Being Mean by Gerri Brousseau

As some of you may know, I recently signed a contract with Soul Mate Publishing who will be publishing two of my novels, and the high has not worn off yet.  And if that wasn't excitement enough, I found out this week that my first grandchild will be a little girl.  Needless to say, there is much excitement for the Brousseau family this month.  I can hardly contain myself.

Every time I sit down to begin a new work, my mind races about the planning of a baby shower for my daughter-in-law.  But then, while I'm working on the planning of the baby shower, my mind fills with plot twists for my new work.  If I could just harness these things and bend them to my will, life would be perfect.  But life is not perfect, and in the meantime, there is the general day-to-day BS of life to deal with.  Needless to say, my life has gotten out of balance.  I have taken walks, which the pugs really enjoy; I have cleaned the house; changed curtains; put the deck furniture out; swept out the garage; but none of these activities calms my mind.  I keep telling myself to just breathe.  All the while, my mind is racing with plot twists, character flaws, evil villains and wondering what color my kids will choose to paint the baby's room.

What does all this have to do with writing?  Well, I'll tell you.  Do you think that you are the only one whose life is full of a whirlwind of activity?  Do you think you are the only person to have problems weighing heavily on your mind?  Of course not.  Your hero has these same things happening in his or her life as they progress from the beginning to the end of your book.  Just because they may have to best some evil villain doesn't mean they don't have to deal with the day-to-day BS of life … just like we do.  Your character's life is just as far from perfect as your life is.  I know that is something I generally forget when I'm writing.  I have read novels where the woman is from a wealthy family … she's always Lady So-And-So, or he's Lord Thus-And-Such … never some poor sap who must steal bread to survive.  Yet, as we write our stories, we must remember to give our characters the problems of normal life.  This is what the normal reader will relate to.  Ms. Normal Reader is most likely working and juggling home and career.  She probably forgot to pick up the dry cleaning and needs that blouse for a very important meeting at work the following morning.  She has to drop Junior off at day care and he spits up on her suit jacket.  And if that's not bad enough, she gets a flat tire on the way to work!  Keep these things in mind as you plot (or plod) along with your story.  Even Lady So-And-So doesn't have a perfect life.

There has been some blogging this week on other sites I visit about writers being afraid to be mean to their characters.  It's not really being mean, it's simply allowing life to happen to them.  I'm sure even the Duchess of Cambridge has day-to-day BS to deal with.

Now, in addition to all this day-to-day stuff, I generally toss in a few extra zingers just to make life miserable for my characters.  Is that being mean?  Perhaps, but, that's what makes life (and our books) interesting.  Stephen King said to think of the worst thing that could happen to your character … and then make it happen.  I can't argue with his success.

Are you afraid to be mean to your characters?  What's the meanest thing you have done to one of your characters?

Filed under: romance