Ode on Character

The best thing about writing a story is when you know your character has developed itself and runs away from you. Many people might think this is impossible, that you always own this fictional being, but it is the simple act of the subconscious that has allowed writers this surprise when they finally realize that the character is very different to what they originally intended. It’s like reading a story yourself, but you were the one writing it all along!

After the lecture we decided to try a Character Questionnaire to see how our characters have developed and whether we noticed anything about them that we didn’t in our writing. I was blown away by the activity. I found out so much about the protagonist! She is so angry, and so depressed I didn’t realize she was thinking about certain things that happen much later until I fake interviewed her. It wasn’t like I had to think about the answers to uncover them. I just let my fingers run over the keyboard and before I knew it she was uncovered, flesh and bone right before my eyes. I understand her now as not just a character, but as a person. She was there, right in the room with me answering my questions. She became defensive at the start, angry and upset, and then, like the way she acts in the story, she becomes tired easily, sad and letting go a little each question. I kept questioning what holds their relationship together, why does she love this man, when everybody around her tells her not to? And I realized through many questions that, he is her world. Without him, she has no life, no reason and nobody left to love.

Without having a huge spoiler moment I will show you some of the answers just so you can get an idea of what kind of questions I found interesting. The Character Questionnaire I used was developed by Marcel Proust. Here is the link to both Questionnaires: http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/106

I chose number 2 and keep in mind it is a draft. I just had to write. So I expect there will be errors. So here is my writing, in the beginning:

What is your current state of mind?
Anger. Annoyance. Pure and utter sadness. I’m so tired, not because I don’t sleep, but because I sleep too much to escape everything else. I have a terrible feeling that something bad will happen, that they will somehow find a way to really twist that knife in my back.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Strength. Nobody could survive a day in my shoes. Try it, I dare you, by the end of the day you would be on suicide watch.

When and where were you the happiest?
Difficult to say. I guess in my dreams, when I dream that its only us. Just him and I. I imagine all the children we could have and do have in the dreams.

What is it that you most dislike?
Me. And what makes up me.

Which living person do you most despise?
My mother.

Where would you like to live?
Anywhere that isn’t here. I don’t think there is a place on the solar system that offers that though.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
My life.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Someone that doesn’t resemble their mother

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Wanting to bring children into a life I hate

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Not trying to get to know him. Not bothering to ask. Assuming the worst before asking. Trying to make us unhappy.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Trying to fit in with everyone else. You’re all pathetic.

On what occasion do you lie?
Every day of my life

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I wish…

What are your favourite names?
I want a little girl. We were thinking of Emily. After his mother.

What is you motto?
Do, when people tell you don’t

For the writers out there I suggest you do it. I’m going to do it for the antagonist next, her mother. I’m excited, I am!

Don’t be afraid of your character. The believable characters are the ones that run when you tell them to stay

Jinx xx

P.S Next on my list is to get some images of her. What I think she should look like, dress like etc. It would definitely help with the world she lives in and how she holds herself physically. But for now, have Lust from Full Metal Alchemist!

The Jinx's Tale

I feel like you are a friend who I haven’t caught up with in ages! There is so much to tell you and yet I don’t want to bombard you with such a long post, and end up boring you to tears. It’s a little bit of silly-ness, just like jemima puddleduck, but I feel as though I have let you down somewhat by not filling you in sooner.
So, here I go, from the beginning. I hope it’s not too long but there is so much that has happened I fear that if I leave anything out, I will be like one of those authors who receive hate mail from their readers for killing off a favourite character or leaving out some important punch line. But don’t worry; I won’t kill off your favourite character. Jinx is still here, just a little late to the party!

I will start with the weeks I was part of the Melbourne Writers Festival volunteer program. Totally owned my soul, but in a good way! I learnt so much about why lots of people love to read and why publishing something can brighten up someone’s life or even day. And people love a good read, even if it’s the free Age newspaper. I was in Box Office, Information Booth and Ushering, and I have to say; hands down ushering was my favourite. I was on from 9am in the morning to 1pm and I was dying to feel the buzz of other people in the book world. I craved that special feeling of children and adults getting excited to hear someone have a say. Ushering is the place to be! It was the schools program so lots of kids were there to join in the fun. I collected tickets from smiling faces, settled late comers in their seats, was able to sit in for free and made sure everyone filed out of the ACMI theatre orderly and nicely. Funny story, I told one of the kids not to run up the stairs in the theatre so he doesn’t hurt himself, and was totally called a bitch. Well ok, you can fall next time! In my shock of being called that I was saved by the head usher of the ACMI theatre (those awesome nice people that have walkie talkies and Japanese looking uniforms that say ACMI) who yelled to the kid “HEY!” and pretty sure scared the shit out of him. Those uniforms are dark so he probably didn’t notice a male was in the theatre. Not so tough now! If you ever get a chance to volunteer next year for the Writers Festival I advise ushering. You are doing so much more and the people are lovely. The box office was cold and confusing because we were outside in a portable unit, and the computer system could only be worked if you knew even slightly what to do (which, even with directions, I did not.) But I did meet Magda Szubanski! The information booth was cold as well because it was in the Atrium so therefore no escape from the coldness that is the gushing wind inside, but I did manage to read a fair way through my book The Handmaid’s Tale (picture above) which was amazing and the only reason I got through catching the train into the city every day. Before I started my shift I was also able to meet one of my favourite young adult writers Cath Crowley. I am a massive fan of her book Chasing Charlie Duskin and became a starstruck fan once again when telling her how much I enjoyed Charlies character. I did hear that she is re-writing the book in America and I think Canada so now the new story is able to fill in the gaps for me. Although I enjoyed reading it at the time, as I read more books in that genre and even just broaden my reading in general I did think it needed something more. I would be terribly excited to re-write something knowing that yourself! I envy her excitement. The new title is A Little Wanting Song, and yes Book Depository will be the next website page I open (picture of me and Cath Crowley to the right.)

