Laura over at Wavy Lines had a blog up today about predictability. It got me thinking about my own string of novels that I've been working on, because she was asking what one did to make their characters stop being predictable. There's pretty much ONE thing I do to stop my characters being dumb and boring.
I make them go crazy.
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Yup. Just like that.
A little while ago I mentioned that my one character, Scotch, is just WAY too okay with someone stalking her. This is bad because one big point to writing this book was to show a more realistic approach to how someone would react to a stalker. Now, don't freak out at the word "realistic" because remember, I am writing this and I am ridiculous, so what I count as realistic others might scratch their heads at and wonder at my peculiarities.
Anyway, because she was being way too laid back, (which is the total opposite of her character) I make her paranoid. She makes her mom take her to the police station, but no one takes her seriously because she's barely sixteen, has an over-active imagination, and her stalker keeps interfering in ways that are so not cool. (Though, is it really his fault? Being a spake and all didn't give him many choices in the way he would be raised up.)
I am very excited, because I've been mapping out the next book in the series (yes, it's a series *hangs head in shame*) and I am just waiting for all the terrible things I can do to my characters. Mwahahahaha >:)
So for you writerly people out there: What do you do when a character is being as boring as a dirty sock? Do you like to mess with their mind? Throw rocks at them? Or do you give them some incurable disease, where they can only eat foods that start with the letter z? Do you stick your character with an annoying side-kick?
Alright, I'll stop now because if I don't I will continue this list for a very, very LONG time.
And a quick note: I have NOT been commenting on your blogs very much, my dear followers, and for that I apologize. April is the Month of Evil for me, so I will be around like a cat, sometimes disappearing for days or weeks only to pop up mysteriously again. (At least, that's what our old cat did.)
Oh! And my sis is having a super cool contest! It includes super cute owls. :D Aren't you excited already??
And there is still time to enter my First Ever Contest.
9 comments:
Thanks for mentioning my blog! I'm glad it got you thinking! :)
I love the picture of the monkey. I've been feeling that way recently so it was a little spooky. Hehe.
I generally throw rocks at my characters. They get pissy but at least it gets them moving again.
Good post!
Oh, I LOVE to make my characters go CR-AZY! Rage, psychosis, they run the gamut!
I always throw something at my characters. Not physically, mind you, something completely unexpected. Perhaps slightly predictable to us, the reader, but not to them. They never know what's coming. Oh, they yell at me later for it, but it makes the story that much more interesting. :D
I have to admit a certain kind of sick fun at messing with my character's lives...that's not bad, right?
I don't know. All of my characters are crazy to begin with so I make them...sane?
Hmmm, I'll have to think about that.
I know you'll be hanging on the edge of your seat until I come up with a good answer so here's some peanuts. *throws peanuts at your head*
@Laura: Well, thank you for comin' over here and commenting :) I love blog friends!
@E. Elle: Haha... I'm sorry you've been feeling like a monkey.
@Talli: Not I feel like chanting "Go, Psychosis, go. Go psychosis, rage, rage." Ahem. Moving on.
@Caledonia Lass: Yes! I love that your characters yell at you, too.
@Raquel: I don't think so? I love messing with my characters too. I was just talking with my sis yesterday at how many death scenes I have. It's kinda' sad.
@Palindrome: *catches peanuts and eats them, before remembering that peanuts are kinda' gross and promptly spits peanuts back out*
I give them egg obsessions. Or introduce pirates... or HITCHHIKERS!
hahahahahahahahahahaha
Okay, going to bed now.
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Seal Hitchhikers!!
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