It’s blog chain time again. This awesome chain was brought to you by Sandra who asked:
What kind of journeys do your characters make? What effects do they have on the characters and the plot? Also, if you wish, please tell us about one of your personal journeys and how it changed you.
When I get an idea for a story, I generally begin with the characters and what their stories are. 99% of the time, when I sit down to write, I know two things: Where my story begins and where it ends. That includes physically and emotionally. Then I sit down and try to plot out the actual journey and my character’s journey.
For instance, one of the first books I wrote (which ended up in a drawer thankfully) has a character whose twin brother is kidnapped by a carnival. He believes he has to travel through a mirror maze and into another world to save him. By the end of the story, he’s taken both of those journeys. The physical one has led him all across a fantastical land filled with danger. His emotional journey brought him to accept that his brother is never coming back. By the end of the story, my character ended up in exactly the same place he was at the beginning of the story. He was in his town missing his brother. But emotionally he’d come to accept his brother’s death and move on.
Not all of my journeys are so circular, but they all involve my MC coming to accept and embrace the circumstances that life has given.
The personal journey that really taught me that was the time I went to Italy. I’d been given a vacation on short notice and tried to gather some friends and family to go, but couldn’t. I wanted to go to Europe but I didn’t want to go alone. I nearly didn’t take the trip, but in the end I decided to do it. I spent two weeks in a foreign country with zero knowledge of the language or culture. It was the most amazing experience of my life. Not only did I learn how capable I was, but I learned to embrace the unknown. I’d go into restaurants in Rome and just tell them to bring me whatever they enjoyed eating the most. Rarely did I actually know what I was eating, but that made it so much better.
Anyway, this post is feeling a bit fractured and rambly. So to sum it up I’ll simply say that I like to send my characters on journeys that help them discover the truth within themselves. Everyone’s strong, everyone’s a hero, they just need to be given the chance to be those things.
Awesome. Don’t forget to visit Michelle’s stellar take on this, and then nip on over to Cole’s blog where I’m sure she’ll give you something to laugh about.
I love the “everyone’s a hero” comment. So true! Great job with this.
Great post! I especially loved “I like to send my characters on journeys that help them discover the truth within themselves. Everyone’s strong, everyone’s a hero, they just need to be given the chance to be those things.”
Awesome 🙂 Nuff said ;-D
Sometimes coming to terms with your circumstances is the hardest journey of all.
My trip to Japan was pretty similar in that I often didn’t know what I was eating either. 😉 At least my stomach seemed to recognize it!
Awesome job! And that’s great that you went to Italy by yourself. I totally want to venture out one of these days. As soon as I win the lottery. 😀
Great post. Your story of visiting Rome is a great example, and I’m glad you had the courage to do it despite a bit of reluctance. It sounds like you had a good time. The carnival story also sounds very interesting. I hadn’t thought about deciding the beginning and end prior to writing, but your process sounds good.
I always have my ending firmly in place before I start. It’s that last line that’s the basis of the book. And then I climb on the magic carpet and see how I get to it. Come to think of it, sometimes it’s more like one of those elaborate roller coasters…
The way you talk about knowing where your story begins and ends then filling in the details is very much like how I write. It’s a total trip getting there. 😉
You are a rock star! I don’t know if I’d of had the guts to go on a trip to a foreign country by myself. wow.
I agree with Christine. That’s a cool thought — everyone’s a hero.
Great post. I loved your personal story as I’ve found myself that jumping in and doing something that you’re not sure about can teach you a very important lesson about yourself.
I like how you talk about your characters physical and internal journeys – and the way those two go hand in hand. It’s also always interesting to hear how other writers approach their stories – I kind of do the start with a beginning and ending, then fill in the middle approach too – although I must admit – sometimes that ending is very very fuzzy.