Why do you write who you do / what drew you to them?
As someone who writes 35 characters on this blog, choosing just a few is rather difficult, but I shall try to keep the examples limited for sake of brevity.
I often say that when it comes to writing, the characters come to me. It is less a matter of me choosing them and more a matter of realizing exactly who they are and wanting the world to see them through my eyes.
When it comes to canon characters like Jack Sparrow and Horatio Hornblower, the first thing that catches my attention is the intelligence the character possesses and how those around them respond to it.
In Jack’s case, his brilliance is often thwarted by the presumption of madness – he is underappreciated by everyone around him and rather than be discouraged he simply manipulates that fact to his advantage.
By contrast, the world sees Horatio’s brilliance for what it is and both lauds and punishes that intellect based on circumstance – yet Horatio himself only seems to have one or two moments where he considers himself to be abundantly clever. In most instances, he seems like a young man barely holding himself together under incredible pressures – which is an accurate summation of matters.
I find characters like these to be challenging – I am hardly the mathematical, tactical nautical genius Horatio is nor can I think in thirty circles around my opponent like Jack – which means that to embody these characters and bring them to life I have to be able to find ways to exhibit who they are without drawing attention to what the author lacks.
Challenging myself is my favorite aspect of writing – it has helped me grow as a person and witness other perspectives through the effort it takes to manipulate the world through a whole other lens. My goal is always to entertain – both myself and the person I am writing for – but also, while remaining aware that anyone can see these writings. I endeavour always to make something I enjoy and am proud of – and hope that it will pass muster for others.
When it comes to characters I create – be they characters with only one or two lines in a show who I bring life to like Theodore Groves, Jane de Bac or Daniel Gillette – or characters I have drawn up from nothing more than a single concept, generally speaking my point of focus is why should anyone else care.
I often get ideas for characters and start drawing them up, but will ultimately abandon them if I cannot answer that question. Theodore Groves caught my attention with the line, “Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?“
Prior to that I had no idea who he was or any focus on him. He was a face in the background and I didn’t even realize he was a recurring character until I tried to find out more about this sassy lieutenant. There is very little about him, and since the one thing that jumped out at me was his willingness to openly sass Cutler Beckett, I needed to bring that element of him to life in a way that would make him engaging enough that other people would start to care about who Theodore Groves is.
And that – is the process for all of my characters. One thing generally catches my attention, and the rest is formed based on needs I feel need to be fulfilled while also crafting something that will hopefully be engaging and entertaining for more than just myself, but anyone who takes the time to catch a glimpse of them.
This was for @lordedrington‘s Pa but also it’s a good Munday vibe so here ya’ll go.
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