character
The Pitfalls of Passive Protagonists
Oct 09, 2010
As some of you know, last year I attended an absolutely phenomenal workshop, the Odyssey Writing Workshop up in New Hampshire. I had no idea when I applied just how great it would be, though. In all honesty? I went thinking to myself, “Well, I already know how to write. But this will be great for making connections and learning about the publishing world.”
That delusion lasted approximately twelve minutes into the first lecture on the first morning of the first day.
I encountered a lot of surprises in my own writing over the six weeks of the workshop, but the one that was by far the hardest to swallow was this:
I wrote passive heroines.
Hi, I’m XYZ. Can I be your love interest?
Jun 10, 2010
Time for me to throw myself on your mercies, dear readers, and ask for some help. Let me lay out the issue.
Characters, for me, often live inside my head. Many writers will say this, to the point where I think non-writers will roll their eyes a bit (though quietly and in private where the writers can’t see and kill them for it). But it’s just an easy way to say that we spend so much time thinking about them that our characters become fully-formed, fleshed out people with their own decisions, and it’s hard to sometimes get the characters to do what you need them to do because the motivations you’ve already decided upon for them just won’t push them in that direction.
Of course, for me, it’s only main characters that live in my head. The lesser characters don’t really need to be known that well.
In THE IRON WOOD, my current WIP, we’re just coming to get to know a new character. Is he a monster? A spy for the Facility? A nice, misunderstood boy in dire need of a bath and a hairbrush? A potential love interest? WHO CAN SAY? (Actually, I can, but that’s beside the point.) And yes, I’m only introducing the potential love interest 60,000 words into the story. I am aware of this. This is an issue for the rewrite, folks. Stay focused.
The point is that I’m really struggling to write him. Part of it is that Lark, my main character, has been alone for almost the entire novel, and I’m used to her solitude and how she handles it. Part of it is that I am seeing this new character the way Lark does, because she is the predominant voice in my head–and she sees him as confusing, inscrutable, and possibly quite frightening. And part of it is the issue of buildup–he’s been behind the scenes throughout the whole book, with tiny touches here and there, and now he needs to be finally revealed as a fully-formed character, but it really is the first time I’ve met him, too.
So here’s my question: how do you guys get to know a stubbornly shy character who refuses to introduce himself? Do you fill out character sheets? Write vignettes about his childhood? Pretend to interview him? Have conversations out loud, pretending to be him? I’ve tried all of this in the past (yep, even the conversation thing–I’m a writer, I have no shame) and none of it seems to be appropriate in this situation, though I may just be being stubborn myself.
I’d love to hear any input or suggestions! Don’t be shy, I’m ready to try absolutely anything. And even if all you have to offer is commiseration, well, I could use some of that right about now too.