When Characters Step Out of the Mist
As I said there, once I have brought my characters to me in meditation, I turn over an index card on my desk with a question. I can’t say how important it is for me to be surprised by the question. If I know ahead of time what I’m going to be writing about I spend the entire meditation thinking and planning. The element of surprise makes it possible for new and interesting things to bubble up—things I didn’t already know.
I have a number of prompts scribbled on those index cards, and I add to them all the time. After reading the “swing set of tears” scene in A FAULT IN OUR STARS, for instance, I added a question about childhood toys. A teenage character I’m working with now desperately a Barbie doll when she was five—a toy her feminist mother wouldn’t allow her to own. I’m not sure how that plays into her story yet, but I do trust that more will be revealed.
Here is another prompts that has taught me a lot about my characters:

Your character has a strong memory involving a parent. What is it? Is it a happy memory? A sad one? A mix of emotions? Why is it such a powerful memory?

And another prompt:
Your character has an object in his or her hand. What is it? Why is it important?
When I was learning about Daniel in DANIEL AT THE SIEGE OF BOSTON, I discovered he was holding a clay marble—his lucky shooter. All of a sudden I had my opening scene and the marble plays a roll in the climax as well.
I’m always collecting new prompts. I’ve already collected a couple this month from other writers’ blog posts. If you find one that’s especially helpful, please share!
Yikes -- I'm sorry the link doesn't work. Try this:
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Ooh! This one gave me goosebumps about the magic that can happen when we open ourselves p to surprise.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claudia!
ReplyDeleteI Love these ideas Laurie! They will come in handy as I dive into a heavy revision of my current historical MG. I am going to use the meditation to help define the main characters. I'll keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Darlene.
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