Day 13 – Focus on a Character

Maybe you know your story already, maybe you don’t. I regard character as the power element in any story, and one of my guiding principles is that it’s immaterial which of your major characters you focus on: the result will always ALWAYS be rich, collective character material, great stuff that transcends whatever limitations you started with, in ways that will surprise and delight you.

Should you go with “Zack,” for example, even though “Sarah” is you protagonist, the process will inevitably spill over, adding more and better material to Sarah–as well as to “Zack and Sarah” collectively

It doesn’t matter which road you take, they all lead to the powe center of your story (even if you don’t know yourstory). In the example, one of the prime ways character expresses itself is in relationship, thus it whether you start with Zack or Sarah, inevitably the process will:

# suggest new and exciting story material (if you don’t have a story yet)

# produce rich new options for scenes and subplots if you are already working with one.

# build new vigor into the character pattern that drives your story

What do I mean “the process?” I’m talking about a form of deep diving into your unconscious, the unknown place in us all that produces character material so authentic you don’t even feel it was YOU who made it up.

And how do you get there? By using what I feel is the most powerful imaginative tool for writers there is: directed freewriting. This is not the place to launch a monologue on freewriting. Fortunately I don’t have to: a few weeks ago I decided to gather the half-dozen blog posts I’ve put up about freewriting over the past two years and group them in an accessible spot. When I did, I realized that, taken together, they almost constitute a mini-course.

You’ll find this resource under the heading “Freewriting” in the right hand sidebar of my blog, just under “Recent Posts.” Check it out, and apply what works for you to today’s Countdown mini-task.