Getting into Character
Before I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be an actor. Before I wanted to be an actor, I wanted to be a writer. And so on. These two dreams have been leapfrogging each other in my brain since my first performance in a Christmas pageant–at age five, I believe–which was also around the time I learned to write full sentences and began filling my mother’s unused recipe books with stories. Of course, the stories are indecipherable now, enthusiastic as I was to write them, and all that’s left of that first pageant is a picture of me in a grass skirt with a garland lei around my neck (our class sang Mele Kalikimaka and hula-ed along with the voice of Bing Crosby).
Of course, ultimately there is little difference between the two desires. I wanted to tell stories, one way or another. They could be my stories or somebody else’s, but the basic impulse was the same. So now I am able to take my knowledge of acting and the theater and apply it to my writing.
For example, I am currently working on a piece that contains two distinct characters, each with a unique voice. Sometimes, separating the voices is incredibly difficult; I am, after all, always the same writer. But I am not always the same character. I find I can use my theatrical training to assume my character’s personality before sitting down to write. If you were a fly on the wall in my living room as I do this, you might think I’m crazy (I’m certain my cat does), watching me pace back and forth, eyes closed, finding that character inside my brain. It’s exactly what I used to do before a performance–centering myself, finding the right energy–and sometimes, as in a performance, I find a little bit of costuming adds an extra kick.
Of course, this doesn’t always work. Sometimes it works, but the effects are short-term. The further the character is from my own personality, the more effort is required. Failure is always an option. Some characters have to be pitched or revamped so I can write them better.
I’m sure all fiction writers have some sort of process of getting into character. They might not put on makeup or stiletto heels to feel like the character in question, but there has to be something that shifts their brains into the writing mindset or steers them toward their character’s head space. I want to know what that is. What pushes you into your character’s brain? Is the character already in you? I’m not talking about the character who is you–we all write those, I’m sure–but the character whose thinking might not be your thinking. How do you get there?
I’m not sure it’s a good thing to admit this publically, but my characters voices are already in my head. So yeah, the voices tells me what to write.
I also think that each character I write has pieces of me in them, which I’ve heard other writers say also. Janet Fitch talked about this yesterday at her reading. At the Young Adult writing panel on Saturday, Victor Lodato described beginning to write his book (Mathilda Savitch) as having this voice of a thirteen-year-old girl in his head that had to get down on paper.
I’m very interested in what you are describing Laura. Several writers I know come from theater backgrounds. Do you find that you can use your acting techniques to change who your characters are or wants to be?
My knowledge of acting really helps me feel who the characters are instead of just formulating them logically, and it helps me distance them from myself. I’ve also found that it helps me with organizing their movements within scene, “blocking” them, so that in my head I know what the room looks like, who’s by the door, who is on the couch, and when they’ll cross stage right or stage left…things like that. It’s an interesting tool to have.
Very interesting. I’ll ask you more about this when I see you next week.
[...] same time. It’s probably also similar to switching between characters’ voices. Laura posted how she uses her drama training to accomplish just that and during Get Lit! earlier this year, Janet Fitch shared how she reads [...]
[...] to switching between characters’ voices. A while back, Laura Ender posted on Bark about how she uses her drama training to accomplish just that and during Get Lit! earlier this year, Janet Fitch shared how she reads [...]