Muse issues|With Hector and Jane

[JANE EYRE]

Hey everyone, I've been having trouble with two of my characters, Jane Eyre and Hector Tormei and all the usual tricks and suggestions for getting the muse going haven't been working. With Jane, I've been having general muse problems in that it's just really hard to write as her. I've the balancing the extremes with her, super shy and super proper, and haven't been able to balance in the in between. With Hector on the other hand, ever since doing a really fun thread with Irene Adler, he's been angry. Very, very, very angry; whenever I try to write as him now, it's always wrathful which is why I've been holding off on him. He's in several threads where anger and cruelty aren't relevent or neccessary to the thread but that's all that's coming out for him.

Help?

[yolanda7h]

I feel your pain. I have that issue with...actually all of my characters from time to time. LOL Too emo, too rowdy and ridiculous, or too 'mad at the world' lol. This is probably something you've heard before but when that happens to me, I really try to figure out what its like to chill and do nothing but talk with my character

I mean everyone, as human beings, have their own extremes and no one is like that 24/7. So with my characters I try to figure out what they're like if they're just kicking back, chilling with a good friend of theirs lol. Trying to figure out what would take their mind off of whats causing that extreme....(whatever's making them real shy or really pissed off), and how they would act just letting it go for a little bit.

Also, that helps me really imagine these characters as human with a variety of temperaments. Hmmm....

How about you try writing a little free write in word and come up with a reaction scenario for these kind of situations:


1) The character doing something mundane like picking out clothes for the day or buying something from a store and make a monologue out of it

2) The character reacting to a tv show or movie or book YOU'VE seen or know well. maybe you can do this once or twice with different types...comedy, drama, etc

3) Make a monologue when the character is bored and is trying to find something to do

I dunno, my feeling is that if you work through these scenarios you MIGHT be able to find some middle ground with these characters and not just write them as one extreme emotion or demeanor. These scenarios are just very normal things that everyone has done, that don't require you to ponder on being a *certain* way. Just gotta trust yourself in the fact that you know the character well (which you do ), and anything you write will be just a natural reaction in that character's voice.

*shrug* Hope that helps.

[cuervo]

I have to admit that I sometimes have this problem with Mercutio I've had my muse about me lately, but I went through a period where it was hard. He is a challenge to write. Thanks Yolanda for the advice as I'll probably take it as well.

I'd like to add that we do have a new prompt in the brainstorm section...not sure if the prompts have helped you or interested you in any way, but they're fun to do! rewrittencity.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=brainstorm&action=display&thread=1854

I'll remind you that there is a personal reflections subboard and you could consider writing a journal/diary for any of your characters. The entries could be about anything, so they wouldn't have to be dark or extreme.

Adding on the the scenario game...why not play some little games with your characters? Such as Would You Rather? I play it with myself when I'm bored, and if you play it with your characters it might make them feel more human to you

Would you rather...

Be caught in heavy rainfall or be caught in heavy traffic?

Kiss a donkey's ass or kiss a monkey's mouth?

Trip up the stairs or down the stairs?

Marry your first cousin or be sold to an old Indian guy?

Stay two weeks in a haunted mansion or stay five days in a creepy deserted cabin in the middle of nowhere?

Etc etc...make them as mundane or wacky as you wish.

Hope your muse improves soon

[hal]

Thanks for all of the ideas. I think I'll do all the of the above. I'll go ahead and check out the prompt and tinker around with some other things.

[hal]

The shop was empty, his men were torturing a snitch in the back room, and all Hector could do to pass the time is pick bits of skin and dried blood off his fingernails. He had given the traitorous bastard an introductory course in payback before handing it off to his researchers. Even with the help of an iron pipe and a leather apron, Hector had managed to get gore all over his favorite shoes and under his nails.

The shoes he fixed by handing them over to a lackey for cleaning but the nails were a problem he had to care too personally. And he had to take care of them quickly before they started sending sickly sweet fumes into the air. Hector didn't need the stench of decay to infest the front of his bookstore.

"Hey boss," Ivan, a reseacher leaned in from the back room. "He isn't talking. Thought that you'd like to give it a go,"

Hector sighed pinched the bridge of his nose, not minding the fact that they were blood spattered.

"Use a blow torch," Hector dropped his hand from his face and went back to picking at his nails. He didn't even glance at Ivan; Hector didn't want to get dirty again so Ivan would have to take care of it. Hector trusted Ivan to do a good job with the snitch since he always did but sometimes he needed help. Of course, he deferred to his boss, him whenever he needed help since Hector had ten years of experience on him.

"The big one?"

Hector shook his head. "Small one. Focus on the fingers, then the soles of the feet. If that doesn't work, I'll deal with him personally later,"

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This was for Yols's #3. It isn't a monologue and it's still centered on violence XE Hopefully, if I do enough of these, this Hector will go away until I need him.

[hamlet]

That was a really good freewrite though, even if it was intense.

Next time though, try having *nothing* happen. Like make the situation so mundane that you or I could walk in and nothing would seem out of the ordinary lol. Here I felt you kind of set yourself up to be intense with the torture scene happening in the background. Set yourself up with a clean slate.

But i like your details in that one! Very vivid.

[hal]

I know. I'm going to try again a little later, I'm all out of ideas at the moment but I'm not going to give up. We can't let an Elite stagnate.