Ask your character one question… and learn a lot.

We're going to delve deeply into character in Module 4 of this class. We'll look at
aspects of the character's internal life, and the way he/she thinks and
speaks and sees the world.

The trick-- the magic-- of this is believing that this person is real,
even as you know that you've created him/her. Yep, it's magic-- but it's
exactly the magic that we expect of our readers, for them to temporarily
suspend their disbelief and give into the belief in this person and this
world.

 We'll be looking at potential conflict (as that will fuel the plot), but
also how the character responds to conflict initially and later, when
he/she has been battered a bit by the plot events. We'll also be looking
at what the character needs vs. what he/she wants, and what he/she values
enough to sacrifice for. We'll also be looking at ways these things can
manifest in the scenes of your story-- in the actions and reactions of
the characters.

So I'll be asking you to think about your character's journey, strength,
goal, value system, etc. Just hang loose and let it come. Don't force
the character-- discover the character. If it helps, try free-writing
from the first-person perspective OF THE CHARACTER in answer to some of the
questions.

Remember also to take a sentence or two here to say what (if anything) you learned

about the character from answering the exercise questions, or concerns that this has raised.

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So let's start out with a quick assignment:

 ANSWER THIS IN THE VOICE OF YOUR CHARACTER-

Who betrayed you last?

NOW ANSWER THESE FROM YOUR OWN PERSPECTIVE AS THE AUTHOR-

1) Name your character and tell what position he/she plays in the story.



2) What is this character secretly afraid of doing?


3) Come on. What's he/she REALLY afraid of doing?

4) What did you learn from this?

ANSWER THIS IN THE VOICE OF YOUR CHARACTER-

I’ll write an example here.

Who betrayed you last?

EXAMPLE-
(Taya) I have to say it was my boyfriend Sam. I didn't realize it was
betrayal when he broke up with me, because he made it sound like it was
all for my benefit-- "You'll be better off without me dragging you
down... you deserve better." I believed him until I saw him kissy-face
with his new girlfriend, exactly 12 hours after he left me for my own
good. He just wanted out, and he couldn't bring himself to be honest
with me. That's what hurt the most. He knows that truth matters to me...
but what matters to me no longer matters to him. 
It reminded me of when my dad left, telling me he'd come back and get me
real soon. I never saw him again. I'd rather he'd just been honest about
it, so I wouldn't have wasted years waiting for him.

WHAT I (AUTHOR) LEARNED FROM THAT:

I actually just had this "betrayal" in the opening scene, as a way to get Taya to leave town and go off on her adventure. It was just a device, I mean, that her boyfriend betrayed her. It wasn't till I was writing in her own voice that I thought to link it to her father abandoning her, and her frustration over the lack of honesty.

--

WHAT I (AUTHOR) LEARNED FROM THAT EXERCISE:

Example: I actually just had this "betrayal" in the opening scene, as a way to get Taya to leave town and go off on her adventure. It was just a device, I mean, that her boyfriend betrayed her. It wasn't till I was writing in her own voice that I thought to link it to her father abandoning her, and her frustration over the lack of honesty.

5) Any concerns this raises for you?

Example: I'm concerned because this all makes it sound like a darker book than I mean-- the ex-boyfriend's betrayal linked emotionally to her father. I want this to be a light book! Maybe I can make the backstory conflict less dire, like it reminds her of her father lying about something less important, or it reminds her of a previous cheating boyfriend, something lighter, maybe even something a little amusing, like her father was a loveable rogue, but a con man, who taught her how to cheat at cards.

--

Your turn!

ANSWER THIS IN THE VOICE OF YOUR CHARACTER- FREE WRITE FOR 3 MINUTES.

Who betrayed you last?

NOW ANSWER THESE FROM YOUR OWN PERSPECTIVE AS THE AUTHOR-

1) Name your character and tell what position he/she plays in the story.



2) What is this character secretly afraid of doing?


3) Come on. What's he/she REALLY afraid of doing?

4) What did you learn from this?