Character Question

Character Question:

Okay, here's a character question: to what degree do we separate ourselves from the characters that we write? How much is their perspective completely our own? Moments ago, I caught myself playing with the minds of my own characters. I don't think there is any excuse for allowing our own emotions to interfere with that of those of our characters.

For instance, here is a point on which I pondered: if 'Brooke thinks that Snape has hair of an elegant dark veil,' Harry doesn't- however, I would venture that 'Harry looked upon his oily, lank hair and his daunting features- thus sank his heart.' This is a really important part of making characters form into distinct persons, and that we should begin to look on them as such. If we begin to respect them as people, then they will grow- as a child when he or she moves away from home.

A recent author I wrote to said, that to force them into situations and watch how react to them, helps create characters. I think that we can garner from this statement that she means to extricate our minds from them. We should ask ourselves at what point characters really become real. They are not a reflection of ourselves- they are distinct and separate. This is fascinating to me.

 

What are your thoughts on this? Be sure to post your comments!

SM ~

On the matter of 'notes,' and a happy 2014-

On the matter of ‘notes,’ and a happy 2014-
On what note will we begin it?

Dear readers,

Notes in my house creep up no matter where I go . . . no matter what I do to evade their presence, they always slip their way into my eyes, dazzling my vision as though to taunt it. I don’t ask her to do it, but my mother leaves me notes at every single turn. In the morning, in the afternoon, evening and at night, they show up. If I think that I have escaped them for good, I turn my phone on, and a text message is flashing. My mother finds a way to provide notes even when I am not around to view them. I wake up in the morning , and her scrawl is my first greeting. When I sit down with tea in my hands for the day, my mind untrammeled, I am surprised again- when I reach to put my cup down, behold the dictate in front of me, telling me not to put the cup there . . .

I wonder at the idea that we must always be communicating. If we cannot unleash our troubles in words, then they seem to come out in little pen-marks to haunt the members of our family who may attune themselves. Personally, I have no need of notes- I rarely make them for myself, and keep a mental record of my own list. If I do write a note, then it is not usually so much a reminder as a melee of random thoughts that I will put into a story. However, my mother is infamous for her perpetual, love affair with them. I suppose that it is my fate to read her thoughts, trivial as they might be.

Have you ever stopped to wonder about the purpose of writing a note?  I cannot help but to wonder what we would do with our notes if we were to change their purpose. In their true meaning, they are actually informal letters to ourselves.  That makes me wonder about their intended design. What if we were to write, ‘Happy 2014,’ as that design, rather than, ‘did you put the key in its proper place?’ What if we were to wake up in the morning and find ourselves looking forward to their message, rather than evading them at every turn? Perhaps we need to re-evaluate the purpose writing notes, revamp their inner scope.

If whether or not we lose our key is foremost on our minds, our mental registrar seems to lack substance. Our brief messages to others should have a rich texture which enhances our thoughts and ideas. How do those thoughts reflect upon those around us, and what type of message do they transmit?

Perhaps, in revising the notes themselves, we can reinvent our minds, and their contributions to the household.

 

Thus, in order to start the year of 2014, I am planning on writing a new note to my family, to subtly and effectively counteract the problem. The next time you wake up to a belligerent note that wants to be a little too persistent with you, therefore, try changing the message around-

And- I will end this piece on that ‘note.’

 

Love to you all,

Brooke ~