The Secret to Writer’s Block: Nature Post 2

Literary Legends

of the Fall: 

 

Inspiration from the Changing Leaves to Help Develop Your Characters

I live in Jacksonville, Florida where we basically have two seasons: insanely hot and not so hot. The not so hot lasts for about four weeks and is usually interspersed by other insanely hot days. There is no gradual trend to cool and maybe a day or two of actual cold. I don’t even think we had a frost last year... Needless to say, we don’t usually get the privilege of seeing the beauty of leaves changing throughout the fall. So when my husband and I travel and get to see that vibrant display of nature, I absolutely love it. The oranges, yellows, reds, and browns are lovely together. Of course, if you happen to live in a place that actually has four seasons, you know that the leaves changing also means the end of summer and the beginning of a sometimes brutal winter.

So what does this have to do with character development? Just like the leaves changing, our characters often change over the course of our stories. In fact, this change is usually vital to making our characters dynamic and interesting. Personally, my favorite characters are ones that appear “green” at the start of a novel and change into something deeper or darker while not completely losing their underlying structure (see what I did there?).

Let me give you an example of when I used the fall leaves to give me the inspiration to break through writer’s block when I was writing “Arriving Through Time”. One of the main characters, Gary, experiences a dramatic change in behavior and personality after encountering life changing lessons along the course of the story. I didn’t want Gary’s evolution to be predictable or sudden. I wanted the readers to kind of hate him in the beginning and then almost root for him at the end. More importantly though, I wanted this change to be gradual, natural, and to make sense.

My first attempt at writing his character didn’t work out. I just couldn’t figure out how to get the gradual change to make sense. I had a great start, but I kept getting stuck on the ending and the path of the journey to get there. I was home visiting my family for the holidays when I was working on this dilemma. I decided I needed a little distraction, so I decided to go for a walk. (In my “a walk to inspire” blog post, I talk about my use of taking a walk as a great distraction from writer’s block). So, I grabbed the leashes for my brother-in-law’s Pomeranians and the three of us set out to clear our heads.

While walking, we passed by several pine trees, a few magnolias, and some other trees that remained green in December. But as we came to the end of the street, we approached a giant oak tree. While half of the leaves were still green, the others were varying shades of yellows and oranges. The dogs (having tiny legs and needing a break) both decided to plop down to rest on the bed of leaves that had already fallen to the ground. While I waited for the dogs to catch their breath, I admired the range of colors - from brown to gold to bright orange and then back to brown. That’s when I had an epiphany. Leaves don’t just change in one linear and identical pattern. Some change a lot, some change a little, and some change back.

That was exactly what I needed for Gary. His evolution was not linear - it was dynamic! We returned from our walk and I immediately started writing again. I realized that although Gary was changing, it didn’t mean that his old personality traits were completely dead or gone. They were still there and he could change back just like the leaves. This inspiration from the leaves let me break through my writer’s block and develop Gary’s character into what I think was a development that made sense and flowed more naturally.

Character development is one of the most important and challenging aspects of writing. As authors, we become attached to our characters and we want our readers to love (or hate) them as much as we do.

So next time you experience writer’s block when developing your characters, break through with a little inspiration from the leaves changing and the fall season!

I hope that these ideas help you to break through! 

Found a great source of inspiration that worked for you? Let me know!

Still getting writer’s block?  Tell me how I can help!

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