Open Up & Let Them In!

[Paul Whybrow]

Several of us have commented that being a writer spoils the pleasure of being a reader. We’re constantly examining the author’s technique, finding ideas to steal to adapt to our work and, maybe, feeling intimidated and inadequate.

It’s impossible when reading, to not wonder how much the author’s opinions are revealed by their characters. There are various terms used for this, such as mouthpiece, surrogate and stand-in. More writerly is a chorus character which dates back to Ancient Greek plays in which one of the functions of the chorus was to comment on the action.

Ayn Rand uses the character of John Galt to speak rambling monologues to expound her theories on Objectivism in Atlas Shrugged. J.K. Rowling has said that Hermione Granger was based on herself as a girl, and various other characters in the Harry Potter series had their origins in people she knew.

Harry Potter: The Real-Life Inspirations Behind J.K. Rowling's Characters

Such self-insertion can lead to the author appearing in idealised form. Stan Lee turned up in cameos in the Marvel comics. Philip K. Dick named a major character after himself in Radio Free Albemuth. W. Somerset Maugham writes The Razor’s Edge as a minor character drifting in and out of the story making comments about the actions of the key players.

We previously discussed You In Your Book, but, how much do you express your own attitudes towards things by what your protagonist says and does?

My crime series is set in Cornwall. The main character is the son of a farmer, who sold the family farm to become a copper. Plots often include rural crime. The new story features, as a sub-plot, an arsonist torching barns in the night. It’s impossible not to mention Brexit: my detective’s attitudes reflect my own.

I’ve reflected who I am by my characters commenting on loyalty, assisted suicide, violence, sexuality, illegal immigration, slavery, human trafficking and drug laws.

How much do you let readers in to who you are through your stories?

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Voice says a lot. Choice of story theme says something else. Beyond that, I don't want to be seen or heard. It's my challenge to make sure I'm not.
Any whiff of a story being used as a vehicle for OPINION I'm out. Even if it is, I had better not detect it.

 

[Steve C]

I think all writing comes from within and the experiences we've had. It's unavoidable. All the characters in my novel come from my past, mished and mashed for sure but I don't believe it is possible to invent characters. Stories yes they can be made up but the people in them reflect the writer.

 

[RNMunn]

I have to admit that in one of my books, my MC made an internal comment about how he hated when they hassled him to get a loyalty punch card at his favorite coffee shop. All he wanted was to get his coffee and go. I tend to think that way a lot You can ask me once, but don't try to push it on me if I say 'No thank you'.

 

[E G Logan]

Several of us have commented that being a writer spoils the pleasure of being a reader. We’re constantly examining the author’s technique, finding ideas to steal to adapt to our work and, maybe, feeling intimidated and inadequate.

It’s impossible when reading, to not wonder how much the author’s opinions are revealed by their characters. There are various terms used for this, such as mouthpiece, surrogate and stand-in. More writerly is a chorus character which dates back to Ancient Greek plays in which one of the functions of the chorus was to comment on the action.

Ayn Rand uses the character of John Galt to speak rambling monologues to expound her theories on Objectivism in Atlas Shrugged. J.K. Rowling has said that Hermione Granger was based on herself as a girl, and various other characters in the Harry Potter series had their origins in people she knew.

Harry Potter: The Real-Life Inspirations Behind J.K. Rowling's Characters

Such self-insertion can lead to the author appearing in idealised form. Stan Lee turned up in cameos in the Marvel comics. Philip K. Dick named a major character after himself in Radio Free Albemuth. W. Somerset Maugham writes The Razor’s Edge as a minor character drifting in and out of the story making comments about the actions of the key players.

We previously discussed You In Your Book, but, how much do you express your own attitudes towards things by what your protagonist says and does?

My crime series is set in Cornwall. The main character is the son of a farmer, who sold the family farm to become a copper. Plots often include rural crime. The new story features, as a sub-plot, an arsonist torching barns in the night. It’s impossible not to mention Brexit: my detective’s attitudes reflect my own.

I’ve reflected who I am by my characters commenting on loyalty, assisted suicide, violence, sexuality, illegal immigration, slavery, human trafficking and drug laws.

How much do you let readers in to who you are through your stories?

Or a woman...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Certainly, there are characters in my stories who don't have my opinions--after all, if every character was a reflection of me, there would be little scope for conflict (though if you sat inside my head for an hour, you might disagree with that statement). However, I find it hard to write a story that doesn't in some way reflect my thinking. I couldn't, for example, write a book that glorified violence or involved the trope of a poor woman being saved from poverty by a rich man, because I find those things cringe-worthy. I also draw from my own experiences (though I've learned not to use them directly from life; they have to be fictionalised to be believable ... I'm obviously weird and unnatural). Doesn't mean I don't make stuff up, but yeah, probably everything I've written is in some way a reflection of me. It came from inside my brain, after all. Somewhere in there I thought those thoughts, or at least was able to imagine those thoughts.

 

[CageSage]

There are too many characters in my stories to all have my (ever-changing) opinions/attitudes. However, all the reactions and emotions come from experiences in life.
In terms of character, I 'become' that character (method-acter-writer), rather than have that character become me. I can 'gift' them with some of my experiences of the world, but generally, once I become them, they are so different to me, it feels like a disjointed astral projection event.
And they can surprise me, shock me, even thrill me with what they do and say in their journey through this story - to the point where a reader says, 'I loved this bit: (quote)' and I don't even remember it.
It may well be that I've internalised tons of stuff and this storytelling business is a natural escape-hatch (and I've had a few foster kids, lots of different jobs and skills, moved more times than I have fingers and toes to count) for the stuff that doesn't want to remain jammed so far back in the memory that it has become a forgotten spark ...

 

[RK Wallis]

Any whiff of a story being used as a vehicle for OPINION I'm out

I second @Katie-Ellen Hazeldine. I believe the trick is to say something (obviously not all the time) and make it seem organic to the story. I'm constantly looking for opportunities to organically say something. At least, that's the style I'm going for ...