Seemingly sometimes what a writer writes is not completely clear. What?!? Say it isn’t so. But it is… evidently. That is what I was told anyway when an excerpt from an earlier post was reposted and someone not familiar with the full text thought I was endorsing “mean people”.
Now I wasn’t; not that I couldn’t, endorse them in certain cases but it
made me think about the characters writers “create”. And I put the word create in quotes because I
have to ask do writers really “create” characters?
So… This blog is about
Archetypes. Archetypes are loosely defined as stereotypes.
(From dictionary.com) The original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copies or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
And/Or
(In Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.
Some years ago I was at a writer’s conference and one of the new books
being promoted was a book on character archetypes and how to write them. Now I knew this writer was not quite a friend
but was more than an acquaintance and I still could not bring myself to
purchase that book. And even now I still
feel the same about the book, I couldn’t buy it (not that you shouldn’t)
because the idea, the very premise that a writer would look to someone else to
tell them how to develop a character made me sad. Really, how can you call yourself a writer
and not at the very least KNOW your characters, know their deepest darkest
secrets, their greatest joys, their fears and their hopes, how can you not know
their GOALS? And WHY, WHY, WHY would
any writer want to be a “copy” of someone else?
Now certainly there is the necessity for both reader and writer to
categorize characters, like the hero or the villain, but a good writer can
really muddy those waters so it’s not so easy to say this character or that one
is the “bad guy” or the “good guy”.
I mean let’s go back to one of my favorite examples; the movie
“Titanic”. Pretty quick we pick up on
the Jack character as being the “hero” at least to Rose. But what about that guy, the one she is
supposed to wed, the one who by every account is willing to spoil and indulge
her. Who while is very typical of his
era is still very proud that such a woman is going to be his wife. Who is willing to also take care of her
mother. What about that guy? Do you even remember his name? I do but only because I love the actor who
played him (Billy Zane). He was Caledon
(Cal) Hockley and he was cast as the “villain” but really what were his
faults? He was dominating, but that was
the way of men, especially successful men, of his time. A little condescending, but again it was the
era. And he did throw a bit of a fit,
smashing the china and all but really the woman he had been supporting (along
with her mother), the one he was intending to make his wife, was stepping out
on him AND if our hero had been so inclined to show a bit of jealousy we might
have thought it passionate not evil. In
truth I have always felt a little sorry for Cal, I did hope that after he
arrived safely back in America he did find a woman who loved him and married
him and I am sad still knowing he would eventually kill himself … well isn’t
that how all “villains” end? Dead.
But Cal Hockley is a perfect example of a character that is not a simple
archetype. Now that he devolves as he
sees things he wants slipping from him as his manhood is challenged by some
street artist and the very people he believes should have had his back are
cheering on the “imp” is more about development than archetype. The writers certainly could have let Cal
gracefully step aside, they could have had him ungracefully step aside and
demand Rose reimburse him for all the expenses.
But that he, in his way, fights for her makes him far less the villain
then most archetype villains are. And
that is good writing.
So how do we write those characters?
How do you make a hero not seem like someone Walt Disney would be proud
of or for that matter make the villain a fav of old Walt?
I think the answer is to not use stereotypes. As a writer you have this vision of your
characters in your mind. You know
everything about them from which side of the bed they sleep on to which shoe
they put on first. They are not like anyone
else’s characters, although they might be like real characters in your
life. So why would you cheapen them by
not writing their uniqueness, by not giving them those quirks and nuances?
A hero doesn’t have to show up in shining armor, he can show up in
scuffed cowboy boots with dirt on his clothes and a scar on his cheek. And a villain doesn’t have to be out to
destroy, murder or completely ruin anyone, they can simply be caught up in
their own circumstances and in trying to save themselves they harm others. That movie “Ghost” (with Swayze) comes to
mind.
A hero can have some bad habits even some really bad habits as long as
you leave him at least a toe’s distance from crossing that line. And a villain well there is hardly any limits
to what you do with the antagonist’s character.
He can be a total psycho or someone you might date or both.
Archetypes are a starting point.
Archetypes are those characters the reader knows but never
remembers. He or she is described as
“that guy” or “this woman” by someone when who has read the story and is giving
a synopsis to someone.
Characters though, characters are the people readers fantasy about, who
they seek out in real life. And a really
good character will be in a readers mind every time they pick up a book. They will name their children or their pets
after characters. When they recommend
the story it will be because of the characters.
So when you are getting ready to write your story, remember your story
IS the character’s story. They are your
surrogates your representatives. They
are your readers guides through the story and how deep or shallow you “create”
them will be the depth at which you involve the reader in their part of the
tale.
Don’t cheat either your reader or yourself by only sticking with the
archetype. Be daring, be creative, be
bold.
And as always READ ON!!
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