I did realize one thing while working at the Melbourne Writers Festival. It seems that in a way authors have become big celebrities! But not so much that we will see them down the red carpet, or on the news for holding illegal drugs (or a banned book.) I saw a lot of work going into sneaking the authors into the venues so they didn’t have to walk past the audience. And I totally get that, because as the ushers waited for the arrival of Morris Gleitzman, and then all of a sudden he appeared behind these hidden doors inside the theatre, I remember the story John Boyne told us at a talk at Deakin Library last year that while he was walking to a venue he had to have a bodyguard with him as someone came running at him screaming obsenities and wanting to physically hurt him. But because reading will never be as popular as Brad Pitt, I could be approached by Magda and know exactly who she is, but be approached by an author and half the time I couldn’t tell you who they were or if they even were an author. I had to get a friend to point out who Cath Crowley was because although I’ve read her book, I couldn’t tell you what she looked like! Not every author has a picture of themselves next to their biography. I was approached by an author in the Greenroom and I mistook them for a volunteer. After proceeding to talk themselves down pointing out how unimportant they must be if I don’t recall their name, I suddenly clicked and felt horrible. She was “only a scriptwriter for Nickelodeon!” On a lighter note; I was able to point her in the right direction to ACMI cinema 1!

And so next is the book list I have read so far since I have finished the Montmorency series and because there is not that much space left only a little write up of a review. NOTE: Eleanor Updale is rumoured to be writing the 5th book in the Montmorency Series. I have to say; a little disappointed, I didn’t think she needed to write anything more. But I will never complain about reading another tale with Montmorency in it!

The first was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I am in love with her writing, and the story made me understand depression more and how people see the world and why. I have never felt so sad that I wanted to hurt myself, I don’t ever want to feel that way but I want to understand it, so I can understand the people around me in this world a little more. So I read this book having that idea and although it was confronting, very sad and bold, I enjoyed it thoroughly. So much so, that I ordered Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes (Sylvia Plath’s husband) and now trying to track down the movie The Bell Jar and the movie Sylvia that stars Gwyneth Paltrow. Picture on the left.

After The Bell Jar I decided to try Margaret Attwoods The Handmaids Tale. My uni friend called me eclectic which I beamed at, thinking what a wonderful compliment that is (thanks Kellie!) I finished the book within a couple of weeks thanks to many train rides and quiet times volunteering but thought how wonderful a writer Margaret Attwood is. I would really love to meet her one day because the book was one of those tales that change the way you think, not in a feminist way or anything, and not in a submissive way either. But it was just such an intriguing idea about a certain type of future. The only thing I was disappointed in was Lukes character. Full of so much, and talked of all the time, he seemed like such an important character and yet, I feel as if I don’t know him at all and I’m wondering why I found out everyone else’s fate, except his.

The book I am reading at the moment is Paddy Clarke HA HA HA by Roddy Doyle. Seriously, that’s the title, not even kidding. So far, I’m really enjoying the original storyline and I’m really feeling for each character. Spoken in the point of view of a 10 year old irish boy, I was worried I would feel removed from all the other characters, but I see their world so vividly. Each character individually is written so well. The only thing that irks me, and I hate to be a fuss pot, but I’m struggling with the lack of chapters. I need a stop and start rhythm happening. My brain keeps going to rest, and my fingers flick through a couple of pages as if to check a break is on the way, but I am forever disappointed. The flow is rough, like how I imagine his accent, and although its original and literary, just give me a paragraph break, or a page break even with the three little stars in the middle of the page, something to help my mind stop, breath and take in the story a little better. Will let you know how I go. Picture on left.

Next on the list is either tearing through the Tomorrow When the War Began series as I saw the movie last night and love love love love loved it! Or the last two Harry Potter books *ducks from rotten oranges being thrown* yes, I know I’m bad for not finishing the series, but at least I plan to!

Exciting things are happening for the intern at Express Media now that the submissions are closed for the John Marsden Prize! Judges are madly reading the manuscripts and two days ago when I was signing them onto the database we hit the 400 mark!! I predict around 500 in total, maybe more!

Well I think I have covered it all! I hope I didn’t bore you and if you have come this far then I applaud and thank you for taking the time out to hear what I have been doing, and how I feel about what I’ve seen and felt.

And now I go back to my writing, as I am 4000 words behind…but that is only because I had to start all over again. So you know exactly how I felt, I understand COMPLETELY how Scott Westerfeld’s felt when he decided to change the point of view of the character in Extras and therefore had to *select all* *delete* and *cry*
Though I did not write 16,000 words! Thank god!

Here is the post for some reminiscing and information grabber. So you know exactly what I'm jabbering on about! (http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/2007/01/tale-of-quasi-woe/)

There, I am actually leaving now, I promise!

Exhaustingly Yours,

Jinx xx