Imagine yourself a highly scrupulous person, who discovers that the truth lies in the opposite of what you’ve always believed. Well, how do you feel?

I’m writing a story about such a person, a comedian, who tries to kill himself. It’s not depressing at all, I promise you. It’s not even illogical – in fact it might be the most logical thing he’s ever done. It’s an act of love.

Here’s a person trying so hard to prove his love for his soul mate that he unwittingly discovers who he really is. Of course, this might describe the character development of the hero in a great many stories. When protagonists dig deep to get what they want, they often find themselves mining the dark side of their personalities. It’s a frightening journey, to say the least.

Eventually, my hero comes to his senses and gives up on the idea of corporeal martyrdom. But only because his point of view continues to expand. He has been so misguided throughout his life, that, at the end, he barely recognizes himself. I could have allowed him to keep digging through two more novels, if I hadn’t decided to put him out of his ecstasy in the final pages. (The story doesn’t end there, though.)

Now here’s something to consider – the theme of ‘truth being the opposite of what we believe’ emerged from my writing the story. I don’t even know if it’s true. I doubt that many good writers set out to make a philosophical point. They set out to tell a good story. And in my story, the protagonist realizes that in the passionate ignorance of his youth he developed principles to protect himself from pain. By realizing this later in life, he is able to right the ship, so to speak.

Another of his epiphanies is, ‘having a soul mate means finally having someone to die for’ (a la “Romeo and Juliet”).

I think that the human journey is remarkable for the possibilities that exist for us to discover who we really are. Fictional heroes are always showing us how it’s done.  You can believe them or not.

Happy reading!

It’s almost a week now that I’ve been house-bound with a cold. There’s always an up-side to a downer, and so here’s my positive spin on my negative state of affairs. Stuck inside, I have more time to spend on my personal projects.

Even as a kid, I appreciated the ‘joy of being sick’. My passion was stamp collecting and building model houses out of balsa wood. I loved being sick! These days, it’s writing novels. This week, I’ve put the time to good use solving some story problems.

Consider the advantages of adversity, that’s the moral of this story (my blog story, I mean.)

For me, it’s been an advantage to be forced to sharpen my focus. Being ‘forced’ is key, because otherwise we humans have a powerful tendency to take the path of least resistance. Story characters are no different. If circumstances aren’t forcing the protagonist to fight for something, they won’t dig deep into their hidden selves. And whoever doesn’t dig, doesn’t discover who they really are.

As in life, so in art.

Consider this: the hero of a story doesn’t change through struggle. Rather, their character unfolds. It unfolds through adversity. (Same with you and me in real life.)

In the film Avatar (Best Picture, Golden Globe Awards!), Sully always had a greater understanding of human nature than was allowed him as a Marine. Through a heck of a lot of adversity, his higher nature began to show through.

But enough is enough! When am I going to get better?!

I went to see New Moon at a theatre here in Mazatlan, Mexico. The film was in Spanish, so I understood very little of the dialogue – and there was a lot of it. Yes, it’s an angst-ridden story, depending as it does on Bella’s inner torment. Not great cinema material.

But what struck me about Bella was how her character, insular as it is, dictates the story. She is the plot. All the action (or inaction) is a direct result of who she is. She represents the story’s potential. This is why, in any story, we attach ourselves to the protagonist. And why in good stories we fall in love with her. She’s to blame for everything, all the good and all the bad that comes to pass. And that’s the way it should be.

Bella is a good character because: a) she knows what she wants; b) she wants it badly; and, c) she wants it badly enough that she’ll risk trouble to get it. Think of it – she jumps off a cliff just to get Edward’s attention, imagined though that attention is.

She also has endurance. A good character has to be a long-distance runner. You know what they say about Art: it’s 2% inspiration and 98% perspiration. A good character is like that – not morally perfect, but hellishly determined. We live vicariously through her determination to do or die.

While New Moon may not be high art, it does provide a character worthy of the price of admission.