WRITERS’ CIRCLES
44 APRIL 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.ukWRITERS’ CIRCLES
Have your characters got themselves stuck in a situation?
Julie Phillips suggests testing what they’re capable of by
placing them in alternative realities in this group exerciseretired bricklayer being put in charge of
an office whose workforce are all under
twenty. Or a 25 year old fast-tracked
woman who was the manager of a large
distribution company, suddenly finding
herself as an assistant, with no authority,
in a local school, whose colleagues are all
over 50. How do they react? Can they
cope? Think about how they might have
found themselves in those situations
in the first place, as this will give you
a clue as to how they may behave as a
consequence. Do they blame themselves
or someone else? What might be the
difficulties they are faced with?
It might be that they both feel
frustrated because they are suddenly
having to take charge and make decisions
or they are enraged, having to bite their
tongue, because they can no longer tell
people what to do. This would more
than likely lead to conflict in both the
workplaces. Conflict equals story, but
just because there is a story there doesn’t
mean it will reach its full potential unless
the characters are given something by the
writer to work with.
To help the group to do this, ask themW
e’ve all heard of authors who
say that their characters have
taken over the page. You
may have even experienced
it yourself. Instead of doing
what the author wants, they go rogue and
the author has no choice but to go with
them. The story, they say, is almost always
better for it. But what if our writing puts
our characters in a place or situation
where they and the writer are at a loss
at how to proceed? They languish there,
in limbo, shrugging their shoulders in
an awkward silence, neither advancing
the story or setting the scene. It’s the
equivalent of the nautical doldrums.
This month’s workshop is all about
finding ways to give your characters the
tools they need to deliver the reader
the full-bodied reading experience they
deserve. It’s about giving them the impetus
and forward momentum to not only
tell their story, but to tell it well. Your
characters and readers will thank you for it.
The first activity for your group is to
make up a character and put them in
a situation where they are a fish out of
water. For example, a seventy-year-old,to read out what they found to the rest
of the group. Then try to relate it to their
own experience and/or the characters in
their current writing. Where they have
come to a standstill, use the exercise to
consider where their characters are in the
story. If they don’t have any ideas they
could work with someone who has. Ask
them to think about why they think their
characters are stuck. What happened
earlier in the story that has led them to
this stalemate? Where are they trying to
lead their characters and what do the
characters think about this? Are their
characters behaving or does the writer
have a mutiny on their hands?
Next, task the group to take their
characters out of their current situation/
sticking point and place them in a
different setting with different issues. Are
they using the right side of the character
that will pull out their full potential or
are the characters just coasting along
being boring in their boring little
world? If they are in the middle of the
countryside would placing them in a
bustling city up the ante, or vice versa?
Have the group considered changing
the ages of the characters or their social
backgrounds? Perhaps thinking more
about their motivations and what they
want would help.
What about the psychology of your
characters? Are they currently inhabiting
the correct headspace to be able to
capture and keep the attention of the
reader? Do we care enough about them
to want to keep with them and read
on? Perhaps putting them in different
situations where they can exercise
different facets of their personality will
bring out the right combination of traits
so that your character can fight their way
out of any situation you throw at them.
Finally, make a group list of what the
group members have leaned about the
process that was helpful so that you can
use it for future reference.
By trying out different situations or
places you can challenge your character
so that you can test how they react to
new stimuli or conflicts which gives
you a fuller picture of who they are,
their motives, what drives them and
how far they can be pushed. Placing
your characters in alternative realities
can stretch them into a more rounded
and interesting persona that improves
the overall structure and feeling of
your book, turning the mediocre to the
extraordinary.TESTING times