What is the main character of your current WiP most afraid of and why? Don’t use a previously finished work. This is all about discovering the inner motivations of your current characters – the ones you don’t know all that well yet.
I feel a little like a cheater since my current WIP is the project I've been working on for almost 2 1/2 years. Wait. What? Has it really been that long? Okay, no more figuring out how long I've been working on this project until it's time to query. Which will be soon. Very, very soon. Ahem. Moving on.
Even with as much time as I've spent with my MC, Olivia, I had to dig pretty deep to sort out what she's most afraid of. After she loses her mother, Olivia worries a lot about being alone and losing the rest of the people who are close to her. And she has good reason to be afraid of that since the bad guy is willing to hurt anyone to get to her.
Ultimately, though, I think her greatest fear is that she won't be able to live up to the expectations she has of herself and the ones that have been placed on her by outside forces, seemingly against her will. This is compounded by the fact that she's very independent and doesn't like to rely on other people to help her, so she puts a lot of pressure on herself to just handle it, even though this isn't always a possibility. Learning to accept help from others is a big part of her character arc, so I guess it makes perfect sense that her greatest fear would tie into that. I just never really thought about it before. :)
What is the main character of your current WIP most afraid of and why?
Be sure to check out Kat's post tomorrow. :)
I'm still not sure how to handle this question. But it is good to think about what are character is most afraid of instead of those incidental fears they may have. Great answer!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think I know what my answer would be, but I probably need to review the ms to see if that fear/need drives her decisions enough.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all empathize with Olivia's fears to some point. The outside world puts a lot of pressure on us, but we do that to ourselves too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I totally see that. But then, Olivia's pretty hard on herself.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the MC in my current WiP most scared of? The Silagree!
Eh, don't feel too bad about how long you've been working on your WIP. I'm in the same boat with you (and sometimes I feel like the Captain LOL). Nice answer though. It's evident you gave this some good thought.
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to your MC!
ReplyDeleteMy MC is most afraid of not being accepted, although I'm not sure to what extent she knows it.
ReplyDeleteI love reading these posts - and hearing all the comments. :D
ReplyDeleteMichelle: Thanks! I was surprised by how difficult it was to answer.
ReplyDeleteKaren: I'm doing the same thing right now. :)
Sandra: I didn't realize how universal that fear might be, but I guess that's a good thing. :)
Jade: Yea! The Silagree! Aren't you done with that yet? ;)
Captain Eric: This boat really needs to hurry up and get to it's destination already. As the captain, I'm holding you responsible for any delays. ;)
Cole: Yeah, me too. :)
Plamena: I don't think our characters need to recognize their fears for them to impact the story. :)
Christine: Me too. :)
Oooh, that's a lot of pressure--not wanting to disappoint others and not feeling comfortable asking for help for fear of losing independence. Poor Olivia!
ReplyDeleteNice post!
I found Olivia's fears to be those I've struggled with myself at points. She sounds like a very interesting character.
ReplyDeleteOlivia sounds like a really intriguing character. Awesome answer :)
ReplyDelete