Dark or Classic...

As a writer I fall deeply in love with my main characters. I care about them, fight with them, argue with them in elevators. We all do...right?  Right, guys? 

Okay, maybe its just me. But regardless of whether or not I may have issues. The fact remains that as authors, we need to be invested emotionally in our characters because if we aren't absolutely enthralled...why would our readers care?

In my experience, though, its hard to care about someone if you don't understand them.

So, every time I write a book I take time after I've already written a few chapters to really get a feel for what kind of person my hero is because even after planning and outlines and character sketches...you really can't see him until he's moving in front of your eyes as you write him.

First I have to decide if he's a hero or an anti-hero. This is the main hurdle because it will inform his decisions and even how he appears to some extent.

So, I ask myself a series of questions to better clarify if my main man is a Classic Hero or a Dark Hero...

Classic or Dark 

• Is he an idealist who stands up to bad guys or is does he stand up to any authority figure no matter the reason?
• Does he strive for peace and value hierarchy or is he rebellious?
• Is he clear in his decision act or is he pushed into acting by circumstances?
• Does he know his weaknesses and hopes to overcome them or does he believe they are justified?
• Does he learn from his mistakes and changes fundamentally or does he remain a rogue or self interested?
• Is he lawful or even a law authority or is he more of an 'end justifies the means' kind of guy?
• Is he a knight in shining armor or more of a fallen angel sort of figure?
• Is he steadfast in who he is or is he unpredictable?
• Do his morals hold to conventional norms or does he have a fluid idea of right and wrong?
• Finally, what is his motivation? Is he good from the get go or does he eventually come around, but not until the very end?

Whether Classic or Dark, heroes need to be complex. One of the hardest things to care about is someone who is unalienable, perfect, and predictable.

Think of your favorite super hero  and then decide what category they fall under. Then figure out why you are drawn to that type of character. You may find it surprising to see the same archetypes in your own work.

So think about it...Are you more Captain America or Iron Man...Stephan or Damon...

I'd love to hear what you come up with. Until next time...Go Write!

Cravings

Tina Lynn is heating up the ether with her Bad Boy Blogfest over at her blog, Sweet Niblets.  She didn't specify if bad boy meant villain, or hero with attitude.

I tend to list toward characters that aren't clearly in one category or another. Brooding heroes, alluring villains...enablers with your favorite vice on hand.

This excerpt is from my WIP, Black Adders.  The main character, Raven Adder, is from a family of con men and women; ruthless people that she turned against after they killed an innocent family. 

She's moved away and gone into hiding, but someone starts leaving tarot cards in her mailbox, on her doorstep, at her work. Knowing her family doesn't belive in magic, she's terrified they spell out a message...a threat on her life or a warning. Not sure, she risks going to see someone from her past...someone she barely survived the first time.

---

Black Adders 

Yellow smoke fluttered through the bead curtain hanging in the doorway and wafted passed my nose. Craving hit me with the force of an angry rhino to the gut erasing two years of abstinence in a moment. Hands shaking, I parted a portion of the beads and walked through the gently clicking cascade.

A dim red light bathed the room in an eerie darkroom glow. Couples clustered in corners, on benches, and along the damask covered walls of the room. Persian rugs, fine glass, and lush fabrics muffled the music from the club below.

Siyah, lounging on a pile of pillows, looked up at me and favored me with a brilliant smile. He put the glass pipe in his pocket and tilted his chin up looking down his nose at me. “Raven,” he murmured. “You’re back in town.”

The feel of those pillows, soft beneath my back, flashed in my head and I swallowed against the lump in my throat.

Stopping just inside the room, I leaned against the cool wall and balled my fists at my sides. “I won’t be here long.”

His eyes danced along my body and back up to my face. “Long enough, I hope.”

When I didn’t answer, Siyah clicked his tongue and rose to his feet. All muscle and sinew; his movements reminded me of something powerful hunting. He walked up to me, hand over my head against the wall, he leaned in until our noses nearly touched.

“Did you come here for anything in particular?”

The sweet aroma on his breath mingled with the brandy and I stifled a whimper of need.

Reaching into my back pocket I drew out the tarot card and held it between our faces. He leaned away, took it, and then held me with his dark eyes.

“The Tower?” Siyah stepped back. “What did you do?”

I peered back at him, shocked. “You must have heard. With your connections—”

Siyah’s brows knit. “It’s true then?”

Nodding, I took in a shaky breath. “I – I need to know if anything can be done. Your father...I thought you might have an answer.”

He rolled away coming to rest on the wall next to me. Sighing, he shook his head. “The only way to fix it is with a blood offering.” His voice, low and even, betrayed the wary look in his eyes when he turned to me. “If not yours, then someone more valuable to them.”

Tears trailed down my cheeks and I nodded silently. I’d known as much. “I had to be sure,” I whispered.

“How long has it been, Raven?” Siyah asked and brought the pipe and lighter to his lips.

I watched the flame lick at the glass and a shudder shook my core. Suddenly sweating I licked my lips. “T-Two years.”

Siyah moved blindingly fast, pinning me to the wall with his hand on my chest, he stopped just short of touching my lips with his and exhaled the yellow cloud into my mouth. Sucking in with surprise and then urgent need, I filled my lungs with the burning tendrils of release. Breathing out, my voice hitched as I stifled a cry.

He kissed me then. My nose, my cheek, my eyes. His angular jaw resting against mine, he put the pipe in my hand. “You shouldn’t have left, Raven.” He muttered. “You belong here.”

Sagging against the wall I gripped the hot glass and floated on a ribbon of pleasure. He reached out, grabbed my hands with his, and ran his thumbs across the scars on my wrists. The memory of metal glinting against his fingers flashed behind my eyes.

