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A crazy group if ever there was one |
It works that way in a writer’s
world. Some characters that you truly
love just don’t fit with the story being told.
It works the opposite way, as well.
While working the revision of Reaping the Harvest, I needed a
character to assist Rhychard in a few scenes.
In walked his best friend from high school, Trace Wheeler, a shaggy
character who at thirty-two still lives with his widowed mother. Furthermore, some characters who were to
merely have bit parts wind up moving to the front of the show, becoming an
integral part. The hooker Rhychard saves
in Reaping, Buttercup, becomes a crucial member of the cast and will even be in
the sequel, The Lore Master. What
determines a character’s importance is the story that the author is trying to
tell and how they will move the narrative forward.
It’s the same with the story you’re
telling. Oh, not the one you’re probably
not writing, but the one you’re living.
Your life. You’ve put a script
together, goals and achievements you wish to accomplish, a destination for your
journey’s end, and as the storyteller you get to choose the characters. Some will have major parts - wife, husband,
parents, children - while others will be secondary characters, such as friends,
coworkers, and neighbors. There will
also be walk-ons, those people that appear for just a moment and then are never
seen again. Throughout the story there
will be some changing of status as secondary characters become pivotal ones and
move to center stage or insignificant and fade out, their part in your story
done. Each will provide the means to
move your story forward, solving problems, adding conflict, or providing the
comic relief.
Some you will choose while
others choose you.
And some you will have to cut as
I did Edwin’s wife, Regina. It’s sad,
but true and sometimes necessary. They
cease to move your story forward and, at times, may even be taking it in a
direction you don’t want it to go. These
are hard choices. I liked Regina. She was a great character and cutting her from
the novel was sad. (Can you tell I get
attached to my characters?) Yet, she was
a stumbling block to the main story. Are
there some in your life that are obstacles rather than bridges? If so, it may be time to cut them from your
story so that your own narrative can continue in the direction you wish it to
proceed.
Some of these cuts sadden
me. I liked the characters. They were interesting people who brightened
my narrative for awhile. However, our
tales started to venture in different directions and to keep either from
stagnating there had to be an “exit, stage left” added to our script. Like Regina, I hope to see them in another
story at some point and would welcome the reuniting of tales.
However, I’ll be honest and say that
some characters that are cut are better off left that way as their absence
makes the storyline stronger. As parents
we keep an eye out for the future criminals in our children’s lives, those
people who will take our offspring down a path of destruction. We try to surround them with positive,
uplifting influences, which will impress upon them our own moral code of
living. The same is true in our own
lives. I want to surround my family with
positive individuals and be rid of the idiots.
There is a standard we have set, and I won’t sink below it no matter
what others are doing. These cuts are
the easiest, but may still have their difficulties.
I am lucky to have the greatest
characters in my life, those friends and family members that fill the pages of
my story. They surround me with the love
and support that encourages me to fulfill my dreams. They also provide the comic relief that keeps
me from taking this life too seriously.
Together we carry each other’s story into the future, laughing and, at
times, crying, but always there for the other.
It’s your script, the story you
want to tell with your life so that as you sit on that front porch in your
rocking chair in your golden years, you’ll enjoy telling it over and over
again. It’s up to you to fill it with a
cast of characters to keep you company in your memories. So as you choose them make sure they are
people who will always bring back a smile of fond remembrance and not a pang of
regret. Furthermore, make sure you’re a
character others will want in their narrative.
After all, it’s always fun to be able to swap stories. A good script will propel you forward, but it’s
the characters that keep you reading.
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