Ellie Lieberman's Blog: Dusty Shelves - Posts Tagged "free-will"
Character's Choice
Perhaps you've heard an author joke about their character's having a mind of their own. Anyone who is a writer knows there is a truth to this. They do what they want to do. We're merely there to write it.
Barbara Lieberman has mentioned many times how she tried to soften Bridget from To Reap a Whirlwind. Every time she would come close, this character would just dash any chance at redemption.
For me and my writing, it's even when the creations themselves are faced with the situations they are thrown into. That is to say, my books tend to have characters exercising free will more than being pushed into a fate.
They make decisions and these choices lead to consequences. The characters in Society's Foundlings feel abandoned by each other and society, not because it is fate, but because of their own choices, as well as the choices of those around them. Garrett makes a choice at the end of Solving for X, same as Jenna, and these decisions are made based on their experiences. In one of my WIPs, a character decides his own fate, as well, in a pivotal moment: "This, here, was the moment of truth. Before him laid two options, and while one stung, more from the man who suggested it than the suggestion itself, the other was one with which he could not live."
Though there may be literary techniques utilized, such as foreshadowing, whether purposeful or merely unintentional (and don't you just love when that happens?), the decision still remains solely in the hands of the characters. Think of it also as looking back on your own personal story. Was there not foreshadowing in your own life that you missed at the time, whether it be "hindsight is 20/20" or just weird coincidences?
My characters have always been a driving force in writing the story, but they have always been the "masters of their fate" within their stories, as well.
Barbara Lieberman has mentioned many times how she tried to soften Bridget from To Reap a Whirlwind. Every time she would come close, this character would just dash any chance at redemption.
For me and my writing, it's even when the creations themselves are faced with the situations they are thrown into. That is to say, my books tend to have characters exercising free will more than being pushed into a fate.
They make decisions and these choices lead to consequences. The characters in Society's Foundlings feel abandoned by each other and society, not because it is fate, but because of their own choices, as well as the choices of those around them. Garrett makes a choice at the end of Solving for X, same as Jenna, and these decisions are made based on their experiences. In one of my WIPs, a character decides his own fate, as well, in a pivotal moment: "This, here, was the moment of truth. Before him laid two options, and while one stung, more from the man who suggested it than the suggestion itself, the other was one with which he could not live."
Though there may be literary techniques utilized, such as foreshadowing, whether purposeful or merely unintentional (and don't you just love when that happens?), the decision still remains solely in the hands of the characters. Think of it also as looking back on your own personal story. Was there not foreshadowing in your own life that you missed at the time, whether it be "hindsight is 20/20" or just weird coincidences?
My characters have always been a driving force in writing the story, but they have always been the "masters of their fate" within their stories, as well.
Published on April 02, 2020 14:38
•
Tags:
authors, barbara-lieberman, books, characters, choices, consequences, decisions, ellie-lieberman, fate, foreshadowing, free-will, literary, literary-techniques, reading, society-s-foundlings, solving-for-x, to-reap-a-whirlwind, wip, work-in-progress, writing