Ceara Comeau's Blog: Lessons From A Struggling Writer - Posts Tagged "characters"
Lessons From the Characters
Choices. Even at a very young age, we all understand the general concept of choices. Sometimes they get us into trouble, and other times we’re rewarded by people or the universe. But oftentimes we forget just how impactful these choices can be to our daily lives. This is something I was reminded of just this week, in fact.
I added about a thousand words to the third book in my trilogy (yay me!). And as I was writing, I started thinking about the characters and what they represented. It was then that I realized that they represented choices. Each one, for a variety of reasons, said they didn’t have a choice in their ultimate decision. Some of these decisions were heroic and saved lives, whereas others were detrimental to the character themselves.
That’s when I started to see the lesson I needed in my own life. All too often, I find myself saying the exact same thing: “I don’t have a choice” or “I wasn’t given a choice.” The truth is, and like many of my characters discover, we all have a choice.
The farther I go along these creative avenues, the more I’m finding that the choices I need to make I really don’t like. Most of the time it’s because they feel impossible to accomplish, but they’re essential to reach my goals. The trick is to not jump to the first option that’s presented to me and weigh the pros and cons of each path.
“Well, what if you have to make a decision immediately? You won’t have time to think about a path!”
Good question, there really is no good answer to that. Sometimes, when that particular situation comes up, it boils down to your conscious and what you feel is right. Does that mean you’ll make the right decision? Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of what path you choose, all you can do is keep moving forward.
I added about a thousand words to the third book in my trilogy (yay me!). And as I was writing, I started thinking about the characters and what they represented. It was then that I realized that they represented choices. Each one, for a variety of reasons, said they didn’t have a choice in their ultimate decision. Some of these decisions were heroic and saved lives, whereas others were detrimental to the character themselves.
That’s when I started to see the lesson I needed in my own life. All too often, I find myself saying the exact same thing: “I don’t have a choice” or “I wasn’t given a choice.” The truth is, and like many of my characters discover, we all have a choice.
The farther I go along these creative avenues, the more I’m finding that the choices I need to make I really don’t like. Most of the time it’s because they feel impossible to accomplish, but they’re essential to reach my goals. The trick is to not jump to the first option that’s presented to me and weigh the pros and cons of each path.
“Well, what if you have to make a decision immediately? You won’t have time to think about a path!”
Good question, there really is no good answer to that. Sometimes, when that particular situation comes up, it boils down to your conscious and what you feel is right. Does that mean you’ll make the right decision? Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of what path you choose, all you can do is keep moving forward.
Creativity in Unlikely Places
I’d be lying if I said that I had been thinking most of the month about this blog post. Truth is, I’ve only really thought about it in the last hour!
Although February is the shortest month of the year, it seemed to be shorter this time around. That’s probably because my film team and I have been working nearly around the clock sifting through auditions that have been flooding our emails.
Honestly, I’m floored by the number of creative people I’ve seen audition for the different roles in the first episode of the Amber Oak series. It’s really inspiring. In fact, seeing these people act out my characters inspired me for other characters in the trilogy that has been going eternally slow. And, believe me, it has nothing to do with the film. There are so many moving parts in the last book of my trilogy it’s felt overwhelming to me.
But, Ceara, it's your story and ideas…how can that be overwhelming?
Great question! My brain is always moving constantly, I’ll get an idea, then another, then another until finally I’m so overwhelmed that I can decide on what a character is supposed to do and the usual internal conversation I have with them is silent.
But, being around creative people has gotten that flow going. I can’t say I’ll have the third book out immediately or even in the next few months. But hey, this is what I call progress!
Although February is the shortest month of the year, it seemed to be shorter this time around. That’s probably because my film team and I have been working nearly around the clock sifting through auditions that have been flooding our emails.
Honestly, I’m floored by the number of creative people I’ve seen audition for the different roles in the first episode of the Amber Oak series. It’s really inspiring. In fact, seeing these people act out my characters inspired me for other characters in the trilogy that has been going eternally slow. And, believe me, it has nothing to do with the film. There are so many moving parts in the last book of my trilogy it’s felt overwhelming to me.
But, Ceara, it's your story and ideas…how can that be overwhelming?
Great question! My brain is always moving constantly, I’ll get an idea, then another, then another until finally I’m so overwhelmed that I can decide on what a character is supposed to do and the usual internal conversation I have with them is silent.
But, being around creative people has gotten that flow going. I can’t say I’ll have the third book out immediately or even in the next few months. But hey, this is what I call progress!
