Sunday morning I woke up with a stiff neck. Since Sunday was really busy for me, I just ignored it. I continued ignoring it the entire day…until I sat down to write this post and started thinking about it again.
But what if I weren’t a busy mom? What if I were an Olympic athlete? I’d be devoting some time trying to resolve the problem. Maybe I’d take some ibuprofen (or maybe not—not sure about the drug testing there.) Maybe I’d put ice, then a heating pad on it. I’d be talking to my coach. Maybe getting a massage?
What if I were a hypochondriac instead of an athlete or a busy mom? My whole day could be devoted to my stiff neck. I could be on the internet for hours, looking up symptoms….could I have meningitis? I might drive straight to the emergency room and spend most of the day in there because the triage nurse decides immediately that my case will be the last priority—there’s an odd lack of temperature for someone who has meningitis.
So, depending on the character, reactions will not only be very different to each possible situation, but will demonstrate a lot about the character in a show-don’t-tell way.
The fact that we don’t all react to situations in the same way seems obvious. But I find myself frequently thinking that friends or family members share my mindset on things they couldn’t disagree more on. It’s always a surprise to me. Doesn’t everyone think the way I do? :)
And that thinking seeps over into my first drafts sometimes. I consciously have to say, “Okay, in this situation, I would do this….but I’m not an octogenarian.”
And then there’s the wonderful moment in the first draft when I get into my manuscript and the characters come alive and act on their own accord and I have nothing to do with it. It’s one of the happiest parts of writing for me.
Before your characters come alive, do you have to consciously think like them and put yourself in their shoes? Or is your protagonist so much like you that you share the same reactions?
I try to “be” the character when I’m writing from that character’s point of view. I had a lot of fun with that in the standalone I’m revising now, especially when writing the bad guys. I can be pretty darned tough when I need to be. :)
I’m still working on my first novel. Those are always autobiographical, I hear. Who knows but that the later novels won’t challenge me a bit more? :)
I think when we read, we “assume” the author and the character share traits, likes and dislikes (which might be why it’s often hard to start putting our work out there — we fear readers will thing everything is autobiographical).
It’s important as writers to be able to step outside ourselves, and to find sources who can explain what life is like from a different perspective. I know I go to my kids when I need to give my characters musical tastes outside of my own.
This is it — shutting down the computer and off to our new life! Please don’t forget me. My blog will still be active.
Elizabeth – Reactions really are unique. Even two people who feel the same way about something might react to it differently because of different backgrounds, different experiences, and so on. It’s funny you’d mention thinking of your own reactions compared to your protagonist’s reaction. I have to do that same “stepping out of self,” too, when I write about my protag. It’s also interesting what you can learn about a victim from the way people react to her or his death. Different people’s reactions can give the sleuth information about what people thought of the victim and sometimees, about whether somebody knew more about the death than s/he’s saying.
First of all – love love that painting. Secondly, what are you talking about -moms are Olympic athletes! :) Finally, I think my characters are different facets of me at first and then take off on their own.
It depends on the character – some are more like me and others, and when they are, I often do have to stop and make sure I’m not inserting myself.
What I have more problem with is when I’m concentrating on one character, and I start making the other characters either behave the same way, or just behave in automatic opposition, because I’m not thinking about them. (That’s why I often make a separate pass for each character – rewriting while being in each character’s head.)
The last thing is something I mentioned in my blog last night – sometimes you have a character who presents himself to the world quite differently than how he feels inside. Someone uncertain and vulnerable might seem confident for instance.
As a writer, I may be busy thinking about what’s going on inside the character’s head and then display it too openly. (But that can be great exploratory writing – you can find some creative “tells” that way – you just have to dial back on rewrite.)
I have to put myself in my characters shoes. I know some of them share my views and some don’t. And some share some of my views. I try to think like they would think. During revisions I try to spot places where it’s me and not the character. Thanks for the reminder. It’s easy to forget to look or just not see when a character isn’t acting like the character but instead is acting like the author.
I have to consciously do it. I really try to create characters who are different than me… then it takes more than just switching identities!
Since i am working on my first fiction piece, I don’t know yet. But I can’t wait to find out.
karen
Although my protagonists are female, it’s my male characters who are easier to write because I have to stop thinking like me. I need to learn to jump into my my protagonist’s skin as easily as I get into male mode. Good post.
This is where my acting experience has been handy. I don’t have a problem imagining different reactions to an event. My protagonist isn’t me at all – I’m not sure we have anything in common!
A combination. I began writing characters that were similar to me (or ones I could easily relate to) and so reactions were not too difficult to guage. Over time, the characters became more diverse. But I’ve always tried to keep their personality in mind, which rarely matched with mine, and went with reactions that lined up with their characters.
I try my best to think like my characters, but I often infuse too much of myself into them. I have to tell myself to take a step back and get into THEIR character, not mine. Great post as always!
I hope my characters are not too much like me because I can sometimes be too timid. I try to make them react on the situation and do things I wouldn’t do. Many out there do things I wouldn’t do, that’s why I’m frustrated sometimes. Great blog, Elizabeth. I’m a bit scatterbrained today due to meningitis…I mean exhaustion.
ann
When I first starting writing I think my protagonist resembled my emotions. Now she has a emotional bank that is all her own!
It’s fun to see her up and down antics.
