovers, smell grass growing? Do they stop to pull the stamen out of a honey suckle flower and sip the nectar? Do they have holes in their shoes? If they do, do they still polish them?
I let these idiosyncrasies melt into their dialogue, dialect, habits, ticks, and many times discover that they play crucial roles in my narrative.
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5 comments:
I love this! Such a great rendering of how to discover your characters...
Going in the side door offers a great glimpse from a different angle!
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---
Success in Cirrcuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---
Emily DIckinson
Christy, Thank you for Emily Dickinson. Grateful and grateful.
I have an easier time writing dialogue, it's the filler stuff between the dialogue that stumps me. Creating some quirks for my characters helps a lot to fill in those spaces between the conversations. Thanks for the reminder to do this...my current story could benefit from this advice.
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