So, after posting yesterday's prompt, I came across this blog post by Veronica Roth, author of Divergent. It's all about knowing a character vs. knowing about a character. She shared a quote from Marilynne Robinson, who said:
"There is a great difference in fiction and in life between knowing someone and
knowing about someone. When a writer
knows about his character he is writing
for plot. When he knows his character he is writing to
explore, to feel reality on a set of nerves somehow not quite his own."
I think that explained for me why I can understand my characters more when I got back and write a scene from earlier in their lives (earlier than when they enter my story, I mean). I can list their physical attributes, their birthplace, their jobs, etc ... but it's not until I put myself in their place and experience their reality that I start to understand who they are and how they'll behave in the context of my book.
There's no new prompt to go along with this one ... just an interesting thought.
Now go read "Divergent" and let me know what you think of it. :-)
