Allegra's journey

I'm continuing to blog about my writing process and what I do when I
hit a slump and just don't feel like writing any more - what I do when
the story seems to have lost its magic (and there are always several
places in the course of writing a book where I feel this way).

Yesterday I prised myself away from the keyboard and got out my pen and paper.
There's something very freeing about doing that. I often write large
chunks of my first draft longhand instead of typing, because I feel
less constrained creatively when I have a pen in my hand and I'm free
to scribble and cross out and not keep to neat rows and lines.

Sometimes, when I want to brainstorm, I do the same. I often get a
large(ish) art pad (A3 size) and write my character's name on it, and
then start scibbling down all the things I know about them. They can
often end up looking very messy, with scrawled writing in different
colours at different angles, and arrows all over the place, connecting
thoughts and ideas. 

My heroine for the
current book (Allegra) was a 'baby ballerina' - a child prodigy who was
thrust into the limelight early, but her talent has isolated her and
set her apart from other people. Ballet is a world where the
choreographer reigns supreme. Dancers aren't asked to collaborate in
the creative process much; they are just told what to do. They are the
vehicle for another's vision. And Allegra's early start in her career
meant that her father has had a very firm hand on her life, especially
as her mother died when she was eleven. He is her mentor and her
worst critic, her manager and her parent - a very cluttered and
complicated relationship.

Once I knew all this about her,
I asked her the five questions (see my last post).

What
is my character's longing?

• Allegra longs to feel free,
  both in terms of exploring the big, wide world, but also she craves
  inner freedom.

• She wants to escape.

What
is my character's wound?

• She's a child prodigy, and as
  such, she's never had a normal life. She's had a very sheltered
  existence, very focussed towards one goal.
• She has her life
  directed for her. On stage by the choreographer; off-stage
  by her father and the demands of her career. Has very little personal
  freedom.

What is my character's fear?

• That
  she will never be free, that someone will always hold her destiny
  in their hand and superimpose their will over hers.

• BUT
  she's also secretly scared of all that freedom. Too much room,
  too many possibilities. While her life stays on its stagnant
  little track, she might moan, but it's safe. She doesn't have to take
  responsibility for her mistakes and choices, because someone else
  has always been at the reigns - it's their fault. With
  freedom will come the opportunity to succeed spectacularly, but the
  flipside of that is that she opportunity to fail spectacularly will
  also be there - something that won't sit easily with the former
  child prodigy.

What is your character's identity?

• Dutiful
  ballerina. She does what she's told, because there is no point
  in expressing her opinion - her choreographer isn't interested in
  what she thinks or wants; he just wants her to do as he says.
  She is the blank canvas for another to paint their vision on.
• A
  mute, who always keeps her wishes silent. She never expresses her
  desires, because in her world, there is no use. She has no
  control over her life. She has also learned to keep herself
  strictly under control - and she will find this her greatest obstacle
  to inner freedom. She will be her own worst enemy, because
  that inbred sense of control if going to make it very difficult
  for her to LET GO.

What is your character's
essence?

• Woman (not just a ballet dancer) who is free
  inside - Free to live. Free to love. Free to make her own choices.
• She
  won't mind taking on board other people's ideas and suggestions
  when she feels free inside, because they won't threaten her sense
  of self (and this will make her a better artist).

Once
you know your character's identity and true nature, you have the
beginning and end points of the emotional journey they must take -
their character arc. So, once I have that worked out, I ask myself one
further question:

What will my character have to learn
to make the journey from IDENTITY to ESSENCE?

• To speak up
  for herself, articulate her feelings and desires.

• To
  take responsibility for her life and make her own choices (not
  easy at first).

• To let go of the resentment that's
  been building up inside her, that sense of rage at being caged by
  other people and robbed of her freedom (even though she has allowed
  them to do it).

• To find the courage to use the
  freedom she claims she wants. Not to 'escape' again, back into
  her gilded cage when the going gets tough, but to face her fears.

• To
  not use her new-found freedom to impose her will upon others -
  she has to learn to respect other people's freedom as well.

Now,
I feel as if I've got something a little more concrete to work with.
Hero next...

Mills & Boon Riva author
www.fionaharper.com