Use This #WritingPrompt To Promote Your Main Character to Your Best Friend
I hope you have decided to push through the first half of National Novel Writing Month 2020 and join me for the second.
Even if you’re not in NaNoWriMo, sometimes you just need an extra boost when it comes to your writing.
Our last few plots have let us get out all the frustrations we’ve had toward our characters, plots, and settings, but we’re going to brighten up everybody’s days a little and do the exact opposite.
Today, I’d love it if you could focus on everything you love about your main character or characters.
They’ve been with you from the start, so there has to be some redeemable qualities to them, even if they drive you crazy every so often.
What about them still intrigues you?
What about them makes you love more than characters in books you didn’t write?
If you could spend a day with them, what would you do?
Strengthen that bond with your character by sprinkling in some honey with your words, then get write on in to your daily session.
See you tomorrow!
My Response
I’ve obviously had my up and down struggles with Vaeda, my main character, especially if anyone has read what I’ve written about him so far. Since crafting him from the nothing, I feel like he’s given me a complete run for my money as far as being a writer goes. But the thing is, the more I get to know him, the more I find myself channeling him. I’ve been struggling with self-deprecation and depression during the writing of this novel — standard considering the themes — but I think of him any time I want to give up. Vaeda is in a position where he has to be the only person who has any hope and belief in what he’s doing, and in some ways, I’m in the same position.
He has those close to him, and it’s not like I’m completely alone, but I feel like Vaeda understands what it’s like to carry a burden you don’t want. I think he’s a much stronger character than I had anticipated when I first started writing him. He’s pretty quiet and reclusive, which allows me to spend a lot of time in his head, which is also kind of cool. I think he’s very connected with his mind, despite what’s going on, and I’m trying to find that all within myself, as well. Any time I want to give up hope, I remember how he carries on and how I have to carry on for him.
For someone I felt like chose me instead of the other way around, he could become one of my top five favorite characters by the end. I’m excited about the rest of his adventure and to see what he does. It’s still difficult to explain to non-writers how characters and stories take a life of their own. I’m just grateful that, the more life that’s breathed in to Vaeda, the more I like him. Otherwise, Lord knows I would have given up on this bitch after chapter 2.