Muse Food – A Ship In Harbor
One of my favorite sayings is
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”
(attributed to John A. Shedd).
I remember that saying when I’m writing a scene, a scene that will make my characters uncomfortable. Characters in stories aren’t meant to be comfortable. Comfortable beings don’t take extreme actions, actions that we expect characters in great stories to take.
Make your characters uncomfortable. Push them out of their safety zone. Get that ship in the sea.
(grins)
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Muse Food – Monkeys Eating Pringles And Sharing Our Treats
(The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I encountered this monkey eating Pringles in Malaysia.)
A human is trekking through the forest and they encounter a cute little creature.
They want to interact with this creature. So they reach into their pack, take out candy or chips/crisps or chocolate and they then offer this treat to the creature.
This happens often in books and in movies, whether that forest is on Earth or in Space.
We share our treats, the foods that taste good to us, hoping we’ll make a connection. It is our way of saying “I want to be friends.” We do this with people and we do this with other living things.
How would the main character in your story try to make friends?
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Muse Food – The Presents We Give
Tis the season for giving and receiving presents or gifts.
(smiles)
The presents we give often say more about us than the presents we receive.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby, for example, loves to give food as presents because he loves feeding people. He loves taking care of his loved ones, ensuring they are okay at least food-wise. And he sees meals as a social event.
A protective hero, as another example, might give gifts that allow him to safeguard his loved ones. He’d give the car-free heroine limo vouchers so she never has to walk home in the dark. Or he’d give his warrior heroine a state-of-the-art shield to defend herself. Or he’d give his scientist heroine the best protective eyewear available.
What is your hero or heroine giving their loved ones?
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Muse Food – A Safe Place To Land
During the summer, I’d often find butterflies (like this Monarch) and bees resting on the zinnia flowers. Those flowers are fairly large, they have plenty of smaller petals to burrow into or hold onto, they are in the sun, they have a lot of pollen (i.e. snacks) and they feel…safe.
Does the main character in your story have a safe place? WHY is that their safe place? And what would happen if that safe place was taken away from them?
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Muse Food – Ledaal, Norway And Introducing Characters
Our first sight of Ledaal, a magnificent historical Royal home in Stavanger, Norway took our breaths away.
The long pathway, the framing of the trees, the gates (not shown in the photo), all of it was carefully designed to do exactly that. It wasn’t accidental. It was orchestrated to relay awe and wonder.
We, writers, should be as deliberate and careful when we introduce heroes and heroines and other key characters in our stories. First impressions are lasting impressions. And this is as true on the page as it is in real life.
How do you want your characters to be perceived?
Ensure a reader’s first meeting with them reflects that.
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The TV Series Versailles And A Cast Of Thousands
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about the TV series Versailles and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this historical drama TV series, especially the first season of it, you might wish to skip this post.
I’ve recently been enjoying Versailles, a historical drama TV series inspired by some of Louis XIV’s life. I’ve completed the first season.
And stars, I’m emotionally invested.
This is despite the showing having a HUGE cast and the similarity of how the characters look (all white, all in that period’s clothing, having that period’s hairstyles, etc.).
I believe this is because of how uniquely every character acts and thinks and how consistent they are regarding this.
Louis XIV and the Duke Of Orleans are brothers, for example.
But we know that Louis XIV will always make decisions based on what he believes will result in the greatness of himself and of France. He is also always aware that people want to harm and kill him. He’s paranoid about betrayal and he has good reason to be so.
The Duke Of Orleans has been betrayed also. But his default is trust. Because he has been raised to trust in the monarchy and in the King’s (in this case, his brother’s) decisions. This results in him trusting a loved one who, time and time again, betrays that trust.
These two very different approaches to life impacts their behaviors and their thinking.
Louis XIV acts quickly and decisively. He doesn’t ‘talk.’ He commands.
The Duke Of Orleans will defer to others. He is unlikely to act without support or consensus. He listens more than he talks.
And because he knows he has support, he isn’t overly worried about being assassinated. He ‘trusts’ other will keep him safe.
That’s great character building.
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