Fear and characters

Julie Gray over at the always fine blog The Rouge Wave weighs in with a timely subject today — “So Much Fear, So Little Time:

So what are you worried about right now? Swine flu? Money? Relationships or lack of them? Your kids? Terrorism, global warming, your health, closing factories, the government? I find the world is growing more and more alarming — and alarmist. Every day I read the headlines and I think oh man, am I getting old or is stuff accelerating in negative ways? Am I shining a rose colored light on a few years back when I was younger or is stuff happening in our world that is rising in intensity? So much to fear, so little time.

What does fear have to do with writing? I’ve posted about it here re the writer confronting the ever-daunting blank page. But Julie goes further, making a great point about fear as it relates to characters:

Think about what you are worried about or anxious about and how you cope with that and ask yourself what your main character feels about the news of the day. Does your main character live in anxiety or blow it off? Do they drink or smoke it away? How evolved is your main character on a personal level? How do they deal with conflict and personal management? Do they get lonely in a crowd? Do they have a savings account? Are they worried about that strange new mole? Give your character the same details that we all have.

That reminds me of the observation by screenwriter Robert Towne that one of the best ways to zero in the essence of a character is to ask them, “What are you afraid of?” Find out what they fear. 

It’s a great point and one that, like Julie says, can elevate a two-dimensional character into a multidimensional one. And as a big bonus, create specific, vivid moments like this one:

In a Scrubs episode a million years ago, Zach Braff coped [with fear] by being in a bubble bath, surrounded by candles and singing Toto’s Africa at the top of his lungs. It was hilarious, it was specific and it was real.

So don’t be afraid of… well, being afraid. Whatever fears you have, you can explore in the context of your characters — and in so doing, open them up as flesh-and-blood people.

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