February 2024 Writers' Support Group Topic - Your Character in their World
We were delighted to have Helen back in charge of the Writers' Support Group for the latter part of the month and pleased that she's on the mend again.
This month's topic was the link between a character and their world - how both influence each other and are inextricably tied together: each shapes the other, Each having attributes that are probably different to your reader's world.
But what's important to the story is what is important to the CHARACTER.
To illustrate the point, imagine 3 characters enter a city park on an April lunchtime. How do they EXPERIENCE the park?
The teenager glances over her shoulder before diving into the shrubbery. Phew, no-one in sight. She slows her pace, burrows inside a big old evergreen. She squats on layers of old, dry leaves. She feels safe, hidden here. But she can't stay here forever. How can she escape the bullies when she has to come out?
The middle aged woman, scurrying to grab something for lunch, shields her eyes, head down. It's been a long, gruelling morning, grafting at spreadsheets for the afternoon meeting. Now, she's fearful the bright light will trigger a migraine. She catches the flicker of aura, and groans.
The grandmother sits on a park bench, relaxing as the sun’s warmth eases her aching bones. She feasts her eyes on the brilliantly coloured flowers: winter is over. She smiles as her friend hands her an ice-cream and joins her on the bench. "Now, then," she sighs. "This is nice."
It's the same park, the same day. To one, it's a route to escape, to another, a problem, to another, a happy interlude. Each person's experience is different, unique to their own story perceptions.
Our Exercise
Write a micro-scene showing your character, in a setting in their world. The action can be trivial, it can be major, but let it show us something about that person, and the world in which they live. There may or may not be, other people in the scene.
Use one of your own characters, or, if you want a bit of fun, take a famous character – real or fictional, alive or dead – and write a mini scene that shows us who they are, WITHOUT naming them.
Listeners can report what they noticed about the character, with ‘bonus points’ if they can name the famous person.
Here's something that was written for the exercise.
The Train
René was escorted to a branch-line station where a train was waiting. Accompanying him was Rudolf, a fair haired officer who spoke little and showed his discomfort at escorting a Frenchman to meet the important man. Rudolf was formal and polite but his manner was cold and René was pleased when the train pulled out of the station, the noise making conversation impossible. They travelled slowly for a few miles, the rolling stock groaning as it climbed the steep incline. René could hear the locomotive, the rhythmic sound of the pistons and the expulsion of steam at each cycle. The train accelerated as the slope lessened until the driver applied screeching brakes before manoeuvring into sidings parallel with another train. This new train was different – camouflaged but through the windows René could see that the internal accommodation was more an office, the furnishings sumptuous, drapes a luxurious satin. Rudolf stood to address René, telling him it was time for him to leave. A makeshift bridge was lowered between the two trains and Rudolf beckoned for René to cross towards the other train, leaving Rudolf behind. René entered through a door, Rudolf disappearing after the gangplank was withdrawn. A polite young man dressed as an adjutant welcomed him on board and saluted. René returned the salute half heartedly. ‘Please, come with me.’
René’s face was stony as he followed the adjutant. He was shown into a carriage furnished with a table, chairs positioned around it. The aide brought coffee and asked René if he would like milk and sugar. René responded that he would have his coffee black and the adjutant placed it on the table before walking towards the door. Before he left he turned, clicked his heels and saluted. René did not return the gesture, remaining standing, leaving the coffee untouched. Nervous, he knew that the stakes were as high as they could be. It was ten minutes before a second adjutant entered from the opposite end of the carriage. This man was older with a scar across one side of his face, clearly the result of a knife wound. His aura was of a man of experience and René was to learn that Ludovic was a trusted aide, one of a band of the unsung who advised the leader. ‘Come with me, please,’ said Ludovic, ‘You will be seen now.’
René was escorted through a sparsely furnished carriage into a small office occupied by two women – secretaries, he thought. They glanced at René as he passed through but said nothing. These women had seen much and nothing surprised them. Without ceremony, René found himself in the presence of someone portrayed for most of his life as a perpetrator of evil and reviled throughout Europe. The man had his back to René as he entered the room but turned as the adjutant introduced René. The leader thanked him; René was alone with the tyrant who now faced him, hands clasped behind his back. René’s first impression was of how tired and old the leader seemed – the conflict was taking its toll and René remembered that the man had been plagued by poor health. A flag hung from the wall behind the leader, a symbol of menace to the Frenchman. Doubt swept fleetingly though René’s mind – but this was neither the time nor place for incertitude.
