Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Tue, Jun 15 2010
Everybody, including a fictional character, believes in something
One thing I don't see very often for fiction writers is a bit of talk about the spiritual side of characters. A lot of writers never seem to express this side of a character, unless the character happens to be a circuit riding preacher or a Satan worshipper. Like us, every character has a spiritual nature, even if they don't talk about it during the course of your story. He or she might find their spiritual strength in nature, in music, in God or in some other way. He or she might reject formal religion, embrace humanism or practice pagan rituals. He or she may quietly go their way trying to live a decent life. If they're angry at God, or someone else, they may run from their spiritual nature and attempt to spend all their time getting whatever they can from life in some other way. And things may change for a character during the course of a story. The details will depend on your character and his or her past and general nature and personality, and we may never be very descriptive in the story about their beliefs (or lack thereof) or the spiritual joy (or pain) of their life, but knowing what their spiritual attitudes are will help tell the story in a more consistent way.
posted at: 16:37 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
One thing I don't see very often for fiction writers is a bit of talk about the spiritual side of characters. A lot of writers never seem to express this side of a character, unless the character happens to be a circuit riding preacher or a Satan worshipper. Like us, every character has a spiritual nature, even if they don't talk about it during the course of your story. He or she might find their spiritual strength in nature, in music, in God or in some other way. He or she might reject formal religion, embrace humanism or practice pagan rituals. He or she may quietly go their way trying to live a decent life. If they're angry at God, or someone else, they may run from their spiritual nature and attempt to spend all their time getting whatever they can from life in some other way. And things may change for a character during the course of a story. The details will depend on your character and his or her past and general nature and personality, and we may never be very descriptive in the story about their beliefs (or lack thereof) or the spiritual joy (or pain) of their life, but knowing what their spiritual attitudes are will help tell the story in a more consistent way.
posted at: 16:37 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
