BADGE OF PAIN

by Doris McCraw (c)

You may wonder about the title of this post. I chose Badge of Pain or What Drives Our Character as the focus for this month. 

As some of you know, I come from the performing arts. I have spent years honing characters that playwrights created. I even spent six plus years teaching others the craft. The one thing an actor does is find out what makes their character 'bleed'. Not just the simple, 'mom didn't like me so...', but the deep down root of everything. It ain't always easy, but once you find it, the character you're playing comes alive. One acting coach whose concepts I've used to some degree when I am writing and performing is Ivana Chubbuck . For those who would like to hear her, here it a link to a video on her process. https://youtu.be/XOVPMV5wgv4  Or you can read her book, "The Power of the Actor".

I've also been working through Donald Maass's book "The Emotional Craft of Fiction". He also asked you to go deeper. Not just the obvious,  but take it down to the lowest level. If you start with anger, go deeper. What would be next? Frustration, embarrassment, fear, hurt. 

Characters have that one thing that keeps them from achieving their goal. Not just the outer world of conflict, but the inner world of pain. In my first novella, my main characters had pain that kept them from loving each other. It was the 'badge' they carried like a shield to keep them from taking the step to happiness. 

Each character, if you look deep enough, carries that load, and it weighs heavy on them. At the same time, to let go means they become vulnerable, they can get hurt. They would be trading a known pain for the possibility of another pain. We all do it ourselves to some degree.

So as we take our character's journey when writing, here are some tips.

1. Slow down and let yourself and readers get to know your character. Sometimes you need to take the time to really put the important scene out there, to take the time to highlight important details and actions. Not every scene, but the important ones that the reader can relate to.

2. Use body language, not just facial expressions, to convey what is going on with your character. If they are getting ready to tell someone the truth of their pain, what would they do? Would they pace, look out the window, avoid eye contact, turn their back?

3. Create tension, tease your reader, use words that draw the reader into caring. Are they going to fess up to their pain, move past it and find happiness? What happens if the don't? Dig deep, find the source of the pain and open that wound.

4. What is the moral compass of you character? How does it fit in with the pain they carry. Don't be afraid to delve into that. It adds to the depth the reader invests in the outcome. You want them to cheer for the good guy. Even the villains have a moral compass, at least most do. If you've ever read Dean Koontz's "The Watchers" you will know what I mean. Even the 'monster' brought a tear to my eye.

I leave you with a quote from Franz Kafka "A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us". Just like the actor who allows the watcher to feel emotions while remaining safe, so too can the author allow the reader to experience the pain without living through it themselves. 

Doris Gardner-McCraw -also writing as Angela Raines

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

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New Release -- RavenHawke by Deborah Macgillivray

Dragons of Challon – Book Two

When needs and desires come crashing together on a Beltaine Night, Highland magic weaves a spell of love and destiny. . .

 Lovers in a Dream . . .

Damian St. Giles has awoken with a sore head from too much drink before; only imbibing in Pictish Mead proves to be a different experience.  Once he comes to, he finds himself naked and leg-shackled to a bed post, and no idea where he is or how he got there.  When the flame-haired beauty comes to him in the moonlight, he hardly knows if she is real, or a fantasy born of his deepest desires. 

Be Careful What You Wish For . . .

Lady Aithinne Ogilvie has an urgent need to get with child to protect her lands from the greedy King Edward.  So she sends forth her brothers to fetch her a man—one to do the deed.  Instead of finding some common serf, they abduct the cousin of the feared Black Dragon—Julian Challon!  Now, she has more troubles than she can handle.  She knows she must treat this handsome stranger as little more than a stud.  Yet, she cannot deny the instant bond between them—one that speaks to her heart.

“Like a bard of old, Macgillivray spins a tale of myth and magic, sexual tension and classic captive/captor romance.”  — The Romantic Times

“Deborah Macgillivray enchants romance fans and Medieval enthusiasts alike.  As readers, watching this series unfold in the Dragons of Challon and the Ogilvie figures, we see the birth of a Medieval legend being created in today's world.”   — Medieval Book Reviews

 EXCERPT 

     He stroked her hair and then pulled her to him as he rolled, holding her close.  “So long…  I have loved you.  I had begun to think you were not real.”

     “I am real.”

     His words were low, softly spoken against her hair as he nuzzled the side of her face.  “I dreamt of you.  When I closed my eyes I wished for the dream to visit me.  Even when I did not dream, I sensed you, wanted you, craved to be near you.  So long, I nearly gave up hope of finding you.  Then I saw you, saw you were mortal.  Only, it nearly crushed me to know you would never be mine.”

     Aithinne could not speak, so awed by his heartfelt words.  A side effect of the potion he had been fed―a man could only speak honesty when under its influence.  The words he offered came from his inner heart, where all truths lived.

     “You have seen me in your dreams?”  Barely able to breathe, hope surged within her.  Could this be?  Oh, please let it be!

     He leaned halfway over her, wrapping his thigh over hers as if to anchor her, make sure she did not slip away from him.  Rubbing his cheek along her jawline, he nuzzled her as a cat would.  “Since I became a knight.  Before my dubbing, I spent the night in reflection.  Fighting exhaustion, I prayed long into the dark hours of morn for God to guide me to be a knight true, and show me the path of my destiny.  A face came to me in the darkness, barely more than mist.  Details were not strong and I was so startled, I nearly lost the thread of the vision.  But I could see the eyes.  Your eyes.  I had no idea what your coming meant then.  Later, you appeared again―when I was wounded in battle, your presence visited me.  This time, my sight was clearer.  I saw your golden hair, shimmering as if kissed by fire.  When I thought I might die, you soothed my brow and told me I could not give up.  I have loved you, hunted for you.  No man could love a woman as I love you.”