I don’t think it’s too hard to have the character whose PoV you are in behave accordingly, but the OTHER characters I sometimes have to think about and shift. It’s true that it’s much more fun when you are all the way in and just sort of documenting what they are doing (easier if they are a little outrageous, i think).
We put ourselves into our characters, but you do have to step aside and let the characters speak and act for themselves. If they’re all like the author, that would be pretty boring.
Helen
Straight From Hel
I get inside my characters’ heads and hearts and react the way THEY would. Well, that is, when I’m doing my best writing, that is, lol. When self-editing and doing revisions, I catch spots where so-and-so is acting like The Old Silly would instead of him or herself. Good subject and points here.
Marvin D Wilson
My two main characters are very different from me, so I did have to stop and think about it when writing. One of them is a bit rebellious, so it was fun to get into his head!
Ahhh the Stanislavki System, the magic “if”.
It makes sense that writers need to be actors as well!
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Sorry – I still haven’t figured out how to just edit a post without deleting it. *sigh*
I guess I have to consciously think like my characters. I am slow to warm up to and trust them (and vice versa, I assume), therefore they tend not to take over completely until I’m half way or even further through the manuscript.
Simon–I think it can get a little harder in some ways, as we go on. There’s a struggle to keep creating new and different characters.
Patricia–We can BE those murderers! On paper, anyway. :)
Terry–That’s true. And then we take it personally if the book is rejected because it’s all about us! :)
Good luck with your moving! What a pain that is…
Margot–That IS fun–what was the victim all about? Why did she die? The reactions show a lot about the suspects AND about the victim. Very good point!
Teresa–I FEEL like an Olympic athlete some days. :) And I like the painting, too–El Greco, 16th century.
Diane–It makes me wonder if it’s easiest for new writers to create a protagonist who is either really like them or someone exactly opposite from them.
Ann–If they would only all think like us! Go take care of that meningitis! :)
Watery Tart–So true! Because then we’ve got all these random characters to bring to life–and we have to figure out how they think and feel and react to things. I like doing that through actions, too.
Camille–That’s definitely a challenge. Because we don’t want the two extremes…we need some middle ground. But–sometimes it is useful to have at least one character who is dramatically different from the protagonist. To use as a foil, straight man, whatever.
Helen–Absolutely! My characters have a much more interesting life than I do.
Paul–And when we see ourselves on the page, it seems natural–until we remember we’re not the ones in the book! (At least, we’re not for some of us.)
Kristen–It’s the challenge, but also the fun of it. :)
Marvin–Me too. When I see Elizabeth on the page, it’s editing time.
Alex–It’s fun trying on one that’s not like us….and sometimes challenging.
Karen–I think you’ll have fun with it!
Carol–That’s a good point–you’re more conscious of it when you’re making a big POV change. Sometimes we need that consciousness for other characters, too–even if they’re more similar to ourselves.
Andy–I think you’re right…we need to be actors as well as writers!
And..no worries about the commenting. I’ve got you covered. :)
Jane–It really IS a trust issue, isn’t it? I hadn’t thought of that before. We’re trusting them, even though they’re not like us….we’re delegating the story to them in some respects.
Elspeth–I think your background in acting gives you a lot of advantages! Now you can try on new parts on paper.
I want them to react differently so at first it is conscious then they become their own weird selves. I would never be an RCMP detective because of the paper work and the personal danger and well the having to deal with liars all the time but Kitty loves all of it but the paper work. She doesn’t have the same antipathy to being hurt as I do or if she does it is well-buttoned up and she likes order way more than me (she being a force for law AND order). I like the differences and it is important to me to not slip into my own reactions, attitudes, feelings and thinking.
I think that beta readers can be invaluable in this area. They’re getting to know your characters as people from the beginning, and not through your eyes. Mine aren’t shy about telling me when one of my characters reacts inauthentically. Even if I don’t agree, or don’t make the suggested changes, it helps me to realize when I should be paying more attention.
Great post!
– Liz
Julie–A little distance is probably a good thing anyway–not as easy to get hurt during critiques and reviews that way!
Jan–And in some ways, maybe it’s a little easier when they’re NOT like us. Then we can easily imagine what they’d do in a situation–whatever we *wouldn’t* do!
Tamika–I think that’s the way I am, too…I have to get warmed up with a character first, then they get their own legs and start taking off!
Liz–That’s a great idea–first readers can really point out some areas that we might not be able to see for ourselves.
My protagonists always start out acting like me (because I’m always right–right?), so I have to make an active decision to change a few traits and reactions. Pretty soon, they start being their own people and sometimes don’t behave anything like me anymore. And I love it when they take over! Then you can just sit back and watch the show.
Yeah, I have to make sure each of my characters isn’t a modified version of me. Generally, I’m pretty good at avoiding that trap…but not always.
Best Wishes, Galen.
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Galen–It’s definitely an easy trap to fall into.
My protagonist and skeptic character are polar opposites – and they’re both exactly like me. Explain that! :D
This is a great post.
Yes, I have to think very hard about the characters that aren’t like me. Particularly the men.
This morning I was creating a character sketch and realized I was writing a character I know VERY well like a woman. I had to backtrack and start again. Easy to write from your own experiences if you’re not paying attention.
Corra
from the desk of a writer
Lorel–We ARE always right. Why can’t other people see that? :)
The book practically writes itself when the characters take over!
Corra–That is DEFINITELY the easiest thing to do…see everything through our own lens. Unfortunately, my life is so boring that it wouldn’t make a good story for very long. :)