The sky is lit by a new moon in the old moon’s arms. The wind blows clouds and stirs the water into choppy waves and lifts some of the woman’s hair. Moonlight glints from the swords she holds. Her arms are crossed at the wrists. She sits barefoot on stones in a nightdress, her back to the weather. This woman wears a blindfold.
Because she is not bound to anything it appears she has taken this uncomfortable position by choice. What is it that brought her to the water’s edge on such a night? Why is she holding two swords in such a tiresome way? She refuses to look at her current events. The blindfold shows she has done more than simply turn her back. Why is she barefoot? Do the rocks, the storm, the water and moon do more than supply a setting for this woman?
I have a character who is smack in the middle of a setting, a time and place with loads of story potential. I can open a file and begin an interview with her. During the interview I can give this scene a context, a back story. I can begin to explore the circumstances that led the woman to the shore. Is the story going to end here in the cold and dark or is it going to begin? Is she at a turning point?
What was she doing a month ago? What will she be doing next month? What is in her closet or under her bed? Is she afraid? Is she vengeful? Why does she have two swords when one is enough? Who does she love? Who loves her?
This is a brief example of how I build a character. They never seem to come to me as fully formed and evolved people. They don’t always show up in a scene. For this blog post I pulled a card from a tarot deck. I can imagine coaxing her out of the card’s frame, the bitter cold wind coming with her into my cluttered living room. She’ll lay her swords down and remove the blindfold. I’ll give her a blanket and we’ll chat over a cup of hot tea. If she isn’t working out as a viable character, I’ll return her to the sea-side, complete with her props and someone else will find her and take an interest in developing her.
How do you mine your characters? What do you do with the ones who don’t work out for you?
Don’t touch anything sharp!