Friday, December 11, 2009

What if... ? #1

All---

I've found that an interesting way to get deeper into my main character is to throw them into something outside my WIP. All it takes is one line -- a response in dialogue, a reaction to an event, a feeling about a moment. It's easy, it's fun, and it doesn't take much time.

I decided I'd like to share this with the rest of you. I'll post a quick prompt utterly outside my WIP, and my MC's quick response to it. I'd love to see some of your responses in the comments, but even if you don't feel comfortable sharing there, I hope it spurs some thought in your own writing process.

(Drumroll)

What if...

Your Main Character was approached by a stranger on the street, who asked, "Hey, got a light?"

A) Gambler #1 shakes his head silently, conscious of the cherry wood pipe in his pocket, and suddenly feeling a little silly for never having lit it.

B) The Detangler flicks the cigarette out of the stranger's hand and smirks. "No smoking in public."

How about your character?

.Nevets.

7 comments:

  1. That's certainly a really interesting idea! I shall try that with a couple of my main characters to see if I can flesh them out a little. I suppose you could do the same with films - like, how would my gunslinger fare if I dropped him on Endor?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that, @Icy. Or, how would my borderline manic teenage boy respond to an invisible, six foot rabbit named Harvey?

    ReplyDelete
  3. An interesting question. I currently have three main characters, all women. One would (politely) say she didn't smoke; one would probably pretend she hadn't heard, and pass swiftly on; the third would do her best to get him into bed (but only for hard cash)

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  4. Fun stuff!

    "Hey, got a light?"

    Julia needed to release all this power. Where the hell were Angie and Kaitlyn?

    "I asked if you had a light."

    She grit her teeth. "No, sorry."

    He blocked her path. "What's your problem?"

    Did he really want to know? The Fates had sent them another stupid mission and another person to save. If she didn't find Angie and Kaitlyn in two minutes, the sheer force of all this power building inside her would bring her to her knees. "Look," she said, straining to focus on the guy. "I don't have time for this. Not to mention this is Venice Beach, so you might have a hard time finding someone with a light." She took out a five dollar bill. "Go buy yourself a novelty lighter in the shape of a palm tree or whatever and let me by!" She shoved past him and exhaled forcefully. Where were they? Where-- "Oh crap," she said, falling to her knees.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great stuff, @Frances and @Diana. Hopefully you find it helpful, as well as fun. I've found that even quick snippets like this which expand the perspective on my characters beyond the story I'm working on can be helpful.

    There will be another What If... on Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Got a lite?"

    Hank feeling the fresh pack of Camels and zippo lighter in his left jean pocket was unconfortable in this strange town.
    "Sorry don't smoke." His gait quicken as he listened for following footsteps.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love it, @glnroz. A lot of character packed in there.

    ReplyDelete

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