Simple Revelations

Shoestring · Jul 31, 2012

I was thinking over the voice of my latest story idea (still trapped up in my head, though), and had a sudden realization. My MC has ideas of his own, a thought process all his own, which will make how he views the events in my story heavily biased to his own opinions. How he perceives Event 1 will be very different to how Character 3 perceives it.

When he decides that he'd be a better man for his new love interest, her current boyfriend is now the fault-filled enemy and described by him as such (maybe not in such simple words, though). To Character 3, the boyfriend is actually a decent guy, whereas MC would actually be the wrong choice for the love interest. Since we're in MC's PoV though, we the reader are led to believe the opposite.

This is probably basic stuff for all you advanced writers, but it felt like a huge revelation to me and helped motivate me to keep going with the story at a time that I was wondering whether or not it was even worth it.

Have any of you ever had any of these 'simple revelations'?

Kerosene · Jul 31, 2012

I think you just discovered individual character motive.

I have them everyday. Small most likely.

The last big one was a bit overused, dream scenes, but it worked out perfectly and suited the progression of the story (since I hit a wall) perfectly. Then that lead to another, which led to another and then to another.

Amory · Jul 31, 2012

Yup, I do. In fact, I often enjoy writing the same scene from another character's POV, just to see what he notices that the MC didn't. It often tells me more about the situation. And it's always fun! For example, the first paragraph to the same scene in two of my characters' POVs:

Lucy=MC, 26 years old, nice red-haired girl with a sarcastic edge, a witch.
Amon=20 years old, goth looking Satanic social worker with a serious personality

Lucy's POV: The morgue smelled surprisingly good. In fact, it kind of resembled the gift shop. Maybe it was all the flowers. Better than the smell of dead people, she supposed. The hospital would should try this with the old folks' wing; then they'd really be on a roll. No rotting flesh down here, no poopy pants up there.

Amon's POV: Amon kicked aside another arrangement, determined to make it to the autopsy table, great wall of flowers be damned. As he approached the body he lifted a hand to his face, trying to block out the fresh scent of greenery. It was disorienting, seeing the morgue around him but smelling roses instead of death.

NyxAustin · Jul 31, 2012

All these characters you write about have a back story. They all have millions of events in their lives that have shaped them and made them the characters they are in your story.

Once I realised that it was disheartening to know how few of those events were going to end up in the novel itself.

Shoestring · Aug 5, 2012

WillSauger said:
I think you just discovered individual character motive.

Somehow I find myself extremely relieved that the phenomenon has a name. xD

Amory said:
Yup, I do. In fact, I often enjoy writing the same scene from another character's POV, just to see what he notices that the MC didn't. It often tells me more about the situation.

I've been exploring a certain scene with this MC of mine from the PoV of a random bystander, and it's been a very interesting learning experience. Not only for the events of the scene, but in learning how other people percieve my MC and what they think of him. It's a lot of fun!

NyxAustin said:
Once I realised that it was disheartening to know how few of those events were going to end up in the novel itself.

I'm tempted to write a little character biography of my MC, just to get a lot of these events down, but I'm thinking that would probably just end up being a distraction. I'm sure there are ways to fit the important events from his past into his present, I just haven't thought of them yet.

Another 'small revelation' I had just recently was the necessity of remaining fully and completely inside the head of the MC or the PoV you are writing in. I just read through a book where the author jumped around through dozens of heads while telling the story sometimes several times in the same chapter, and it was so utterly confusing for me. I ended up skipping half of the book, though I could have just as easily stopped reading it and probably not missed anything.
I've had a new mantra running through my head since then: Stay simple, stay sane.

Kerosene · Aug 5, 2012

Shoestring said:
Somehow I find myself extremely relieved that the phenomenon has a name. xD

Really? I just made up the term using what sounded good.

It's mostly called Motive nonetheless.

Simple Revelations

Shoestring

Junior Space Janitor

Kerosene

Your Pixie Queen

Amory

May the odds be EVER in my favor.

NyxAustin

Shoestring

Junior Space Janitor

Kerosene

Your Pixie Queen