Blurred Lines
Some writers just instinctively know what a character needs in order to work. Some characters don’t need research, while some need a more in-depth look, a deep dive into their lives and motivations.
As I write about various characters with complex medical histories or with specific back stories, I need to do my research. When writing crime, I use a police officer contact to ensure that I have all of the police procedures as close to real as possible. Yes, it is fiction and of course, you can be loose with the truth, but for me personally, I like to be closer to real life where I can. When I do autopsy scenes, I contact a professional in that field, as in-depth questions help me understand the information and enable me to write realistically about it. I’ve even been to a crime scene (just a run of the mill burglary) but I shadowed the crime scene tech with my notebook asking questions. It was a fun morning. For one book that I’m writing (on the back burner.) I interviewed police, a lovely man from search and rescue and police working out in remote communities. It’s all about the questions that you ask.
How does writing about trauma help you deal with reality? They say life imitates art, so when does writing a character or a story line blur the lines between fiction and reality and how does this affect the writer? Everything we do in our lives affects us, it leaves a mark or a stain, so why can’t we use those marks to write interesting and multi-layered characters?
With the amount of people worldwide who suffer from depression, it’s only natural, for me, that this issue may colour some of my writing, settle in with some of my characters and that is fine by me. Having suffered from depression since I was a teenager, I feel that my personal experience helps me write unique characters, with their own life choices based around how they feel. So, how does writing about a character with depression affect me? Writing, to me, is all about honesty. Whether it be good, bad or ugly, the truth is the truth.
Writing has always been as escape for me. No matter what was going on in my life, I could always write and sometimes even write about what was going on in my life. I have many stories on my hard drive that reflect difficult times in my life and I’m guessing that I’m not the only one. The story goes where it wants to go and sometimes that place may be dark and painful, but I’ll always come out the other side. Will my characters though?
Writing is hard, don’t let anyone tell you any different. You invest so much of yourself into the characters, those words, your life experiences. It helps you create an in-depth, multi-faceted character that is believable to yourself and your readers. Well-written characters are the backbone of any great book, and your projection of them needs to be perfect.
Kirsty x