{"id":732,"date":"2016-05-11T12:28:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T16:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/?p=732"},"modified":"2016-05-11T12:28:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-11T16:28:06","slug":"entering-the-opposite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/11\/entering-the-opposite\/","title":{"rendered":"Entering the Opposite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before I start the post, I\u2019ll share this odd discovery I made today about Ella Enchanted<\/em> and Fairest<\/em>. I\u2019ve started work, as I think I mentioned, on another book in Ella\u2019s world, and ogres come into it in a major way, so I\u2019ve looked back at the other books, in which there are ogres, albeit less prominently. Ella spends two chapters with the creatures but with no description except that they\u2019re hairy, and females are a little shorter than males. What are they wearing? Are they… er… wearing nothing? In Fairest<\/em>, in which the ogre encounter is briefer, a female has a scrap of red ribbon in her hair. That\u2019s it. In Ella<\/em> at least there should have been something. No one has ever complained, but tomorrow someone will. Or I already have.<\/p>\n

Further proof for all of us that a piece of writing is always flawed. We do the best we can. We strive for perfection while knowing that the effort is doomed\u2013in a good way, because the best we can do is worthy.<\/p>\n

And something else. Please read or listen to this poem by John Updike, which is about getting through a novel and which reminds me of you guys who participate in\u00a0NaNoWriMo. Here\u2019s the link: http:\/\/writersalmanac.org\/episodes\/20160507\/?htm_campaign=TWA%20Newsletter%20for%20May%207%2c%202016&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&utm_content=The%20Writer%27s%20Almanac%20for%20May%207%2c%202016&elqTrackId=b9e915bc82274beeb6edb771fa8b7d44&elq=ab58705a1d474dfcbe7e1bc4faf06736&elqaid=22020&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=19143<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now for the post. On March 23, 2016, Bookworm wrote, Does anyone have any advice for writing a story in first person with a character with a different personality than the writer? I\u2019m having a lot of trouble with that. It\u2019s okay in third person, but first person is what I\u2019m aiming for. Any help with this is welcome and appreciated.<\/em><\/p>\n

Christie V Powell said she has a similar problem and suggested an approach to solving it: I\u2019m trying that too, but I am having so much trouble that I might have to start out in third and then maybe switch over after a few chapters and edit in the POV change. My character is very talkative, and she won\u2019t stop chatting and start telling the story!<\/em><\/p>\n

Bookworm answered: In one of my WIPs (I have at least two), my MC isn\u2019t much like me, as I mentioned in my last post. She\u2019s really shy, and she doesn\u2019t often say what\u2019s on her mind. I have trouble sticking to what her personality is supposed to be, since I\u2019m definitely not shy. Please help!<\/em><\/p>\n

Next, Emma wrote, I am struggling with this a little bit too. In my WIP that I\u2019ve mentioned several times on here that has four MCs, one of the sisters is very much like me, and one is very much not. I find myself subconsciously making the one that is most like me talk the most and ask the most questions (because I tend to be inquisitive, and talkative depending on the situation), while the character who is least like me says very little. I could use some help as well on this subject, so pretty much what Bookworm said.<\/em><\/p>\n

And Christie V Powell opined, You\u2019re not usually shy, but I bet you have felt that way sometimes\u2013first day of school? Giving a speech in class? You could try keeping those experiences in mind. I\u2019m doing the opposite for mine\u2013I am not very talkative, but every once and a while I\u2019ll be in just the right situation, with just the right people, and one of my favorite topics has come up, and then I have no trouble being talkative!<\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the same for everyone, but when I\u2019m feeling shy it\u2019s usually because I\u2019m not sure how to act in a given situation. I have to have it figured out in my head how I\u2019m supposed to act, what rules I need to follow, and how to respond to possible situations. Also, a lot of times there\u2019s a fear of being judged\u2013 once when I was a teen, I was talking about writing to a trusted adult, and she said, \u201cyou must have mistaken me for someone who cares.\u201d It took me years to be able to talk about my writing with others. I still often freeze up and think, \u201cThey aren\u2019t interested in me. I\u2019d better not say too much because I don\u2019t want to torture them with something they don\u2019t care about.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Gee, Christie V Powell, what a terrible thing for that person to say! You earned that bit of shyness! Too bad!<\/p>\n

I like Christie V Powell\u2019s suggestion about changing POV to delve\u00a0more deeply into a character, or to make her be the personality we\u2019re going for. We can switch back and forth from first-person to third and create consistency when we revise. If we\u2019re stuck, we can even shift into second person and see what happens, as in, You want to speak, but you\u2019re afraid of sounding foolish. In your mind, you phrase and rephrase. The moment passes. The conversation moves on. You nod, hoping to seem part of the conversation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another idea. If we\u2019re not shy but our character is, we can turn his speech into thoughts. He\u2019d like to express his opinion of, say, another character when she\u2019s being discussed. He has an opinion, but he can\u2019t bring himself to put it out there for whatever reason: he\u2019s afraid no one will agree with him; his mouth is suddenly dry; he thinks he can\u2019t say it well enough. If we put his dialogue into his thoughts–made him a talkative thinker\u2013we may satisfy our own not-shy impulses.<\/p>\n

If we ourselves are shy, we can reverse the process and turn thoughts into speech.<\/p>\n

