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Writer's pictureA D Riemer

The World is But A stage and You’re the Only Player.(Sorry Willie).


This post is easy to write. There is only one character in your book, and that is you. The End.


No, seriously, every character that you write is you (talking fiction here people, I am not Napoleon Bonaparte, or Dynamite — unless I want to be).


So, how well do you know yourself? Why do you act the way you do? What are your triggers?


I’ve said it before, and I will no doubt say it again (cue CSI Las Vegas theme https://youtu.be/EVNwoNfApe8) Just in case you needed a reminder.)

To get to the bottom of you, my friend, I suggest that you wander into your nearest woo-woo shop (or bookstore) and grab yourself a journal, and a pack of Oracle Cards. Note that I did not say Tarot — there is a vast difference. Tarot cards have very rigid meanings and:

AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. Oracle cards are much easier to read, because what you are reading is you. Yes, you. Every trigger, every flinch, every ‘aha’ moment. It’s all you.

There are a few ways that you can go from here; you can take each card in turn and journal about it sans guidebook. You can read the guidebook obsessively, and mutter at your crystal ball as you do so. By far the simplest way however, is to study the card and ask yourself some questions.


What do you feel when you look at the card?


Does it bring anything to mind?


Do a card reading every day for a week and see if any themes emerge.


But what does that have to do with writing? #iwasjustgettingtothat

Were you even aware of half the thoughts that you’ve written down? And if you’ve been doing the journaling (kudos to you, if so) then you will be starting to understand why your reactions are the way that they are.


Did you find some prejudices? Are they rational? (Hint: the only race is human, and cats are small furry Gods). If you have the worlds’ strongest aversion to custard and prunes, however, sit with that for a while and work out when this started (small aside: writing a journal is the best self-therapy going). Now you have the basis for a character; and the reason why they hate women with the name of Mary-Jean, is because it was all due to your Great-great-Aunt Mary-Jean who insisted that the only dessert in the world was prunes and custard that had sat in the fridge for a week. Now you just have to figure out if that character is a crazed serial killer, or the detective who has to overcome their own particular aversion to crack the case. #themaryjeanmurders

Always remember that, in their own eyes, the villain is always doing the right thing, even when they know that it’s wrong. Keep that in mind if you’ve chosen to go the crazed serial killer route.


So, you’ve examined your vices, go ahead and do the same thing with your virtues. Any surprises in there?


You are unfailingly polite and gentle with small children and their sticky fingers. Why? Was that the way you were treated when you were a small child etc, and therefore it is the only way to be? Or were you belittled for every single thing that you did wrong, for years on end? So you resolved to never be like that with children EVER.


Or, you could be short-tempered with the little yard apes, because that is the only way they learn some respect… #familyrulesareweird


You see what I mean?


We’ll go with the Great-Aunt Mary Jean example, simply because week-old prunes and custard, just eww.


So why did Great-Aunt MJ insist on eating every scrap of food until it was all gone? #bonebrothisathing


Was she raised in a famine? Or did she live through a war where the rations were not enough to go around? Okay, they can be kind of the same thing, the importance is the psychology behind the behaviour. Perhaps she is simply being frugal because money was tight, and with a family of eighteen to care for, nothing could go to waste.


So, let’s put ourselves in her shoes, because you know the old saying; “Never judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes (and when you do judge them, you’re a mile away and you’ve got their shoes)”.


Mary Jean McCallister (maiden name) was born in 1901, the twelfth child of sixteen. She was followed by twin girls a year later (Victoria and Madeline), and another set of fraternal twins a year after that (Michael and Matilda) but grew up worshipping her big brothers Stephen and James (not twins). War was declared on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, and both of her brothers immediately enlisted. Upon completing basic training, both were sent to the Front, where James was killed as he went over the top of the trenches, but Stephen’s body was never found.


Now we are dealing with grief and trauma, and those are relatable human emotions.

Back on the home front, perhaps her father has committed suicide from the grief of losing his two eldest sons, and it is now her mother’s duty to care for her family as best she can, whilst dealing with her own grief.


I’m sure that you can continue from there.


The point is emotion is perhaps the only universal characteristic of the human species, and as a writer, it is your job to make the villains heroic, and to give your heroes flaws.

PS: You can take Great-Aunt Mary Jean and play around with her for your own purposes as much as you like. The only thing that I ask is that you change the names — you never know, I may want to use her later.


The alternate to cards is to have a comprehensive file of news clippings, of the ‘whatever tickles your fancy’ variety. Again, seek the visceral reaction, but try to understand the reason why you feel this way.


If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you may want to start a clipping collection to have on hand. Coming up in a few weeks will be an article on how to put together a story from a random stack of news.



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