writing characters

Apparently character is plot and plot is character when writing - according to Henry James (1995). "Building a strong sense of your main character or characters, then add a dilemma, challenge or conflict, you will automatically be generating your plot" (Open University).

And that I realised, when writing about Miriam, was pretty difficult. It's already a vast subject for discussion just from my first few lines about her.


First drafts .....

Miriam loathed the idea of being labelled by others. She enjoyed being thought of as different, not fitting into the usual mould. She really was quite quirky and unique without really needing to try. If only she knew that. Perhaps she did really. This conflict within her is frustrating to get to grips with and she is so changeable too. Does she even realise she is battling with an internal rivalry? It's not external but watching her it sometimes seems as if she is battling the world. She is a story all by herself but there isn't room to go into that detail here.

Phoebe had longed for a simple life away from the hubbub and to live off the grid. Yet she loved her gadgets and occasional trips into town to visit a gallery. And her car was an essential! With all her protestations within herself and to her friends, here she was with a low income, living in housing association accommodation, scaling down. Now the conflicting discontent. Not having enough money to do and possess all the things she wanted.  And so she sat sometimes for hours grieving the loss of her former self, the adventurer, the risk taker, the high-flyer. That person and that lifestyle were long gone. These days Phoebe had to be cautious when considering an evening at the cinema or a meal out with friends. Oh yes, she was still socialising but carefully selecting which she could afford. Sometimes she didn’t choose and impulsively did them all. That part of her hadn’t changed, the throwing caution to the wind attitude lived on despite the financial insecurity. But this meant something else had to be forfeited, such as food.

 Spending on binge foods thus resulted in not only a financial dilemma but more erosion of self esteem. Not to mention a self berating session.  The need for binging always felt like a real need for the food but intellectually she knew that it was something deeper, some emotional trigger, no doubt contributed to by the sense of distress at her now small world. Phoebe had reached across the spectrum of the haves and the have nots. When she had and was receiving in abundance she craved a simple life without the high-powered stresses. Now she has little, there was a sense of loss and shame. What got her here?

How do these two come to be friends? What brought them together? Crisis! A rock bottom. Emotional fall out and a long lasting supportive friendship was borne out of adversity and gloom. From thereon a different set of adventures ensued. The same underlying people bringing a new dynamic in their togetherness and adventure unlike anything in their individual former lives ....