March flew by for me, and I was busy with all the things from celebrating my birthday and having fun on spring break with the kids to less fun events that ratcheted up my anxiety to fresh new levels. But all my personal chaos aside, let’s talk writing.
Rewriting book 1 is a bigger undertaking than I assumed. I knew it was going to be a lot of work because of problems with tension, unfocused subplots, and way too much telling. But what I failed to grasp is that I didn’t know who Derek was 14 years ago. I reread chapter 1 and realized I didn’t like him. He was shallow and self-concerned, and it just didn’t work for me anymore.
When I first started writing, I picked up this book called 45 Master Characters from the Barnes & Noble discount rack. It talked about character archetypes, and I reveled in the idea of figuring out where all my characters fit. I knew Derek was a flirt, and that he was in love with MaTisha. She was the only woman for him. Well, because Derek’s a guy, I fixated on the Woman’s Man archetype because that was the only male model that worked with what I knew.
Dionysus: The Woman’s Man
A fun-loving, sensual man who can’t relate to masculine pastimes but revels in the company of women, who helps the women around him to find their courage and realize their own worth – although the Dionysus himself often feels flawed and may never find the perfect woman he seeks.
The first version of him turned him into a self-centered guy who was only concerned with finding the right woman. My sis-in-law hated him. One of my beta readers then pointed out that Derek’s main desire was that he wanted a family, and he really wanted children. That was more accurate, so I tried to mash him into the archetype while making him family focused.
Years later (after publication, of course), I had an epiphany. Derek wasn’t Dionysus: The Woman’s Man. He was Demeter: The Nurturer.
Demeter: The Nurturer
A kind and compassionate woman who sacrifices much in order to help others, particularly children or those she feels she is responsible for; her whole identity is tied up in caring for others.
I never really considered it, because, you know, Derek’s a guy. But I’d already gender-swapped MaTisha’s archetype (she’s Zeus: The King), so it wasn’t surprising that Derek ended up swapped too.
I wrote book 2 with the full confidence of knowing Derek was The Nurturer, and I didn’t try to push him into being charming like I did with book 1. Because he’s not charming. Affable, hopefully, but not charming.
IWSG Question of the Month – How long have you been blogging? What do you like about it and how has it changed?
My first post ever was on Black Friday 2010 on a blog that’s now hidden from the public eye. I moved to my own domain in June of 2012 and have been here since. I like the freedom to ramble about whatever’s on my mind without the anxiety of using my voice. It’s like I tell my coworkers: I think better with my fingers. I’m also a slow-moving person who can’t keep up with social media, so knowing that I can take a breather between posts is a real mental saver.
Did you ever discover one of your characters wasn’t who you thought they were? Have you ever looked at character archetypes? What do you like about blogging?
About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.
Think better with your fingers – great way to put it.
I’ve also begun with a character that was a bit unlikable. Glad you figured yours out even if it means a lot of rewriting.
I absolutely think better with my fingers, too. I think that’s part of why I like blogging, email, texting, etc. And I am so slow-moving you’d mistake me for a tortoise. 🙂
That book sounds really handy. I need to look for it on Amazon. I’m sure I won;t find it for the bargain you did!
I love that line, “I think better with my fingers.” I tend to shoot off at the mouth, so it is better when I am writing and I take the time to edit and clarify. I like blogging here on IWSG because of the challenge every month to write on a different topic. Sometimes I just stare at the question and think, “How am I going to answer that?” Somehow, I always do.
I love that! Thinking with your fingers!
I can’t keep up with social media either, and I’ve recently decided, I don’t want too. 🙂
Hi,
Good luck with your rewriting. That will probably change the message you want people to get out of the book.
All the best, and have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
I love your line “Thinking with your fingers.” It describes us as writers so well. I’m not surprised your character has morphed into someone else after 12 years. You’re a better writer now and understand better how to create the right character for your stories and show them to reader better. I’ve grown that way too.
I’ve solved so many personal problems by writing—venting—my feelings for no one to read. Best thing I’ve ever discovered. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I haven’t experienced that character confusion yet, but I’ve had a lot of other things that hit me after I’d published. As to blogging…I think I’ve switched over to the Substack Newsletter approach and doing that two times a month. I’ll see how that works.
It’s definitely easier to explain things through writing. Well, some things. I’ve never figured out archetypes, so no, I’ve never attempted to fit my characters to them.
With very few exceptions – those characters (usually supporting characters) who walk into a scene and take over – I always have to go back and polish them once I reach the end of the first draft. It takes me at least half the story to figure out who they are.
I never know before the story is written who my characters are in the sense of archetypes. I start by giving them a problem to solve, a situation to find their way out of, and by solving their problems, dealing with their complications, they coalesce into their personalities. If it makes sense…
By the way, I love the image on top of your post. Love it!
Thank you! I always have trouble getting their colors to work together, but I think it turned out alright this time.
Hi, Loni! Like a lot of your commenters, I loved that you think better with your fingers. So do I, although I don’t think of it that way. Rather, I clarify my thinking by writing. My main genre is journaling, and I clarify a lot of thinking through that ~ lol! The archetype book sounds fascinating.
I’m going to look for it. I don’t come to characters via archetypes. Mostly they grab me by my collar and shake me until I listen to what they are saying about themselves. Have a great day!
I feel like I’m constantly discovering that my characters aren’t who I thought they were. Hijinks and rewriting ensues. Which is all just part of the fun, right?
Oh my goodness, but I can identify with re-writing a book. Whew….I had no idea I had to put in so much work to improve mine. I think it is a good lesson for us to realize how much our writing skills have improved over the years. Much like blogging after 13 years!
It takes me a long time to figure out who my characters really are. I know we’re supposed to have fully fleshed out characters before we start writing, but it just never seems to happen for me.
I think better with my fingers too.
Like many of the other commenters, I also think better with my fingers.
I’ve never tried matching my characters to archetypes. I do spend a lot of time figuring out their backgrounds and what motivates them, and that seems to help them become 3-dimensional people.
Great illustration, Loni! Is that one of yours?
There’s a protagonist in an as-yet-unpublished book that some others (mostly a former agent, to be fair) found really unlikeable. The dude went through major trauma as a very young child, so as a consequence, he has no f*cks to give. I wrote him as someone who says and does what other people wish they could say or do, with no social constraints and no caring what others think of him.
I’m not sure why some anti-heroes get a pass and some don’t. But I hope to find time to revisit that book one day and see if it can be saved.