Characters and Creepiness

NaNoWriMo 2017 is over. I did not reach 50,000 words. There's a first time for everything.

But along the way, I did have some fun, and I learned some things. We have a lot to go over today, which should be a nice change from my recent rushed posts that trended a little on the short side.

First off, I never did quite pin down Andrea's personality. I went on a whole quest to find her a soundtrack, or at least a theme song. I couldn't find anything. And the music is important because it's how I get into a character's head. It's something they can relate to, and I can understand, so I know how they feel about things. Why don't I just imagine how they feel and cut out the musical middleman? Sorry, I don't work that way.

Just recently, at the very end of NaNo, I realized what's wrong with her. She has a perfect family and a great life. And happy people make for lousy characters. See, the boys in there both have somewhat tragic backstories, and that drives who they are. Interestingly, they have sort of similar histories, thought it has affected them in different ways. Jesse lost his father when he was in high school, and that's driven him to try to become someone his dad would be proud of. He tries to do the right thing, and in general, be the hero. Tony, on the other hand, had eternally distant parents, who were never around. As a result, he tends to do things on his own without others' input, and wander off alone and not tell anyone. Similar backstories, radically different characters.

But Andrea… she didn't have that darkness to drive her. I realized at the end there that maybe she needs a struggle, or a secret. Some crack in that perfect armor that would let a little personality shine through. I can't give her a tragic history too, because that would be just ridiculous. So it needs to be something else, something not so evident. But I have zero idea what it should be.

When I was desperately pushing for words, I started rewriting a part that I wrote earlier, because it didn't initially turn out the way I wanted. And let me tell you, I like the second go-round much better. It was the part where the timeline diverges, and I kill people but also don't kill people, and our heroes have a run-in with a small town sheriff. Now, initially, it just seemed like a normal small town, that then turned out to be a cannibal cult. But this time, oh, this time, I've cranked the creepiness up and done what I do best: kill everyone. Now all of a sudden the sheriff's some kind of scarecrow monster masquerading as a normal human law enforcement officer. At this point, I think I was channeling Desperation, both Stephen King's novel, and my own franticness.

The result varies between creepy:

Sheriff Williams leaned close to her. “We’re just a small town here. A poor town. We take what the land gives us and we are grateful. We don’t like to let a single thing go to waste.” He grazed a bony finger along her jaw. “The land gave us you, and your friend. There’s not enough left of him for the crows. What do you suppose that means for you?”

Strangely funny:

“What about a paper clip?” Andrea asked, pointing at the desk.

Now, at this point, one has to ask oneself, what kind of man was the sheriff of Maranatha. Perhaps a better question was, was he a man at all? But regardless of that answer, was he the sort of creature who would leave a variety of detritus on the surface of his desk? Would they find three paper clips, two rubber bands, a box of extra staples and a partridge in a pear tree? Or would he keep his desk perfect and pristine, like he was some sort of robot programmed for efficiency. Although, when you’re in desperate need of a paper clip, just lying on the desk is the most efficient place for it to be. But whether a robot scarecrow man would plan for that eventuality was the question. As it would not benefit him, or his townspeople, the answer was probably no.

So, no, there was not a paper clip on the desk.

And somewhere in between:

“So naturally, I figure I’m next. He’s after my meat and not in a fun way."

In addition to all that, this revised section included some romantic backstory, which I'm going to talk about next time, since I know I won't be writing anything new between now and then.

I'll see you Tuesday.