Weak Characters

I was asked the question, what do you do with weak characters? As I have thought on the question I've found myself stumped.

We've all seen them, those characters who are a part of the story but have no backbone, they have a desire to join in but their ultimate end goal is unachievable because of their willingness to do whatever anyone else tells them to do.  They want to be a part of the action, they want to participate in the action but they are far too weak to do so; the question arises in the mind of the author what do you do with these characters?  Can a weak character be written in such a way that they don't turn into a minion?  Can they be incorporated into the story without making them annoying?  My answer? Maybe.

A character can always learn to not be weak, they can become physically stronger through training, cyborg parts, ninja school, whatever depending on your genre.  However, how does one make a mentally weak person stronger? There is the age old remedy of give them struggles until they overcome, let them suffer mercilessly until they either bend or break.  The problem is that if you've ever been a writer you will understand that until you spend time inside a character's head it is hard to know if they would even change.  You can write the greatest character in the world thinking they'll achieve greatness but when you spend time inside of their head and suddenly discover they're mentally weak, incapable of changing their desires because they can't seem to let go of the need to please someone else.  Suddenly you're faced with a conflict, do you keep the character and force change, which betrays the character in every way, or do you let them go on fluttering in the wind?

It's hard to know what do with those characters because, just as in real life, if someone isn't willing to grow a back bone they're always going to subject themselves to the stronger willed and giving up their own desires to please someone else.  So I ask the question what do you do with those characters?  Sometimes they serve a purpose in story telling, every story occasionally needs the mindless drone- the stormtroopers of story telling- but what do you do when the character is just there?  What do you do when they become annoying?  My knee jerk reaction is usually, "kill them".  I'm a firm believer in the strong survive the weak die and being a sci-fi/fantasy writer myself I find that methods is much more effective but how does a writer not constantly do this?  How can the weak survive, serve a purpose, and still be meaningful to the story?  I guess I don't have a good answer, so dear readers the question goes to you.  What do you do?

My daughter's eyes

My daughter has been sick today, my heart just aches for her; like every other mother I wish I could take away her illness and be sick in her place but alas the world just doesn't work that way.  I've wiped many runny noses, changed several smelly diapers, wiped away some tears, offered snuggles and songs as well as watched MANY cartoons she likes.  It's taxing, I'm loving it and hating it all at the same time but as my daughter sleeps so soundly in my arms trusting me to protect her I realize I don't need anything else. I look at those sleeping eyes and know that if I never make a small fortune, become the world's best teacher, get a book published, buy a new home/car/furniture, or make a national appearance as a writer that is okay.  As I look at those sleeping eyes my soul tells me all I'll ever need, and all I've ever needed, is right here.  My forever is in those eyes and how could I ever want for more?  Love may be bigger than we understand but right now, for me, love is sleeping soundly in my arms.

Hello my name is Be Careful what's yours?

As I was cooking dinner tonight I was looking over into the living room at my very busy beautiful 9 month old and watched as she tore through several of her toys and made her way over to the TV stand.  We mounted the TV on wall months ago in order to prevent a fall accident but the stand still supports our Xbox & PlayStation; for the millionth time I heard myself saying "Be careful!"  I couldn't help but laugh at myself a little because I find I say "Be careful!" more than I say her name.  I can only imagine the conversation she and the cat would have in their own language:

Baby, "Hello, my name is Be Careful what's yours?"

Cat, "My name is get down, run away!  Nice to meet you!"

As I giggled on, I'm incredibly tired and loopy so it struck my funny bone just right, I realized that we all have our "Be Careful" phrases.  In conversation we repeat words that are fillers, my own is the word so, and we use them to fill space or to allow time for our brains to catch up to our mouths.  

Then I came to the realization that I also have those filler phrases, or words, in my writing.  How often do I use a word or a phrase as just a way of just putting ink on a blank page?  When I'm writing my rough drafts is it just full of filler words?  What are my filler words and phrases?  How do I fix them? I need to dig deeper into my own vernacular to create more meaningful writing rather than creating a mindless drone of repetition.  So for now as I contemplate my own stories, here is hoping I haven't unknowingly given them the title of "Be Careful!"

I'm missing my muse

Before I start this post let me just get this out of the way- when I am referring to a muse I am not referring to a band or thought process I am referring to it in this way (thanks to dictionary.com for the definition, never let it be said that I didn't cite my sources!):

muse- the goddess or the power regarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker, or the like.

On to the post!!

I first heard of the idea of a muse in high school, we were studying Shakespeare and he called upon the muse to help him in his writing.  The teacher explained that the muses would come to artists, writers, performers, etc and offer inspiration for their work.  For whatever reason, maybe it's because of my religious background, I really gravitated to this concept that our ideas don't always come from us; that sometimes there is a higher power inspiring us in our work.  Although I do think that a lot of my ideas have come from my own brain there are definitely times where something will pop into my head and I silently thank my muse.  Sometimes I have even felt as if someone or something is speaking to my mind giving me the ideas, courage, strength, or motivation to carry on with my writing.  It's a rather surreal thought process and some might call me crazy for it but I truly believe that sometimes you need that extra help carry on in the creative process.

Well I confess, I haven't written on my book in about 2 weeks.  Ugh right?!  Yes I could blame it on the plethora of activities I've had going on lately but I know it has boiled down to my laziness.  My desire to have time where I can burn, rather than use, my brain cells.  Movies, video games, tv shows, Pinterest, Facebook, all are perpetrators in the loss of good writing time.  Sure everyone is entitled to that time, I'm sure even the greatest of writers took a break once in a while to re-focus, but my re-focus just keeps getting fuzzier and fuzzier.  I need motivation, I need a push, I need focus!!   Shakespeare did it, and although I'll never be as great as Shakespeare, I think I'll steal a trick from his book: my muse please help me! Bring me inspiration, bring me strength, bring me motivation!  Oh and muse, if you're super cool you could bring me an Oreo shake. I realize that might be a tall order for just a spirit, goddess, or power so if there's no icecream-y goodness involved I'm okay with just the other stuff!