Michael Potts's Blog: Bits and Pieces: Book Reviews and Articles on Writing, Horror Fiction, and Some Philosophy - Posts Tagged "heartbeat-fetish"
On Revealing the Raw Self in Writing
How would a person feel if she revealed her most secret self, her strangest quirks, in print for all to see? Some writers will not go there, fearing that someone will see their most secret self through the fiction. I have personally found that to be the case--the first novel nearly everyone writes is the one I wrote--the semi-autobiographical coming of age novel using a first person point of view. That is difficult to successfully pull off, and I was aware of that while writing. I have a "quirk" that is part of my ordinarily secret self, and I allowed the main character, Jeffrey Conley, to reveal that quirk in both my novels (End of Summer and Unpardonable Sin).
Since a psychologist has diagnosed me with Asperger's Syndrome, it is not surprising that I have obsessive interests. One of those interests is the human (biological) heart. Someone might yawn and ask, "Is that all? That doesn't make your character stand out." So I "took the plunge" and revealed that Jeffrey is sexually aroused by the sound of a woman's heartbeat. Including my quirk as part of Jeffrey makes an unusual character and one I could develop in unique ways. In my second novel, I make greater use of Jeffrey's heartbeat interest as well as adding more fictional elements, and Jeffrey comes to life more as a character independent, though closely related, to me. Jeffrey's fetish/fascination with the heart grows and colors his other actions, especially his reactions to women--and their reaction to him when he reveals his quirk. There is no judgement, just an imaginative showing of how Jeffrey's life might be in the particular world created for him in my imagination.
Authors should not be afraid to reveal their secret side through a character. That will both add depth and edginess to the character as well as give the author a grounding in the one who knows the character's quirk firsthand--the author himself.
Since a psychologist has diagnosed me with Asperger's Syndrome, it is not surprising that I have obsessive interests. One of those interests is the human (biological) heart. Someone might yawn and ask, "Is that all? That doesn't make your character stand out." So I "took the plunge" and revealed that Jeffrey is sexually aroused by the sound of a woman's heartbeat. Including my quirk as part of Jeffrey makes an unusual character and one I could develop in unique ways. In my second novel, I make greater use of Jeffrey's heartbeat interest as well as adding more fictional elements, and Jeffrey comes to life more as a character independent, though closely related, to me. Jeffrey's fetish/fascination with the heart grows and colors his other actions, especially his reactions to women--and their reaction to him when he reveals his quirk. There is no judgement, just an imaginative showing of how Jeffrey's life might be in the particular world created for him in my imagination.
Authors should not be afraid to reveal their secret side through a character. That will both add depth and edginess to the character as well as give the author a grounding in the one who knows the character's quirk firsthand--the author himself.
Bits and Pieces: Book Reviews and Articles on Writing, Horror Fiction, and Some Philosophy
The blog of Michael Potts, writer of Southern fiction, horror fiction, and poetry.
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