Character Conundrum*
I have a problem character. She's not a problem like Arion was (thinking one way & then acting like a total dumbass) or like Isis was (acting like a doormat until I figured out what the heck she was doing) or even like Mordecai (outright lying to me on many, many occasions).
Nope. Josephine is a problem because she loves her husband.
Josephine has never been a character that's caused me a lot of issues before. She's shown up, given important information when necessary, faded into the background nicely when she doesn't have something to do... And yet, suddenly she's standing in front of me, and it's like I don't recognize her.
She's always been a bit distant and sad, but I've never had a problem getting her to open up in character interviews. Arion will pout and have hissy fits. Celestia's so straight forward I rarely get anything out of her I didn't already know. Isis chats away (I think she needs someone to talk to). Mordecai glares. A lot. But Josephine usually has an answer for whatever I ask, and she's certainly never seemed like she was holding back. Until I started to question her relationship with Mordecai.
In my original drafts, Josephine was little more than a side-character, and, to be honest, a plot device. She was used to control Arion's behavior (this was also when Arion was more outwardly rebellious) and Mordecai didn't care much for her at all.
Except as I finally wheedled some (truthful) answers out of Mordecai, I realized he wouldn't hurt Josephine, that it was, in fact, the last thing he'd ever purposefully do, especially during the time the story takes place. Yet he had still given her many reasons to hate him. And she doesn't. Like... she really doesn't.
I took out a part of the story in my last revision that I felt really didn't make sense (knowing that something might happen to Marius), but now that I'm working on the second book and her reactions to the end of the first one, I need to figure her out better. Even if she's still cryptic toward Arion, I need to know!
Basically, I think there are two things going on right now:
1) I'm not asking her the right questions
2) She doesn't even know what some of the answers are.
So for now, I suppose I'll just keep poking at her, trying to find the right questions to ask and hoping she'll at least try and puzzle through to some answers. Until then, I suppose we'll just have to be confused. *sigh*
Anyone care to share any favorite character-writing exercises?
*Yes, I promised a post Thursday or Friday and today is Saturday. Sorry. Thursday I was kinda busy and yesterday I felt crappy. Still feeling a bit crappy, but decided I needed to post!
Nope. Josephine is a problem because she loves her husband.
Josephine has never been a character that's caused me a lot of issues before. She's shown up, given important information when necessary, faded into the background nicely when she doesn't have something to do... And yet, suddenly she's standing in front of me, and it's like I don't recognize her.
She's always been a bit distant and sad, but I've never had a problem getting her to open up in character interviews. Arion will pout and have hissy fits. Celestia's so straight forward I rarely get anything out of her I didn't already know. Isis chats away (I think she needs someone to talk to). Mordecai glares. A lot. But Josephine usually has an answer for whatever I ask, and she's certainly never seemed like she was holding back. Until I started to question her relationship with Mordecai.
In my original drafts, Josephine was little more than a side-character, and, to be honest, a plot device. She was used to control Arion's behavior (this was also when Arion was more outwardly rebellious) and Mordecai didn't care much for her at all.
Except as I finally wheedled some (truthful) answers out of Mordecai, I realized he wouldn't hurt Josephine, that it was, in fact, the last thing he'd ever purposefully do, especially during the time the story takes place. Yet he had still given her many reasons to hate him. And she doesn't. Like... she really doesn't.
I took out a part of the story in my last revision that I felt really didn't make sense (knowing that something might happen to Marius), but now that I'm working on the second book and her reactions to the end of the first one, I need to figure her out better. Even if she's still cryptic toward Arion, I need to know!
Basically, I think there are two things going on right now:
1) I'm not asking her the right questions
2) She doesn't even know what some of the answers are.
So for now, I suppose I'll just keep poking at her, trying to find the right questions to ask and hoping she'll at least try and puzzle through to some answers. Until then, I suppose we'll just have to be confused. *sigh*
Anyone care to share any favorite character-writing exercises?
*Yes, I promised a post Thursday or Friday and today is Saturday. Sorry. Thursday I was kinda busy and yesterday I felt crappy. Still feeling a bit crappy, but decided I needed to post!