Unbound - Part 1

Hi there. I'm back again. So I decided to write some fanfiction from Skyrim, a video game that I play occasionally. This is just me practicing so PLEASE don't expect a lot of quality. I'm going to try to follow the basic storyline of the game, although I might make up some stuff for the sake of keeping things interesting and relatively clean.

I hope you enjoy!

Part 1 -- Unbound

The wooden cart bumps and jolts beneath me as it is dragged along the loose cobblestones. An icy breeze, carrying with it the soft scent of snow, stirs the dark mop of hair hanging into my face. A dull throb pounds in my head. White light bores into my eyes as I try to force them open. I issue a faint groan, letting my eyelids slam shut again. Horses' hooves clop on the road ahead and behind. The occasional shout makes my head shriek in protest. Coarse rope digs into my wrists.

I force my eyes open, squinting. Small snowflakes stick to my eyelashes. The carts are driven by men wearing red tunics with leather and chain-mail armor over them. Each one is loaded with the dirty, drooping forms of other prisoners. Mountains loom up all around us, jutting from the rocky terrain and piercing the low clouds.

“Hey, you,” the sound makes my head ache. I look to one of the men sitting across from me in the cart. His face is broad and leathery, but his blue eyes hold a strange depth. “You're finally awake,” he offers a wan smile, his thin lips twisting. “Ralof,” it takes me a moment to realize that he is offering his name.

I nod, rubbing my hand against my face; I feel dried blood crusted on my forehead.

The happenings of last night slowly come back to me, beginning with me journeying toward Morrowind to visit my deceased mother's homeland and ending with a hard blow to the head from the pommel of an Imperial's sword.

After a moment, the man continues, “You were trying to cross the border, right? Ran into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there.” He glances at man next to him.

The man shoots him a glare, his eyes bugging out of his sunken, weasel-like face. “Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you I could have stolen that horse and been half-way to Hammerfell by now.” He stares down at his bound wrists, his low brow knitting. His shirt looks more like a burlap sack with holes cut in it than actual clothing.

I remember seeing him flying down the road the night before when I was near the border. He almost trampled me, but the horse bucked to avoid me. I had drawn my sword, thinking he was a thug. We were just about to tear each other apart when we saw the company of Stormcloaks slinking through the shadows. They were barely visible in the moonlight; we were too close to run. They jerked him from his horse, seizing me as well. We were accused of being Imperial spies and were about to suffer accordingly. But then, out of the darkness came the light of many torches. Imperial soldiers rushed out of the night bellowing war cries. The Stormcloaks, caught off guard, fought back – they completely forgot about us. But the Imperials did not distinguish between the two of us and the Stormcloaks.

The thief suddenly looks up at me, shadows beneath his eyes, “You there. You and me – we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the empire wants.”

I remain silent, picking at the knots of my bonds. The cool air makes me shiver. My dirty wool clothing does little to ward away the piercing chill.

Ralof's voice rumbles inside his chest, strong but not quite angry, “We're all brothers in binds now, horse thief.”

“Shut up back there!” the Imperial driving our cart orders, holding the reins in a tight grip.

The path twists through the rocky terrain, sloping steadily downward. The small, shrubby fir trees droop beneath the covering of snow.

The thief looks over at the third man in the cart – he sits with his back turned to us, one foot propped against the side of the cart and the other dangling over the side. A heavy cloak of animal skins hangs from his broad shoulders. “What's wrong with him, huh?” his small mouth twists in a smirk.

The man glances back at us through dark, shrewd eyes. His tawny hair is pulled back away from his rugged face by several braids, and his short beard is also pulled together in a braid. A gray cloth is bound tight across his mouth.

Ralof snaps, his eyes piercing, “Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true high king.”

The thief's face mirrors my horror. “Ulfric?” he gasps, turning on the man in the fur cloak. “Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?”

Ralof scratches his stubbly chin against his chain mail sleeve. The blue tunic over it is torn, held together only by the thick leather straps that his weaponry used to be attached to. “I don't know where we're going,” his voice is distant, “but Sovngarde awaits.”

The thief stares at the bottom of the cart as it rattles beneath us, “No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening!”

I shake my head, my fists clenched, “They have to know that we aren't one of you. We just ran into you on accident.”

