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| Meg Moseley |
Hey writers, Annette here. Our guest today has some great tips on categorizing your characters and how that relates to setting. Enjoy!
The Relationship Between Character and Setting
Meg Moseley
“Oh, no,” you say. “Blech! Not another checklist. Not
another character chart, another formula for plotting.”
No, I just want to throw some ideas around. They’ve sparked
new life and fun in my brainstorming and my writing, and I hope they’ll do the
same for you.
It starts with deciding which of these three basic categories
my protagonist falls into when I imagine him in the story’s setting:
1. Newcomer. He’s a recent arrival. The new kid on the
block, he might be welcome or unwelcome. He might want to be there or he might
not.
2. Resident. Whether or not he’s a native, he has been there
a while. He’s on familiar turf, but it’s not necessarily a pleasant home. A
prison can be a home, too.
3. Returning. He’s back after an absence. He has elements of
a newcomer, elements of a resident, and other elements related to the ways he
and the setting have changed since last time he was there. A “reunion story” often
includes someone who’s returning to a specific geographical setting.
Now, how does he relate to his setting? What is his role
there? The identities listed below aren’t necessarily tied to his personality,
occupation, or social status, and they aren’t necessarily literal. He doesn’t
have to be in jail to feel like a prisoner; he doesn’t have to be a soldier to
invade a place.
These identities won’t all work with all three of the basic
categories above, as you’ll see if you play around with them. No doubt you’ll
come up with other identities too, but this starter list might get your
creative juices flowing. If you have a protagonist in mind, which of these
words describes his role in the setting?
a. Invader
b. Defender
c. Messiah
d. Crusader
e. Prisoner
f. Refugee
g. Peon
h. Ruler
But there’s a third element. Let’s say we have a Refugee
who’s a Newcomer to a particular setting. Will he find a warm welcome,
animosity, or mere tolerance? What is the setting’s attitude toward him? Is it…
A. Hostile. A hostile setting seems to hold the most promise
of good story conflicts. It doesn’t need to be a literal war zone to be a
battleground for your characters.
B. Neutral. It doesn’t have to be bland. It’s a setting that
could go either way, and that can create tension.
C. Friendly. Sounds safe, doesn’t it? But a cozy setting can
be a good breeding ground for conflict too. A character who thinks he’s in a
safe place is a prime target for hidden dangers or betrayals.
When you brainstorm with this concept, the categories are
fluid and the possibilities are endless. Try 1-c-A or 3-d-B or some brilliant
new combination that isn’t on my list. Have fun!
~~~~~
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| A May Bride |
Ellie has prepared for her wedding all her life . . . but she has forgotten the most important part?
Ellie
Martin, a country girl living in Atlanta, has dreamed of a traditional wedding
all her life—a wedding just like the one her younger sister is planning back
home. Even though Ellie is realizing her dreams in the big city as an
up-and-coming real-estate agent, she’s missing a key ingredient to her plans
for the future: a groom.
Then
Ellie meets Gray Whitby—at a wedding of all places. Gray is handsome and fun,
and he sweeps her away in a whirlwind romance. In a matter of months, Ellie
knows Gray is “the one,” but her mother isn't so sure, judging Gray to be the
freewheeling type, like Ellie's runaway father.
When
Ellie jeopardizes her own future for the sake of her sister, Gray feels like
he'll always be second to Ellie's family. Can Ellie and Gray find their own way
together amidst the demands and perceptions of others or will their romance end
before it has truly begun?
~~~~~
As a little girl in California,
Meg Moseley used to pretend she was a novelist while she pounded the keys of
her grandmother’s typewriter. The author of A Stillness of Chimes, Gone
South and When Sparrows Fall, Meg lives with her husband
near Atlanta
and never stops dreaming up ideas for contemporary fiction. Her newest project
is A May Bride, a novella coming from
Zondervan on April 22, 2014.
You can connect with Meg here:
