Characters viewed as archetypes can be seen as facets of the protagonist’s personality come to greet her or him in the journey towards achieving a goal.
Operating as archetypes, the characters present aspects of the protagonist’s psyche, dimensions of her or his mind and soul.
Engagement with the supporting cast then becomes a spiritual battle fought on an earthly plane. Through endurance the major character undergoes both psychological and/or spiritual rebirth in the quest to attain her or his goal.
A spiritual quest to achieve a physical goal. This is the essence of any good story.
Envisioning characters as holding transforming and catalytic energies allows the writer to integrate the celestial and mundane worlds of the protagonist, the yearnings of the heart with the basic needs of survival in a way that the reader can not only understand, but identify with our major character, her or his fears, and their the needs.
Are you drawn to writing dialogue or prose?
How much time do you spend identifying your character’s psychological and/or spiritual needs and desires?
I am a character driven writer, so I often ponder their needs and desires on all levels throughout the course of the story. For me, characters drive the story, so I am constantly thinking about their inner struggles, goals, hopes, and dreams, and how those shape their external motions.
.-= LaTessa´s last blog ..NaNoWriMo 2009 =-.
The great thing about looking to your characters for the answers to plot, ie what they will do next when an obstacle appears or an antagonist ambushes is that the response feels real and authentic, human and plastic or cliche’d. Plot flows out of the personality of our characters when then thickens the plot, ie amplifies the conflict and drama, all of which makes for interesting reading with which readers can identify–ie a page turner.
Thanks so much for sharing.