My guess is that most of us often write characters who are unlike us. Presumably, our villains aren\u2019t much like us. Our other secondary characters probably aren\u2019t, either. The differences don\u2019t give us trouble, but when the different personality is our MC, the process gets difficult. We may not be sure about what\u2019s going on in her heart and mind.<\/p>\n

Christie V Powell did us a service by revealing what\u2019s behind her shyness. When we write our own shy characters we can build on what she wrote. Our character may be careful and deliberate. She may think ahead and prepare as Christie V Powell does.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m shy sometimes, but usually not. For those of you who are shy, here are insights into the inner workings of a non-shy person. It seems a little like boasting, but in most social situations I feel confident. I\u2019m interested in other people and hardly think of myself, which gives me a leg up. My motives for speaking up are varied. Sometimes I want to connect with others. Sometimes\u2013shame on me!\u2013I want to show off how thoughtful I am. Sometimes, lately, as I age (this is probably crazy), I want to demonstrate that I\u2019m not senile. The reward for being not-shy is that often I do connect with people. The downside is that sometimes I rush in where sensible people won\u2019t tread, and I goof. We not-shy, impulsive people have to take the consequences. Sometimes I kick myself afterwards. Sometimes I wind up with a funny story to tell on myself. We can do both with our characters.<\/p>\n

Poetry school is almost over for me. On Friday the graduating graduate students will read from our theses (collections of at least twenty-five poems) at NYU\u2019s Writers\u2019 House, and then I\u2019m done. I\u2019m very sad. These three years have been marvelous, and I\u2019m a better writer for it. I\u2019m mentioning this, though, because in my final poetry workshop our entire class seemed to fall under a spell of shyness. Our teacher is soft-spoken and, I think, shy. A few of my classmates seem shy, too, and I\u2019ve fallen under the spell as well. We email our poems to each other before class. Each student reads his or her poem and then we discuss, praising and criticizing. Our teacher weighs in, usually with comments and suggestions about particular lines or words, which are usually helpful, astute, and surprising. He seems to prefer spareness, my preference, too. The poet isn\u2019t allowed to speak until the end, when he or she can ask questions. The spell kicks in. We speak softly. There are long pauses. Animated discussion never breaks out. The class always ends early. I\u2019m almost as shy as everyone else, and I have an ulterior motive, because I have a long train ride home. I feel disappointed and glad.<\/p>\n

Poetry is kind of an invitation to shyness. Poems are slippery. Good ones are often subtle. Meaning is elusive. Even graduate poetry students fear they\u2019ve misunderstood the work of their fellows. I know this from looking inward. I don\u2019t want to be revealed as a blockhead. So here\u2019s a crazy suggestion: If you want to shy up your ebullient MC, stick her in a poetry class and see what she does.<\/p>\n

Or, to make this a tad more ordinary, put her in a situation in which she feels less than competent. Before you start, think about what\u2019s she\u2019s good at and what she\u2019s not. Then stick her in a setting where she feels like the least accomplished person in the room. If she\u2019s tone deaf, put her in a music appreciation class. If she can\u2019t tell her left from her right, make her participate in a conference on high-seas navigation.<\/p>\n

Of course, our MC can be different from us in ways that have nothing to do with being shy or outgoing. He can be generous although we\u2019re a little tight with money. His background and manners can be upper crust while we\u2019re solidly middle class. He can be nervous while we never worry, even when we should. And so on.<\/p>\n

To help us craft alien personalities, we can research these dissimilar traits. We can interview people we know who exhibit the characteristics we want in our MC. We can discuss our plot with these people. If we share our work with other writers we can ask them if we seem to have gotten it right. We can think about characters in books and movies who align with our MC. If we worry about imitation, we can also change our characters in important ways from our models so readers won\u2019t pick up the source.<\/p>\n

Here are three real prompts and a possible one:<\/p>\n

\u2219 Many of Emily Dickinson\u2019s poems don\u2019t easily reveal their meaning, if they ever do. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

Except the smaller size, no Lives are round,
\nThese hurry to a sphere, and show, and end.
\nThe larger, slower grow, and later hang\u2014
\nThe Summers of Hesperides are long.<\/p>\n

Emily, I have no idea what’s going on. Put two MC\u2019s in a poetry craft class (where published poems are discussed). The students are considering this poem. One MC is outgoing, the other shy. The outgoing one offers her opinions, so you need to give her dialogue. The shy one thinks what he\u2019d like to say. Write the scene and make both of them suffer.<\/p>\n

The possible prompt is to comment on the blog about your interpretation of the poem. Comment whether you’re shy or not. Since this poem’s meaning is so opaque, it won’t be possible to be foolish.<\/p>\n

\u2219 Your two poetry MC\u2019s happen to run into each other later at a caf\u00e9. Write their conversation, which may or may not go well.<\/p>\n

\u2219 Your MC is out of work, impoverished and hungry. She will do anything to change her circumstances, so she sees an online opening in an occupation of your choosing. To give herself a chance, she invents a resume that includes education, expertise, and experience she entirely lacks. She\u2019s hired. Write her first day on the job.<\/p>\n

Have fun, and save what you write.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before I start the post, I\u2019ll share this odd discovery I made today about Ella Enchanted and Fairest. I\u2019ve started work, as I think I mentioned, on another book in Ella\u2019s world, and ogres come into it in a major way, so I\u2019ve looked back at the other books, in which there are ogres, albeit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":734,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732\/revisions\/734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}