While everybody was out enjoying the wonderful spring sun (it has been extremely warm for this time of the year), I have been indoors writing, writing, writing this last month to make my deadline. After all, I had promised my friend a real manuscript to hand to a publisher. The first part of my book! So I wrote, read and rewrote. And wrote, read and rewrote. And wrote... Anyway, I guess you get the point by now. I have even been too busy to update this blog!
And then... a phone call from my Italian friend. Her mother had passed away, at age 86. Even though I had met her only once, I had a strong feeling of involvement. Despite of her age, she was still a goodlooking, very sophisticated lady. 'Una donna per bene' you would say in Italian. A woman from a good family. Refined. Classy. She is one of the characters in my book. After the news, I wasn't able to write for a day or two. I couldn't 'touch' her character in the book. It felt like I had to let the book rest for a few days, just to honor her. So that's what I did.
But as always... life goes on. Every now and then, I give part of what I have written to a good friend of mine to judge it. She is one of the few people that I can trust in this process on being completely honest with me. She has told me before to rephrase things or to 'sharpen' the story here and there. After a few days she sent me a text message:
'I am deeply impressed with what I have read this time. Please finish the story soon! You can call yourself a writer now.'
Wow, what a pleasant surprise that was! The next challenge is now to find a publisher that shares her opinion... Love, M.
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, August 27, 2010
Vices & Virtues
No virtues without vices. It is the combination of the two that makes a person really interesting, whether it is in daily life, in a book we read or in a movie we watch. It can be interesting to see someone having the same virtues as you have yourself, but it can be very enlightening and soothing to look at another person having the same vices. After all, aren't we all lazy, greedy or vain sometimes? I am. Have you ever been jealous in a way that you couldn't think clearly anymore and just wanted revenge? I have. Did you ever feel pure lust and the urge to give in, even if you knew it wasn't the 'appropriate' thing to do? I did.
Vices are something we are mostly ashamed of. They represent the dark side of our characters. We like to talk about our virtues, but like to hide our sins. When we are young, we are being taught how to behave according to the moral standards that were set by society. 'Don't be jealous of your brother/sister', 'never take the first/last chocolate', 'tell her you are sorry', 'don't be greedy', 'control yourself' and so on... So our feeling of guilt is being cultivated during our young lives and with that, the awareness that any act of sin will be punished. A lot of people think they will even end up in hell!
The result is that we forget how to be uninhibited. How to completely surrender to our desires, our lusts, our instincts, our longings. The saying 'follow you heart' should actually be 'follow your heart, but only the socially acceptable part'. Of course this is what distinguishes us from animals and makes our society livable. Our ability to reason and to control ourselves. But it is also a big brake on who we really are. A wall between our sunny and our dark side.
Once you start creating characters for a novel, you realize that you need to give them, apart from virtues, some flaws as well to become 'real people'. Again, the combination of virtues and vices is what makes a person interesting. I feel a big responsibility here, as I have to create more than just characters. I have to create personalities to make a good book. For me it is a big challenge that I do not want to rush. It also means getting in touch with my own 'dark side'. Confrontational but challenging! I will keep you posted :-)
Vices are something we are mostly ashamed of. They represent the dark side of our characters. We like to talk about our virtues, but like to hide our sins. When we are young, we are being taught how to behave according to the moral standards that were set by society. 'Don't be jealous of your brother/sister', 'never take the first/last chocolate', 'tell her you are sorry', 'don't be greedy', 'control yourself' and so on... So our feeling of guilt is being cultivated during our young lives and with that, the awareness that any act of sin will be punished. A lot of people think they will even end up in hell!
The result is that we forget how to be uninhibited. How to completely surrender to our desires, our lusts, our instincts, our longings. The saying 'follow you heart' should actually be 'follow your heart, but only the socially acceptable part'. Of course this is what distinguishes us from animals and makes our society livable. Our ability to reason and to control ourselves. But it is also a big brake on who we really are. A wall between our sunny and our dark side.
Once you start creating characters for a novel, you realize that you need to give them, apart from virtues, some flaws as well to become 'real people'. Again, the combination of virtues and vices is what makes a person interesting. I feel a big responsibility here, as I have to create more than just characters. I have to create personalities to make a good book. For me it is a big challenge that I do not want to rush. It also means getting in touch with my own 'dark side'. Confrontational but challenging! I will keep you posted :-)
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