Through a Character's Eyes

As I've been working on my WIP--a novel--I've tried to channel a 12-year-old boy. A 12-year-old black boy almost a hundred years ago. It may sound weird, but as I write, I kind of let my mind get unfocused as I imagine what a young man would say and think during the various parts of the story. In the end, if I've done a decent job, he won't sound like an old woman with breasts-that-have-turned-into-divining-rods me. Instead, he'll sound like a kid with a heap of worries and a bunch of hope.

That's Mrs. Wright--on the left. The woman on her right was her student teacher
the year I had Mrs. Wright as a teacher.

The importance of perspective made me chuckle recently.  A few weeks ago I was thrilled to hear that a letter I wrote to a former teacher (Anne Wright) is going to be published in an educational journal. The National Council of Teachers of English's journal is called Voices from the Middle.
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I wanted Mrs. Wright to know how I'd honored her, so even though it had been more than forty years since I'd been her student, I tracked her down. (She's 80-something now.) I sent her a copy of what I'd submitted and several days later, we talked on the phone for almost an hour.

She said, "That was the best Christmas present I received," which warmed my heart, However, she also said, "The only part that bothered me was when  you described my hair as 'Brillo-gray.' My hair still isn't gray. If I didn't dye it, it'd be salt and pepper."

We chatted about the use of exaggeration in a story to make a point, but it was more than that. I actually thought of Mrs. Wright as old. Her hair was perfectly coiffed--every day--in a style that screamed ancient and out of touch (from my perspective). Her double knit dresses, her sensible, low heels made her an old lady in my eyes.

And what kind of character was I in those days? I was rebellious--I was the head of an underground newspaper. I was unconventional. I lived in overalls and moccasins, no matter what the season. And I was unconcerned with other people's opinions of me. I went without make up and my hair was never fussed over--I wore it parted in the middle, letting it fall as it did naturally.

This is me as a high school senior. Notice the overall straps...

When we create a character, we have to imagine how they feel and how they see the world. I saw Mrs. Wright as an old lady but in actuality, she was in her early 40's back then. I could have changed my description of her when writing my letter, but that wouldn't have been true to the narrator. That wouldn't have been true to who I was back then.

How about you? What kind of character are you now, or used to be? And if you're writing fiction, who's your favorite character?

Sioux Roslawski, before the above photo was taken, used to be Susan and Sue before she fully blossomed into the character she is today. She's currently shopping her manuscript (when she's not teaching middle-schoolers) and is keeping her fingers crossed. If you'd like to read more of Sioux's work, check out her blog.