It is so hard to only pick one character from the many I have created, but I’ll choose Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, the protagonist of my latest book, Bitter Greens. She was a 17th century French writer who wrote one of the earliest versions of Rapunzel while locked up in a convent as punishment for her scandalous life. I was drawn to ehr story because of my love of fairytale retellings, and because I am interested in the lives of women writers.
What kind(s) of character do you consider this character primarily to be, or how would you describe this character?
Charlotte-Rose longs for a self-determined life where she can write what she pleases and love who she pleases – which was always my own life ambition.
What is a character from a published fiction story by another author you would compare this character to and why are they similar?
Perhaps the major character in Sarah Dunant’s ‘Birth of Venus’, a book about a girl in Renaissance times who longs to be an artist.
To what extent did you use any pre-existing character formula, template, paradigm, character design, archetype, or theory or principles of making or analysing character in planning, writing, and refining this character?
None at all. I read her works, studied the historical period, and imagined her to life.
How would you describe the first chapter, scene or section of this story in one paragraph?
Charlotte-Rose de la Force finds herself banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, sent to a poor convent in the country where she must now live. She remembers her much-hated guardian warning her to keep a lock on her tongue and wishes she had followed his advice.
Pick one of your published stories. How would you describe the introduction of the main character, or one of the main characters, in this story?
In a children’s book of mine, I introduced the protagonist in the first line: ‘Hannah Rose Brown was not quite thirteen years old when she discovered her family was cursed.’
What makes this an effective character introduction for this story?
It tells us straight away that this book is a children’s fantasy novel, and hopefully hooks the reader right in.
What major changes does this character go through, or what major challenges does the character encounter and how does the character respond to them?
In the beginning of the book, Hannah is sullen and unhappy, but over the course of her adventures, grows in self-understanding, makes friends and re-discovers her father.
How would you describe the most important minor characters in this story and the changes in their character, or the challenges they encounter and how the respond them?
There are a number of minor characters in the book, including Hannah’s mother, who comes to realise that the world is more mysterious and magical than she could ever have imagined, and Hannah’s father, who is released from captivity and reunited with his family.
What does the story gain from the minor characters?
Depth, drama, humour, pathos, joy.
To what extent would you describe the characters in this story as typical or atypical of characters in your fiction stories?
Hannah is actually quite a typical heroine of mine, being strong-willed, red-haired, quick-witted and sharp-tongued.
Author website: http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/
No comments:
Post a Comment