Ask the Author: Pat Griffith
Answered Questions (2)
Pat Griffith
There are couple of ways to tackle this issue. The fun way is I put the characters in a completely ludicrous situation. Something you can't imagine ever happening. Mortal enemies being a best man at their wedding. Surprise birthday party. The crazier the better. It gets the creative juices flowing again and I have found I discover something about my characters I didn't know before. Since it is unlikely that scene will be in your story it takes the pressure off. It's just for fun.
The not fun way to do it is to just power through it. This is something I learned from doing National Novel Writing Month. Just get something down, anything. Rewrites and editing can clean it up later. But you can't edit something that doesn't exist. The NaNoWriMo deadline taught me if you make yourself write your fingers will follow. It doesn't have to be perfect it just has to to exist.
Another option would be to brainstorm all possible courses of actions. If A happens then this what follows, if B happens this is what will happen. Think of all the possible choices your character could make and try to follow through with the consequences of that action.
The not fun way to do it is to just power through it. This is something I learned from doing National Novel Writing Month. Just get something down, anything. Rewrites and editing can clean it up later. But you can't edit something that doesn't exist. The NaNoWriMo deadline taught me if you make yourself write your fingers will follow. It doesn't have to be perfect it just has to to exist.
Another option would be to brainstorm all possible courses of actions. If A happens then this what follows, if B happens this is what will happen. Think of all the possible choices your character could make and try to follow through with the consequences of that action.
Pat Griffith
For me, characters or situations just appear in my mind one day and maybe I write a paragraph or a page and then it gets filed away. A few years later I find what I wrote and start where I left off.
That is what happened in the case of my upcoming book, Linchpin. I saw a little boy and I wrote a whole page of his thoughts that has become the opening. The little boy is Jyot and I was editing a scene with him in it when he says, “I like him too.” I heard that line in my head exactly as it is spoken by another character from one of my favorite movies, Alexandra from The Fall. When I wrote that line, I knew for sure that Tarsem Sigh’s beautiful film was the inspiration of my story.
In 2008 I discovered Taresm’s movie and bought it promptly. I think I watched it daily for the better half of a month. While it was filmed in several locations all over the world, most of them were in Rajasthan, India. The landscape of that film is what I saw in my mind when Jyot first appeared. Jyot and Alexandra are very different people in very different circumstances but they are both extremely likeable and the adults that come across their path are forever changed.
After that, I did my usual thing which is to follow the characters around and record what they do. I am convinced that if I had not seen that movie, I would not be writing the story that I am today. Which is fine, there are limitless ideas in the universe but I am really happy with the story I have and grateful that my imagination took the leap it did from such a wonderful source.
Activity: Google Image-The Fall Tarsem Singh. Beautiful.
That is what happened in the case of my upcoming book, Linchpin. I saw a little boy and I wrote a whole page of his thoughts that has become the opening. The little boy is Jyot and I was editing a scene with him in it when he says, “I like him too.” I heard that line in my head exactly as it is spoken by another character from one of my favorite movies, Alexandra from The Fall. When I wrote that line, I knew for sure that Tarsem Sigh’s beautiful film was the inspiration of my story.
In 2008 I discovered Taresm’s movie and bought it promptly. I think I watched it daily for the better half of a month. While it was filmed in several locations all over the world, most of them were in Rajasthan, India. The landscape of that film is what I saw in my mind when Jyot first appeared. Jyot and Alexandra are very different people in very different circumstances but they are both extremely likeable and the adults that come across their path are forever changed.
After that, I did my usual thing which is to follow the characters around and record what they do. I am convinced that if I had not seen that movie, I would not be writing the story that I am today. Which is fine, there are limitless ideas in the universe but I am really happy with the story I have and grateful that my imagination took the leap it did from such a wonderful source.
Activity: Google Image-The Fall Tarsem Singh. Beautiful.
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