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KATHERINE BRANDON
Gina's Alter Ego
Gina's Alter Ego
Dressing in Layers
by
Gina Ardito
by
Gina Ardito
Parents go through the ritual every year. One day the temperature drops, and the kids try to slip past in
a sweater or light jacket. Fortunately for them, they're not very good at subterfuge and we usually catch
them before they get out the door. "It's winter," I've heard myself say a thousand times. "You have to
dress in layers now."
The same goes for the characters we write. My WIPs have two seasons: summer and winter. I'm a dialogue-driven writer. So my first draft has lots of conversation. No setting, no action. Just naked people, standing (or sitting) in bare rooms, having fabulous discussions. This first draft is my summer manuscript. Layers...who needs layers? But after I reach "The End," the winter of revisions sets in and it's time to add those layers. Where to begin?
Usually I start with action and reaction: do my characters have nervous habits or tics of some kind? I go through the manuscript and find those places where my heroine would probably bite her nails. Does my hero have a temper? Let's add some fist-clenching when he's really annoyed. What happened to the cat my heroine owned? I need to throw the feline into a few scenes, sometimes for humor, sometimes because…well, because everyone knows cats are divas and insist upon bigger roles for themselves. Is my hero struggling to quit smoking? Maybe in a crucial scene, someone lights a cigarette and the smell affects my hero, in a positive or negative way. All the gestures--shrugs, head shakes, floor pacing, body language--make their way onto the pages now.
Okay, I've deepened my characters, made them more human and, hopefully, more appealing to a reader. What else do I need? Settings would be nice. Scarlett and Rhett had Tara, Rick and Ilsa spent their time in Rick's Café Américain, Harry Potter attends Hogwarts. My characters need the right atmosphere to set their stage. Where does their story take place? When? While a contemporary romance requires less description than a medieval romance, in both cases, my characters need props, furniture, things to do with their hands and feet. They'll eat, sleep, drink, travel, have downtime. I also have to add the five senses. What do my characters hear, see, smell, taste, feel? Don't forget weather, time of day, and season. All these aspects add to the reader's experience.
The third layer adds emotion and backstory. Are there areas where my hero's reaction needs an explanation? Should I sprinkle in a little history to explain my heroine's nail-biting habit? Is the cat meowing because she's hungry? Thirsty? Or just peeved because she doesn't have enough onstage time?
Next comes sexual tension. Where can I raise the heat without paying the fuel bill? Certainly my characters must be aware of each other on a physical level. So let's go back and check those places where sparks might fly. How about that scene with the rainstorm outside? Or maybe when I've enclosed them together? Alone? In the dark? If my heroine trips over the cat and stumbles into my hero's arms, will they each feel that electricity?
The last aspect is, for me, the most difficult because it requires the most insight. I have to see what isn't already in place but needs to be. It's kind of like looking into a refrigerator and figuring out what food you don't have. Is there a secondary plot? Would the story be enriched if I added one? Are there areas of narrative that would work better as dialogue? Should the heroine own more than one cat? Would the cat work better as a dog?
The process takes time and imagination. But my characters are like my children. And in the winter of their manuscript, they don't leave the house unless they're dressed in layers.
The same goes for the characters we write. My WIPs have two seasons: summer and winter. I'm a dialogue-driven writer. So my first draft has lots of conversation. No setting, no action. Just naked people, standing (or sitting) in bare rooms, having fabulous discussions. This first draft is my summer manuscript. Layers...who needs layers? But after I reach "The End," the winter of revisions sets in and it's time to add those layers. Where to begin?
Usually I start with action and reaction: do my characters have nervous habits or tics of some kind? I go through the manuscript and find those places where my heroine would probably bite her nails. Does my hero have a temper? Let's add some fist-clenching when he's really annoyed. What happened to the cat my heroine owned? I need to throw the feline into a few scenes, sometimes for humor, sometimes because…well, because everyone knows cats are divas and insist upon bigger roles for themselves. Is my hero struggling to quit smoking? Maybe in a crucial scene, someone lights a cigarette and the smell affects my hero, in a positive or negative way. All the gestures--shrugs, head shakes, floor pacing, body language--make their way onto the pages now.
Okay, I've deepened my characters, made them more human and, hopefully, more appealing to a reader. What else do I need? Settings would be nice. Scarlett and Rhett had Tara, Rick and Ilsa spent their time in Rick's Café Américain, Harry Potter attends Hogwarts. My characters need the right atmosphere to set their stage. Where does their story take place? When? While a contemporary romance requires less description than a medieval romance, in both cases, my characters need props, furniture, things to do with their hands and feet. They'll eat, sleep, drink, travel, have downtime. I also have to add the five senses. What do my characters hear, see, smell, taste, feel? Don't forget weather, time of day, and season. All these aspects add to the reader's experience.
The third layer adds emotion and backstory. Are there areas where my hero's reaction needs an explanation? Should I sprinkle in a little history to explain my heroine's nail-biting habit? Is the cat meowing because she's hungry? Thirsty? Or just peeved because she doesn't have enough onstage time?
Next comes sexual tension. Where can I raise the heat without paying the fuel bill? Certainly my characters must be aware of each other on a physical level. So let's go back and check those places where sparks might fly. How about that scene with the rainstorm outside? Or maybe when I've enclosed them together? Alone? In the dark? If my heroine trips over the cat and stumbles into my hero's arms, will they each feel that electricity?
The last aspect is, for me, the most difficult because it requires the most insight. I have to see what isn't already in place but needs to be. It's kind of like looking into a refrigerator and figuring out what food you don't have. Is there a secondary plot? Would the story be enriched if I added one? Are there areas of narrative that would work better as dialogue? Should the heroine own more than one cat? Would the cat work better as a dog?
The process takes time and imagination. But my characters are like my children. And in the winter of their manuscript, they don't leave the house unless they're dressed in layers.