Today the letter is C, which happens to correspond with the
name of one of my protagonists. I love serendipity. Okay, you’ve met my
favorite policeman, now this post is about the woman of whom you read yesterday
getting a knife stuck in her ribs. Celia Wight is a writer with a past she
hides. She writes because she can, and it allows her a carefully
privatized lifestyle. She’s a loner by choice because of a past event. But would
she have made the same choice without that event? Everyone has a journey, a
lesson to learn in their lives. No protagonist in any book would be worth their
words if they didn’t have something to learn, some chance to grow and change
over the course of the story. That journey is what helps build “character.”
If something dreadful had happened to Celia Wight in her
past and she became a loner because of it, doesn’t that keep her a perpetual
victim of that event? Most likely she isn’t even aware of that fact. The same
can be said of those seeking vengeance, justice, whatever the case. They are stuck
in that damaging circle and will be a perpetual victim until they either learn
to deal with it head on, or die. Celia’s
choices during the course of the novel will necessarily affect who she might
become at the end.
Rambo is a perfect example. He can’t get out of his “loop of
war” because he doesn’t realize he’s stuck there. He seems a hero because he
fights on the side of “good” but really, all he wanted in the first movie was a
place to “be” and live a quite life, or so he is portrayed. But he also doesn’t
back down when trouble comes his way. He enters the fray and continues the
cycle for four more movies. What did he learn? Where is his learning curve? How—
if he does—does he differ from the man in the first movie?
The journey is an integral part of your protagonist’s character.
Find the beginning of that journey, the “event” that set the circle in motion,
and witness how your protagonist finds their way. Pay attention to that
element in the next book you read. It might help you, as a writer, on your own learning curve…
Image of Rambo from:
"No protagonist in any book would be worth their words if they didn’t have something to learn"
ReplyDeleteLove this and it's so very true. I always seem to struggle with characterization, so it really hit home with me.
Great post!
Thanks Mark. One thing about writing and meeting other writers, we all seem to have been in the same boat at one point or another in our writing careers...
DeleteI think it fits....a lot of writer types are loners, in my experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of a loner, myself, and would much rather have a few, close, friends then be the life of the party...which is good because I'm -never- the life of the party :)
Well, you are the life of the party on your blog because I love meeting your comic book heroes, even the substitutes!
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