Staying in Character

I know I recently wrote about this, but I want to do it again because it came up when I was writing last night.
My heroine wanted the hero to give her a good reason why he should go on a date with her. So I'm thinking, hmmm, maybe they share a favorite movie? You know, similar taste and all. I've got it. Last of the Mohicans!
Immediately I realized that movie wouldn't work. Firstly, it's MY favorite, not Rachel's. Secondly, I'm totally different than my heroine. She's bold and adventurous. I'm adventurous too, but not to the point of breaking rules. But she loves to bend the rules.
Anyways, so I was stuck. What kind of movie would she like? He'd have to like it, too.
The dilemma proved to be too much for me. I went with music instead.

Jazz.

It's passionate and classy, just like my heroine.

How do you characterize your peeps when their tastes are totally different from yours?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey Jessie! Jazz, what a great solution. :-)

I think sometimes, when I flesh out characters that are really different from me, I like it even more because it gives me the chance to "pursue" things I might not otherwise have the courage to try. Even if it is vicariously, it's still a form of branching out into new venues.

I was looking at your word counter and realized that although I'm a couple thousand words ahead of you countwise, percentage-wise you're closer to being done with yours.

Your goal is fifty thousand where mine is ninety. So, there's no doubt you'll finish first!

So, how are those early mornings working for you? ;-P
August 26, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Kelly said…
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog.
Your comment was so funny.

Are you published yet, or are you working on your first novel for publication?

I'll be back to visit again!
August 26, 2008 at 8:48 PM
Ronel said…
Do you have books published? I love inspirational romances.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Blessings,
Ronel
August 26, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Anonymous said…
I stumbled upon your blog from somewhere else today--I don't even remember where now!

Anyway, when I'm writing characters who are different from me, I tend to use a mashup of other people I know, and draw on their tastes and characteristics.

Anyway, I like your blog!
August 26, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Jessica Nelson said…
Hi Tina,
What a great idea to pursue new things! Never crossed this narrow-minded, loners mind :-) I don't even know too much about jazz, but now you've inspired me to learn.

Laura,
Great idea. Sometimes I do that, too. It's amazing how unique and different everyone is.
August 27, 2008 at 7:11 AM
Rick said…
When my "peeps" have different taste then me I characterized them as crazy. What kind of insane person wouldn't like what I like?
August 27, 2008 at 9:40 AM
Susan J. Reinhardt said…
Hi Jessica -

I just started reading James Scott Bell's book, "Revision and Editing." Characterization is one of the areas he covers. I know I'm going to learn a lot.

See you again soon.

Blessings,
Susan J. Reinhardt
www.susanjreinhardt.blogspot.com
August 29, 2008 at 6:29 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We All Got to Learn to Do It Sometime

*grossness alert* We all have to learn to deal with doo-doo eventually. Consider me a newbie mom, but it never occurred to me that my son should be wiping himself until about a month before kindergarten. And then the flashbulb went on and I scrambled to teach him. One problem. He didn't want to. He's fastidious and doesn't like to make mistakes, so the thought of taking care of this daily chore literally reduced him to screaming and crying on the toilet. Basically, he didn't trust himself. He was afraid. Scared to get his hands dirty. Afraid he'd miss something. This is probably weird, but it made me think of us as writers. There comes a point where we have to "grow up" and trust ourselves. We can't always rely on a crit group, agent, or editor to wipe up our mess. I think this should be a part of maturation for every writer, that we can look at our work and be confident in our ability to clean it up. Not saying we'll make it perfect or that we won...
Read more

Work First, Play Later

I'm back! I had a wonderful time with my family. Thank you all for asking. :-) In 2009 my schedule evolved into a blog first/write later kind of thing. It happened that way because my husband began using the computer in the afternoons and evenings for his project, but now that I have a router, my schedule's changing. It's time to work first, play later. That means I do my chores/errands in the morning, write at naptime, and visit your wonderful blogs in the afternoons and evenings. So if I don't show up in the morning, don't be alarmed (if you even notice, lol). I'm just changing things up. I'm too exhausted in the evening to write, that's why. During the day I have way more energy to write but at night there's a fifty percent chance I won't do it because I'm so tired. When's the best time for you to write? I also need to shout out my awesome crit partner, Linda Glaz! Some of you may have met her at ACFW. She's a wonderful, faithful, ...
Read more

Melodramatic Mother

Mom, this one's for you. *wink* The other day we were on the phone and my mom was describing some of her ailments to me. She's normally a healthy person, but she does suffer from allergies and sinus issues. She's also a vivid person and this comes across in her language. In this case, she told me her pain was skewering up through her nose. Skewering. She never finished the description because I laughed. What a perfect word! Strong, to the point, I had an exact (if somewhat gross) image of what was happening. Do you have a vivid person in your life? Someone who thinks in ways you forget to? And in your WIP, are you using the strongest verb possible to convey EXACTLY what you mean?
Read more