Hello, writers. I ran across a phrase that I’ve been thinking about this week: “Let your characters lead you.”
We’ve talked before about character-driven fiction as opposed to plot-driven fiction. The latter was more or less the rule in genre fiction for the first few decades of the 20th century. Nowadays character is much more important, and while you don’t have to write character-driven fiction, some reviewer and readers will mutter if you don’t.
But I hadn’t heard it put quite this way before. Character-led instead of character-driven. Now I’m picturing the protagonist taking the writer by the hand and leading him/her into their world.
Picture the main character of your work in progress.
Imagine you’ve come to the character’s front door… or imagine they’ve come to yours.
“Come with me,” they say. “There’s something you don’t know about, that you need to see.”
You go with them…
Tonight’s challenge:
If you don’t want to use your work-in-progress, choose a character from this handy list-o’-scenarios:
- The battle isn’t going so well for intrepid mercenary soldier Wallace Higginbotham.
- A callow youth and his/her stout companion are on a seemingly endless quest for the Jewel of Togwogmagog.
- - A stranger has come to the Wiltchester Dragon Farm, wanting to buy a baby dragon, but ace dragon breeder Jocasta Entwhistle doesn’t trust him one bit.
- Private investigator Celia Spunk is driving down a rain-spattered street at midnight when she realizes there’s a car following her. It looks a lot like the car driven by the Chainsmoke Killer.
-International superspy James Buns has been captured by an eccentric megalomaniac, who plans to use an elaborate invention to kill the hero and his unfortunately-named girlfriend.
- Belinda sees Lord Postlethwaite-Praxleigh (pronounced Puppy) leaving the ballroom on the arm of her rival, Adelaide, who isn’t even capable of appreciating all he went through in the Peninsular Wars
Have the character lead you to show you something that s/he thinks you, the writer, ought to know about. Write in the character’s voice.
Try to limit yourself to 150 words.
Write On! will be a regular weekly diary (Thursdays 8 pm Eastern Time, 5 pm Pacific), until it isn't.
Before signing a contract with any agent or publisher, please be sure to check them out on Absolute Write and/or Writer Beware. Also, if you’re not familiar with how publishing works, please read this article on Critters.org about how to spot scams.