When I was in high school, one of the best surprises was to come home and find my mother’s friend, Sophia, sitting on the couch, smoking cigarettes, and gossiping in a throaty voice, her high heels kicked off and her lipstick leaving kisses on her coffee cup. Sophia was a writer’s dream. She was a bit shocking and laughed from deep in her chest. I was riveted. She was, literally, a character. But she was also a lesson on characters. What made her dress the way she did? Why did even her light-hearted comments contain a bit of sharp wire? What exactly made this woman tick? Sophia spoke to me with respect, but I was soon dismissed by my mother who knew how strange her conversations with Sophia could become. Reluctantly I went off to do homework, but I harbored all my observations about Sophia.
Fictional characters are the same, they arrive, and we writers are not teenagers easily shooed away. Lots of great books on writing techniques offer strategies for developing a character. These techniques include making a list of what a character has in their pockets or glove compartment; what they eat for breakfast; their favorite color; what keeps them up at night; whether they went to the prom, and if they did, what did they wear? All great questions that can result in vivid and useable answers. But it’s a bit like cataloging ingredients rather than tasting the cake. Spending time with Sophia was delicious.
Our characters need to surprise us, just as Sophia did one day when I arrived home and found her weeping on the couch. A fearless woman, Sophia cared little for other’s reactions. Being fourteen, I only got the broad strokes, but Sophia had ‘legal troubles’ which I later learned meant she had been arrested for shoplifting. It’s fine to not know everything about our characters. Their mysteries offer philosophical questions. If Sophia was a character in a novel, I would ask for her side of the story. I would let her give it to me evasively, defiantly, shamefully or fiercely. I would accept her lies and her truths, because all of it tells me who she is. So, take a pie to your character’s house, meet them at a coffee shop, walk up to them at the copy machine at work, or ask them a question at the school open house. And keep asking yourself: What is going on here? How did this happen? Why would they do that? You will and you won’t get straight answers. Write both.
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Publications
Maud & Addie “Sure to enchant, Maud & Addie is a touching novel complete with old skeletons, new friends, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.” Vivian Turnbull, Foreword Reviews. To purchase: https://regalhousepublishing.com/product/maud-and-addie/
blessed are the menial chores “Should anyone ask what poetry is, hand them a copy of this book.” Sue Brannan Walker, poet laureate of Alabama 2003 – 2012. Purchase here: https://www.writingfulltilt.com/author/
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Weekly Writing Workshops
I offer a free-range writing experience based in respect, serious exploration and a sense of play. Each workshop includes a variety of voices and an opportunity to share a manuscript with the group. The ten-week sessions are $500 Contact: maureen@maureenbjones.com
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