“Say you’re back to stay.” He leaned in and whispered at my temple. “And I promise I’ll help you.”

I shouldn’t have come back here. Why had I thought I could walk away from him unscathed? Siyah’s strong body pressed against me and I sighed heavily, the fog descending over my mind like a familiar blanket. I let the tarot card drop to the floor.

“I promise.”

---

I'll stay here and try to get Raven away from Siyah in one piece...you go check out the other entries at Sweet Niblets.

Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by andronicusmax. Photograph by Ambient Ideas

V is for I'm a Veronica.

If you were a teenager in the late eighties...you had to have heard of the movie Heathers. If you haven't, then let me explain.  The movie takes place in a fictional high schoool and plays on the stereotypes of cliques. Theres the jocks, the stoners, the band geeks...and the gorgeous girls that everyone both loathes and envies. In the movie Heathers, the queen bees are all named Heather.  Except for one...whose name is "V" is for Veronica.  She, as it turns out, is not a vapid mean person. It just turned out that she is beautiful and rich and therefore thrust into existence with others of her kind.

Well the movie gets interesting when a new guy comes to school and starts wreaking havoc among the student body. The dark comedy demostrates, in exaggerated fashion, the destructiveness of simply following along with the herd  and blindly copying the popular kids. Plus...they blow stuff up, which in my opinion, is really great film making. Thing is that although he is obviously dangerous and turns her life upside down, Veronica can't help herself...she's totally gone for this guy.

The reason I love this film is that the main character's love interest is played by Christian Slater and he does the most awesome job of capturing the dangerous allure of a bad boy. Granted he eventually tries to blow up the school, he is what I used to swoon over...cavalier, risk-taking, smooth talking...a bad influence if my mother ever warned me about one. But the charater Slater created was more than a rebel without a cause, or a misunderstood youth. He was funny and sarcastic, wicked-smart, and had a dark sense of humor.  He was not an cliche, or an archetype...he rang true.

In fiction there are several archetypal personalities to build on for a love interest. Theres The Playboy - a ladies man, loves women, charming You have the Alpha Personality - think spy or fighter pilot, an adrenaline junkie.  Then we have my personal favorite, The Bad Boy - he's all fast cars, swagger, and wrong side of town. Finally we have Wounded Dude - he's the guy whose family died, or lost a partner in a shoot out or something sufficiently torturous for him to brood over.

There are other archetypes; The Nice Guy who ends up being an Alpha, etc. But thats all they are, a framework. Its up to the writer to layer in the personality quirks, mannerisms, and a voice that makes it clear why the heroine is attracted to and flustered by the love interest you've provided. 

What are some of the things you use to layer a character? Do you base them on people you've met? I'd love to hear what you do to make a character real to you as a writer and by extension, your readers. Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by divemasterking2000, Uploaded on January 5, 2009. Photograph by Someone Somewheres Life, Uploaded on March 5, 2008.

K is for The Kraken Makes You A Better Writer

The "K" is for the Kraken makes you a better writer, I am completely serious. Ok, hear me out before you roll your eyes. We find the Kraken in the tale of Hercules...a legendary adventure.  In fact, almost every epic adventure tale is based on the Hero's Journey. The term was coined in the mid-1900s, in Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces.  He realized that in every mythic/epic journey there are several common elements. You can find these steps in Greek mythology like the Odyssey and in blockbuster movies like the Matrix. A PhD student named, Richard Kemp did a fascinating six-minute video using Star Wars as an example of the Heroe's Journey.  It's a really great project. 


The reason I am telling you this is that the steps that a hero takes is a great way to block out a novel...especially fantasy novels.  Click here for a detailed explanation of the steps, as explained by a college professor, if you're interested.  The premise is pretty straightforward and as I list off the steps, you'll probably recognize them in some of your favorite stories.  The first part, I think, is the hardest to set up in a novel.

• Departure -  The call to adventure, the refusal, supernatural aid, crossing the first threshold, and the belly of the whale.

This is hard because you have to make your hero all happy and comfortable in his 'home world' and then ruin it somehow. Usually a tragedy sets things in motion. A new element is introduced, some sort of conflict like an Evil Empire, or a Princess's plea.  The hero is reluctant, frightened even...you get the picture. The next phase of the journey is the 'on-the-road' experiences.

• Initiation - trials, temptress/goddess, atonement with the father, apotheosis or time of peace, and finally, ulitmate boon.

Think of this as the second act. The Star Wars example gives Luke's destroying of the Death Star as the ultimate boon. Remember, although it was the end of the movie...it was actually halfway through his journey to becoming a Jedi. The final leg of the journey resolves the heroe's place in the world, his allegiances, and usually his future.

• Return - refusal of the return, magic flight, rescue from without, crossing the return threshold, master of two worlds, and freedom to live.

This is the climax and denoument section. For example, the part in Return of the Jedi, where Luke is at the Ewok party and he sees and speaks with his father and Obi Wan Kenobi in their spirit essences...that is the Master of Two Worlds section. He now stradles the world of the ordinary, and the mythical or mystical world of his new nature.  Interesting stuff, really.

The study of this framework for fiction writing shed light not only on my own writing and why I was struggling, but the complexity of other works. Thanks for joining me on this literary meander through the classics...I'd be interested to hear from you fantasy writers. What type of framework do you use?

Dont forget to sign up on the side bar for the Primal Scream Blogfest - Your Most Heart Pumping Scene!  The Blogfest will take place on May 5th...can't wait!
Until next time, Go Write!

Photograph by kevindooley, Uploaded on January 18, 2008.