One of the important elements of good writing is an ever-expanding knowledge of our own inner workings as well as those of the heroes and villains that we people our stories with. Every holiday offers the opportunity for self-reflection and an opportunity to know our imaginary characters better.
July Fourth, Independence Day, conjures up many meanings, memories and associations for most of us. As such it also creates these same things for, most imaginary characters.
An interesting way to pursue the parallel paths of self-reflection and character development is to consider first what the holiday means to you (if anything), spend a few minutes pondering this, and then compare your own personal minutiae with that of your main characters. We understand best by contrast – what you remember versus what your main character might recall.
Once we give up the fantasy that history can never be fully objective, we are free to understand that we organize our memories and feelings based on what we have already experienced in such a way that confirms what we already know. The filter of life experience that shapes our real life perceptions also affects those of our imaginary characters. By understanding these life events, we can write characters that feel as if they were truly “alive.” Further, we can arrange those memories any way we like, depending on the intended outcome.
One of the reasons that we often organize the story of our life into specific patterns is to attempt to create meaning from our experience s. B y compiling information in such a way that it suggests a lesson, or gives us some kind of message about how to better live our lives we can gain from that experience. Jean Cocteau once wrote that “A novel is a dictionary out of order”. So too is any story we tell be about our own lives or our fictional stories, because the facts of any situation are colored by our own pasts, unless we have done a great deal of self-work. This is not to say that there are not empirical truths, rather that their proximity colors pure meaning.
The exercise that I suggest you try is this:
Step 1. Set a timer for 5-15 minutes and write down your personal associations and also how you celebrate or not. A specific memory is even better.
Step 2. Reset the timer and repeat the exercise for your hero or heroine.
Step 3. Reset the timer and repeat the process for your villain or obstacle.
Step 4. Reread the three exercises and let what you discover guide you to better writing.
The next leg of this exercise is to repeat the steps asking different questions of yourself and your characters:
1. What is your feeling about America?
2. Do you consider yourself a patriot?
3. Would you die for your country, be it America or somewhere else.
4. What is your country?
Now repeat the exercise:
Step 1. Set a timer for 5-15 minutes and write down the answers to the four questions.
Step 2. Reset the timer and repeat the exercise for your hero or heroine.
Step 3. Reset the timer and repeat the process for your villain or obstacle.
Step 4. Reread the three exercises and let what you discover guide you to better writing.
To recap, use the July Fourth holiday as an opportunity for self-reflection and to know your characters better.
Here’s to your successful and happy writing,
Marilyn Horowitz
Copyright (c)2014 by Marilyn Horowitz