Ralof doesn't reply, his eyes searching the land around us. As the ground continues to slope, the snow becomes thinner, mixed with dirt. A tower looms up from the trees and rocks ahead. As we come closer, I see a small fortress nestled among the rocks. The walls surrounding it are made of stones held in place by mortar. Above that, split logs that have been bound together and carved into points at the top. Sentries pace back and forth behind it on raised platforms. Tattered Imperial flags hang from long poles. He looks over at the thief, “Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?”

The thief snaps, “Why do you care?”

Ralof's voice is soft, “A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.”

After a moment, the thief looks up through wide eyes, “Rorikstead. I'm...I'm from Rorikstead.”

As we enter the open gate of the fort, a man calls out, “General Tulius! The headsman is waiting!”

The thief cries, “Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!”

A man riding on a Bay horse in front of the train of carts replies, his voice gruff, “Good. Let's get this over with.” He rides to the side, letting the carts pass him as they go into the fortress. His thin, wiry body is covered in gilded Imperial armor. He stops to speak with a rider waiting just inside the gate. I immediately recognize the rider to be one of the Thalmor – the high elves have seemed to have more authority over Skyrim than the Imperials themselves, ever since the White-Gold concordant, that is. Two other elves stand beside the dark horse, their gold armor glinting in the white light.

Ralof scowls, “Look at him, General Tulius the military governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with them. Damn elves... I bet they had something to do with this.”

We slowly go past little houses constructed of aged wood. People who do not appear to be soldiers stand on porches, watching in silence. The large, stone tower looms above us.

Ralof issues a heavy sigh, his eyes staring past me into the distance, “This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilad is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe...”

I can't help but turn away when I see the mist in his eyes.

I hear a small voice behind us as we wind through the fort, “Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?”

A stronger voice replies, “You need to go inside, little cub.” The fatherly tone, it's been so long since I've heard that.

“Why?” the boy protests. “I want to watch the soldiers.”

He orders, “Inside the house. Now.”

“Yes, papa.”

“Whoa!” the Imperial driving our cart pulls back on the reins, stopping us beside the other carts loaded with Stormcloak prisoners.

The Imperial captain, a woman with a face like a hawk clad in heavy, plated armor, commands, “Get these prisoners out of the carts! Move it!”

The thief yelps, “Why are we stopping?”

Ralof looks at him, his eyes slowly roving across the faces around him, “Why do you think? End of the line.” After a moment, he offers me a wan smile, “Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us.”

I force a smile in return and swallow down my pounding heart. We stand and begin to climb down from the cart. The Imperial captain and another man in Imperial armor stand behind the cart, waiting.

The thief protests, eyes wild, “No! Wait! We're not rebels!”

Ralof snaps, “Face your death with some courage, thief.”

He hurries up to stand in front of the Imperial captain, looking back at Ralof, “You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This a mistake!”

The Imperial captain shoves him back, not the slightest hint of sympathy in her dark eyes, “Step toward the block when we call your name! One at a time!”

Ralof grumbles as he jumps out of the cart, “Empire loves their damn lists...”

The man beside her begins to read from the list, “Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm.”

Ulfric comes forward, walking past them and around the carts to where the chopping block waits, surrounded by prisoners and Imperial soldiers. The headsman holds a heavy ax in his hand, watching from beneath his black mask.

The man continues, “Ralof of Riverwood.”

Ralof doesn't look at me as he follows Ulfric, but there isn't any regret, at least none that shows.

The man calls the next name, “Lokir of Rorikstead.”

Lokir yelps, his eyes wide with hysteria, “No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!” He dashes past them back toward the gate.

The Imperial captain shouts, “Halt! Archers!”

I open my mouth to protest but then remain silent. He's dead either way.

“You're not going to kill me!” he shrieks just before the arrows plunge into his back. He drops to the ground without so much as a whimper.

The Imperial captain turns again, her swarthy face lined with fury, “Anyone else feel like running?” Then she orders, “Continue, Hadvar.”

Hot anger boils inside me.

Hadvar looks at me through eyes that almost seem kind, “Wait. You there. Step forward.”

I take a couple steps forward, limping a little as the feeling returns to my legs. The long ride had made them almost completely numb.

His eyes narrow, “Who are you?”

I scowl before I reply, “Myra.”

“Of?” he raises an eyebrow.

“Anywhere I choose.”

He nods, writing something on the list, “You picked a bad time to be in Skyrim, kinsman.”

