Let Your Character Be True...
...to himself.
It's exciting and scary when you're writing a story and your character says, "Hell, no, I won't do that!" and refuses to move...
You might say, "Alex! I created you. If I say you should wear tie-dyed t-shirts and go to a Yes! concert, then you will go to that concert . I'm the writer, after all."
Alex stares at you like you just came down from the sky in a flying saucer and have those green antenna on your head and would be at home in a 1960's TV show.
"But I'm more of a Metallica fan, and I never wear tie-dyed t-shirts. It's just not me!"
Maybe, all of a sudden, you remember that Yes! concert you went to years ago, in the '90s, with friends, and the spazzed-out tie-dyed shirt you wore. And that was fine for you... But would it be for Alex?
What do you do now?
If you're smart, you listen. You let your character be himself. As a writer, you need to figure out whether the character you created would act this way. Just ask yourself: What would Alex do? And roll with it.
You never know where your characters will take you. And that journey can be the best part of it all.
It's exciting and scary when you're writing a story and your character says, "Hell, no, I won't do that!" and refuses to move...
You might say, "Alex! I created you. If I say you should wear tie-dyed t-shirts and go to a Yes! concert, then you will go to that concert . I'm the writer, after all."
Alex stares at you like you just came down from the sky in a flying saucer and have those green antenna on your head and would be at home in a 1960's TV show.
"But I'm more of a Metallica fan, and I never wear tie-dyed t-shirts. It's just not me!"
Maybe, all of a sudden, you remember that Yes! concert you went to years ago, in the '90s, with friends, and the spazzed-out tie-dyed shirt you wore. And that was fine for you... But would it be for Alex?
What do you do now?
If you're smart, you listen. You let your character be himself. As a writer, you need to figure out whether the character you created would act this way. Just ask yourself: What would Alex do? And roll with it.
You never know where your characters will take you. And that journey can be the best part of it all.