I have realized that most of my personal beliefs (the values
I have been taught from childhood) affects my writing in a big way. Whatever
values have been inculcated in me colours my characters and impacts my stories.
It’s
scary because my sense of right and wrong has always been very strong right
from childhood. The one and only time I lied to my mother as a child, I was
awake the entire night with guilt. The next morning I sat outside her bedroom
and the moment she emerged I confessed the truth and was engulfed in a tight
hug.
The
reason I use the word scary is because as I write Middle Grade fiction, I need
to add gallons of naughtiness and spice in my stories. No child will like
reading stories about good kids who drink their glass of milk, eat spinach,
obey their elders, do their homework on time. Children will find these kids pretty
boring.
I do
create naughty characters, but I have noticed that even these characters of
mine have their intrinsic good qualities. I became aware of this when toying
with the idea of my protagonist Rahul, the MC of my Paranormal Middle Grade
Trilogy who develops the ability to do Spirit Magic decides not to use
magic to excel in his maths exams. This would be something I personally would have
done.
If it
came down to a choice, I would have preferred failing than using my new found
magic abilities to pass an exam. I don’t know why I made that decision for my
character. Not as a writer, but as a person. When I realized this, it made me a
bit worried.
Should I
have let my character Rahul decide whether he needed to use magic to pass an
exam and make his parents proud. Rahul’s low marks always get him into trouble
at home. This was a perfect opportunity for him to shine in his father’s eyes.
Why did the writer in me not grab that opportunity?
I am
wondering why did I make that decision for Rahul? Does this happen to you? Have
you made decisions for your characters? Have you let your personal beliefs
cloud your writer’s or story telling decisions? How do you balance between your
own beliefs and the need of the writing hour? Any advice for me?
A very well meaning post, Rachna! It is difficult to detach one's value system in the writing, but sometimes it is necessary otherwise true depiction of the character may be difficult:)
ReplyDelete@ Rahul, I have realized that I am influencing my protagonist a lot. My beliefs and values are somewhere along the way restricting my main character's thoughts and actions.
ReplyDeleteI think it's natural that our own moral compasses enter into our writing. We also have to decide for ourselves how far we're willing to go before we feel compromised.
ReplyDeleteI think every writer puts a bit of herself in her characters. It it fits the story line it's a natural thing to do. I don't think we're obligated to put our own beliefs into our fiction. We often write stories that have nothing to do with us personally and we have to create our characters from scratch. Doing a good, thorough character biography for each character should keep us on course as to what our characters do and say.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the folks above me. I think we all put a bit of ourselves (or at least a bit of how we see ourselves) into the characters that we create. I also think that this is one of the reasons that we can tell stories that are similar to other stories, and still find people to listen. The part of you that goes into a character is what makes that character unique! :)
ReplyDeleteNice one as always ma'am. Yeah, the writings we do are affected by our life and experiences and the same is happening with me. Luved reading it. :)
ReplyDeleteI gave many of my beliefs to my antagonist and not the protagonist. Just to mix things up a bit. Of course, I don't kill people because of my beliefs. My my bad guy does.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to incorporate your beliefs into your stories, but the fun is you can still do different things with your characters. i.i. have them do things you would never do, that's the fun part:)
ReplyDeleteI think most writers put their own beliefs into their stories.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read other writers' perspectives on this--when I come across a book where the characters make such personal decisions, I have to wonder if it reflects the author or not.
absolutely!I llike that you've held onto your values and inforced them into your characters. I do the same thing. I will never write an 'edgy' book for that reason.
ReplyDeleteI think it does for all of us but perhaps more so for writers like you who build characters and plots. P.S. I really do want to read your books now!
ReplyDeleteYou raise an important question. No, I think you were right to let Raoul decide not to use magic in a self-serving way. Young readers don't like characters they can't identify with either because they are too good, too flawless, etc., showing a perfection none of us can achieve. But they also don't like characters they can't identify with because by their behavior they become basically in-admirable. Who, for instance, really wants to identify with a cheater? Unless, of course, the cheater struggles with that and ultimately does the right thing. Young readers like the conflict -- because they face that conflict. But they like just outcomes.
ReplyDeleteMy first drafts have all my biases and world views. But the story is there for me to edit myself out later. It is hard to go against our own upbringing and natural instincts.
ReplyDeleteSome writers can do that right off the first words out. Not me. It does make the writing journey interesting :)
.....dhole
PS: I would have let him use the magic so he could achieve personal growth later :)
Absolutely, though i did write a short story about soldiers in which I tried to see the profession from the other side of the coin.Hubby said it was best ever! LOL!
ReplyDeleteInteresting what you say about naughty characters. Because of the way I was brought up I always found naughty child characters in stories very stressful. I would get very anxious that when their mum found out boy would they be in trouble!
I to have trouble making my characters do something I might not do--at least my main character who I always connect with.
ReplyDeleteHi friends, we all find our personal beliefs not just creeping into our stories but also finding their way into our characters and influencing their decisions.
ReplyDelete@ Donna, will keep your suggestion regarding my character's decision whether to use or not to use magic in class in mind during the next draft. Thanks a lot :)
This is a hard question, because there is a lot of me in my books. I can't always separate them, but I try.
ReplyDeleteI think the bulk of what we are and what we do comes to us, often incognito, from our childhood. No way to avoid it, even if you want to.
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible to do anything without it reflecting a little of who we are and this is especially relevant with writing but I guess the key is to keep the similarities subtle and allow our characters to develop as fully fledged beings. Not easy though.
ReplyDeleteI think our writing can't help but reflect our personal beliefs. I think it helps to have critique partners for an outside perspective. I know this has helped me keep a balance.
ReplyDeleteso interesting that I was just asking my 10, 11 and 13 yr olds this same question!! and interesting enough they told me the men authors seem to write with more sensitivity and the female authors (Hunger games, harrry potter) write with more violence.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, desirable or not, a part of you would start dictating how your characters or stories turn out.
ReplyDeletehttp://rachnaparmar.com