A slight smile creases my face. He thinks I am fully Nord despite my sharp features and skin that has a slight grayish hue, that this is my homeland, that my blood is not corrupted by my Dunmer legacy.

“Captain,” Hadvar looks at her, “what should we do? She's not on the list.”

She snorts, “Forget the list! She goes to the block.”

The man nods, his hair hanging into his face, “By your orders.” He looks at me steadily, “I'm sorry. At least you'll die here, in your homeland. Follow the captain, prisoner.”

A pang of fear makes my insides ice cold. I follow the captain mechanically to the chopping block where the other prisoners wait, faces downcast and yet still proud. In the center stands Ulfric Stormcloak and General Tulius.

The General regards the company with a look of triumph, but his words are directed to Ulfric, “Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero,” a smirk twists his lips. “But a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne.”

Ulfric's eyes narrow, and he lets out a grunt of protest through the gag.

General Tulius' voice becomes low, “You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!”

Just then, a strange sound comes from high above, like a distant shriek and the rushing of a mighty wind.

Hadvar gasps, “What was that?”

“It's nothing,” General Tulius replies quickly, eyes searching the cloudy sky. “Carry on.” He moves back.

“Yes, General Tulius,” the captain comes forward with all the pomp of a peacock. “Give them their last rights.”

A woman wearing the orange and yellow robes of a priestess of Arkay raises her hands, cloaked face turned toward the sky, “As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the eight divines be upon you...”

One of the prisoners comes forward, scowling, “For the love of Talos, SHUT UP, and let's get this over with!”

Her eyes narrow, and she steps back, “As you wish.”

He comes to stand in front of the block, light-colored eyes piercing those of his captors. “Come on! I haven't got all morning!”

The Imperial captain pushes him to his knees, forcing his head onto the block.

He glares at the ground in front of him, “My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?”

The headsman raises the ax, then swings it down.

I flinch, looking away. The Imperial captain kicks his body aside. Blood runs between the cobblestones.

One of the Stormcloaks cries, “You Imperial bastards!”

General Tulius bellows back, “Justice!”

The captain sneers, resting one heavy boot on the block, “Death to the Stormcloaks!”

Ralof, who stands next to me with a sad expression, murmurs, “As fearless in death as he was in life...”

“Next!” the captain orders, gesturing at me, “The Nord in the rags!”

My heart drops into my stomach.

The strange sound comes again, louder this time. The trees around the fort rustle, chunks of snow dropping to the ground.

“There is is again!” Hadvar sounds wary. “Did you hear that?”

The captain shoots him a murderous glance, “I said, next prisoner!”

“To the block, prisoner,” he gives me that steady look. “Nice and easy.”

I walk forward slowly as in a dream and kneel down in front of the block. I can see the head of the man who had gone before me, white-faced, blank eyes staring somewhere past me. A small shudder wracks my body. A boot stomps down on my back, forcing me down onto the block, already wet with the previous man's blood.

I barely hear the shriek that comes from the mountains above. The man raises the ax. I squeeze my eyes shut.

Sovngarde awaits!

Killing off Characters

Usually when we start writing, we already know that one of our characters isn't going to make it to the end of the story. And if we really know our characters it hurts. I know that whenever I kill off a character I'm usually getting choked up. Even if it's the antagonist! The problem is, a lot of times our readers don't feel the same way. They brush it off like it's nothing. So how do we kill off our characters in a way that will really affect our readers.

I think that one of the biggest things is that your reader needs to have time to really get to know the character. If you kill off the character right at the beginning of the book, they probably won't be as affected by it as they might be if you had done it later on. Give them time to gain an understanding of your character. Of course, you need to make sure that there is something there to UNDERSTAND. This goes right back to the issue of 2D vs. 3D characters. Real people are going to grab your readers, not mechanical stick figures.

So, we need to make your readers care about the characters. Another way to do this is to have your protagonist (unless they are the one you're killing off) needs to be personally invested in that character. If they don't care, your reader isn't going to care. But if the death affects your protagonist, it will affect your reader far more.

Another thing that we need to be mindful of, when killing off characters, is the method we use. If the character just got stabbed in the chest, they're NOT going to give a five minute monologue! This is something I struggle with -- not creating a clichéd, stereotypical death scene. But the more unique it is, the better. Pour your heart into it and you will grab your readers' hearts.

