Writing – The Craft of

Stubborn Characters

/ Lisa / Leave a comment

I’ve said this before, but I have fun with Yahoo Answers. I go to the books and authors section and read posts about writing. I answer quite a few, and in answering am forced to pause and think and learn. I see many topics that come up repeatedly. Some of the very, very common questions include ‘what should I name my character’, ‘what do you think of my story’, ‘I want to be a writer but need an idea’, ‘how do I get published’, ‘can I write a story when I’m only twelve’ and so on, each one so earnestly asked and so deserving of time.

The most recent one I saw asked for tips on how to develop a stubborn character. The person wanted to know what to do with an annoying character that refused to have the personality the questioner wanted.

Sounds like my kind of character. Or at least some of my friends. Stubborn, unique, individual, doing what they want. I like the character already.

Seriously though, I responded because I think all writers have had that happen. Matter of fact, those can be the best characters because they don’t do what we want.

There can be so many reasons for this. One thing I usually ask first, is if I am trying to force a particular character into the wrong role. Sometimes that character belongs in a different part of the story.

It reminds me of the time my friend (and author) Susan Schreyer, had problems with this one very meek character who just wasn’t doing what Susan wanted. Turned out this very meek character actually wanted to be the villain. When Susan realized that, the whole story took on a different shape and pieces fell into place.

Sometimes the character won’t do what you want because you let personal feelings get in the way. I actually had a character who reminded me of someone I did not care for. I so wanted that character to be the villain. Vicarious revenge. I struggled with the plot line until I realized that my personal emotions had to get out of the way of the character, and then the story line developed easier. Kind of the opposite problem that Susan had.

Sometimes it’s as simple as the writer not having fully developed the character, so that the character isn’t understood.

And sometimes the plot develops in a way that pulls out action from the character that the writer didn’t plan for.

There are so many reasons for something like this to happen. But it brings home to me just how wonderful it is when a character is so alive that they become a life outside of our expectations. If the character is alive like that, then I’m willing to bet the story will be, too.

 

Not a character in a story, but still a character.

Not a character in a story, but still a character.

 

1975

/ Lisa / 6 Comments

In 1975 I was fifteen. Watergate was current news. The Weather Underground was also making news. Charlie Chaplin was knighted. It was the time of the Convoy of Tears, for those familiar with Vietnam. In music, Glen Campbell was singing Rhinestone Cowboy and I sang When Will I Be Loved along with Linda Ronstadt. My husband, out there in the world unbeknownst to me, was thirteen, which is just really weird to think about. I think I had a crush on a senior at the time. Definitely was not interested in thirteen year old boys.

And I bought a new release book for seventy-five cents. Crocodile on the Sandbank.

That book started a love affair with mysteries, and is probably why I write mysteries. For thirty-eight years I have been reading books by Elizabeth Peters. And books written under her pseudonym, Barbara Michaels. And books under her real name, Barbara Mertz.

Thirty-eight years. Think about that a moment.

Can you imagine the amount of paper she, as a writer, accumulated? You writers will know exactly what I’m referring to. We collect scraps. Scribbled dialog overheard at the laundromat, bits of news that might make a good story some day, notes on writing craft, deleted scenes from drafts that might work in a different tale, and so on. And we always swear some day we’re going to organize all those pieces of paper.

What does that have to do with Elizabeth Peters? Well, she died recently, and it feels like losing a close friend. I have lived thirty-eight years within her imagination. Her words have sent me to places I have never physically been. She has inspired me and made me laugh. And I can’t imagine a future without the anticipation of a new Amelia Peabody or Vickie Bliss.  And that made me wonder how her family  was doing, and that got me thinking they are probably going through years and years of scraps of paper.

To her family, those scraps will be incomprehensible. I can hear them saying to each other ‘why did she keep that?’. I bet those scraps will make them shake their heads, cry, laugh, and grieve together. But only the writer who saved the snippet will understand the reason.

Someday my son will probably be found kneeling by boxes trying to figure out why in the world his mother kept a list of true things police officers have said to people they pull over (I might have a character in that situation some day), or a very tattered book called 2000 Baby Names (character names). Or maybe the book on how people lived in the 1800s (I think I have a western story in me some where).

I am willing to bet Elizabeth Peter’s family decides to hold on to some of those scraps.

Because even if the reason is unknown, they will still understand that words were of value to the writer.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth, surrounded by stories.

The Peace of Wild Things

/ Lisa / 5 Comments

I’m currently working on a couple of projects, and feel a third one rumbling around inside.

In the middle of that productivity though, I pulled out a story I started around fifteen years ago. It was my very first complete manuscript, the very first one I wrote a synopsis for, the very first one I marketed. Of course it went nowhere. But there are some specific fellow writers, who periodically bring that story up and talk about how much they liked it. So this past weekend, I retrieved it.

You know, the premise is pretty good. I still like the characters. I love the setting. There are significant problems with it though. Not enough subplots (as in, none), not enough characters to carry a mystery, and a few scenes completely implausible. In spite of that, there’s a glowing center, like a gem, waiting to be polished.

I’ve done plenty of editing, for myself and for others. But that seems like tweaking and fine tuning. Some of my stuff has needed more editing than others, but the underlying structure was sound. This story is more like a major overhaul. Where, if it was a car, you’d be debating about the repair bill becoming a down payment instead.

I started in on it, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad, but…well…it is. Added to that, I find myself forgetting that I’m editing, and end up reading as if I’ve just found an old friend I need to catch up with. It’s a lot of fun reading, but not much work gets done.

Which makes me wonder what the best way is, to do such a significant rewrite. This will be way beyond editing. I imagine some would simply set it back in its dark box and start all over. I’d prefer not to do that though. There are some good stretches amid the problems.

Reading may be a good idea at this point after all. Settling in and going through it beginning to end, just to remember the story. And then, I think I may need to print it out so I can see the grand overall view rather than a single page at a time on the laptop. That way I may be able to shift around, move chapters, insert new stuff, cut out old. Wow. That’s going to be so much work.

And of course there’s the question, why bother when I have new stories starting? It’s almost like friendship. Why hang around with old friends when new ones are more exciting and still to be discovered? I learned the error of that many, many years ago. There is a priceless value in our old friends.

So what would your process be in such a major restructuring?

The title I chose for this one, so many years ago, was The Peace of Wild Things, taken from the poem of the same name by Wendell Berry. I still love that poem and I still love the title.

Below is a link to a song that I listened to often while writing The Peace of Wild Things. The tune is quite old, but when I hear it, I fall back into the words of this familiar story friend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTa0AM6-GCw