I took an acting for film class a few years back and I had to do this one scene in which my character was very serious and spooky and a little bit frightening. And at the end of my monologue, I smiled. My coach was surprised, but excited, that I had made that choice, and he asked me why I had done it.
I said that I wanted to take the scene, and flip it on its head - that I thought it would be more interesting and add more layers. And I had been right!
Try to do this with your characters. Find moments when they can say or do things that are a little unexpected, but still in character, to add those extra dimensions. It adds depth to your book.
What book have you read where the characters did unexpected things?
Wow. Nothing comes to mind. But in my own novel the main character does something unusual at the end, something humanly impossible.
ReplyDeleteSame with me - only it is my characters who do it to me. They suddenly do something unexpected, but I always find there has been a good reason. (My plots happen while the books are being written - and I do smile when I get complimented on how meticulously plotted they are!)
DeleteVery interesting. I hadn't thought about it before but you're right. Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteFrom Diary of a Writer in Progress