I'm not sure that there's anything more to be said on the subject. I've found that the more obscure details you add in, the better. The more real you make it, the more real it will become to your readers.

     (Thank you for listening to my ramblings. If you have any input, please comment below.)

The Antagonist

 

MWAHAHAHA! The bad guy. The one that makes our skin crawl. The one that causes us to pull our covers over our heads at night. He is the one that will stand between the protagonist and his/her goal. The antagonist is one of the most important characters in every story, and his development is crucial. They are part of what makes our stories memorable. Who could ever forget Lord Voldemort, Darth  Vader, or Sauron?

I have always thought that the antagonist was the most difficult character to create. It's not that I have any problem being dark and demented (ha-ha). The problem I have had -- and many people have -- is making the antagonist this 2 dimensional lord of all evil. Well, unless your antagonist is the substance of evil itself, there's more to it than that.

The antagonist needs to be a real person. I'm not saying that you're antagonist can't be something besides a human being. I'm saying that your antagonist needs just as much personality as any of your other characters! We tend to give them only one layer -- evil. I am HORRIBLY guilty of this. But I will tell you that once I managed to create an antagonist that was a real person my story was seriously strengthened!

Your antagonist shouldn't be evil for the sake of evil. Not everyone walks around killing people or blowing things up (or whatever it is the badguy does in your story). There should be something in their life that made them what they are. Some sort of conscious choice or change in them. Spend as much time developing your antagonist as you do your protagonist. Just like all your other characters they should have layers. And just because they are the antagonist doesn't mean that they have to be pure evil.

The antagonist needs to be personally despicable. Okay, so now that we've established that the antagonist needs to have a personality (preferably not a stereotypical one), we need to make sure that our antagonist is one that our readers will hate. Maybe you want to glorify your antagonist, but I think that it will make for a stronger story -- and a stronger effect on your readers -- if you create an antagonist that they want to DESTROY. Make your readers' skin crawl! Make them want to throttle the antagonist! That will only enthrall them even more in the story.

When I say "personally despicable" I mean that the antagonist needs to do something that will touch your readers as well as your characters. Make him/her do something that we ALL recognize as bad. And not just bad! Dishonorable. Low. Despicable. I remember -- when I was reading the Divergent series -- disliking Eric. He was just plain yucky. But I didn't hate him until he shot the little boy in the second book. When he did that, it felt like the gloves were off! If the antagonist is just walking around doing that "I'm bad, fear me," routine, we're not really going to be bothered. But when he does something that affects us -- as readers -- everything changes.

The first scene my antagonist is in, he squishes a mouse with his bare hand. Yucky, right? And then I just make him get worse from there. Write to really affect your readers. Make them HATE your antagonist while still making him a 3D character.

There's only one last point I want to make and that is The antagonist shouldn't think they're evil. I think that most badguys, if asked outright, wouldn't claim to be evil. They would tell you why they're doing this and display their motives as if to justify what they're doing. They think they're just as right as the people who are fighting for a just cause! Because they believe a lie, then end up on the wrong side. See how this ties in with the "lie, ghost, fear, need" routine? The antagonist is developed just like any other character. They are just fighting on the wrong side because they believe a lie. They have fallen SO far from the truth that they are willing to hurt others to get what they want.

These are just a few things about writing your antagonist. I have found that there are a LOT of helpful articles on the internet on the subject. But what I would really say is the most important part of creating a good badguy is to avoid the stereotypical. Make your antagonist just as unique as your protagonist!

     (Thank you for listening to my ramblings. If you have any input, please comment below.)

The Protagonist

 

The most important character in your story is probably going to be your protagonist, your main character. They are the central focus of your story. If you have a protagonist that is totally dull or someone that your reader can't relate to, your story is going to be dry. Your protagonist should affect your readers more than any other character in the story. I often struggle with writing my protagonist because I'm always so much more interested in the other characters. It can be a bit of a battle trying to keep your secondary characters from taking over (if you're like me).

So what can we do to keep our protagonists interesting and fresh? I have a few simple suggestions that have helped me in creating better main characters.

     They shouldn't be perfect. This is just another part of making our characters real to the readers. No one is perfect, and therefore our protagonist should have flaws too. A mistake that we make a lot is thinking that if we create flawed characters they will be unlikeable. That is NOT true. Some of the most interesting characters in stories are the flawed ones. I just recently watched "Guardians of the Galaxy". I loved that movie because I loved all the characters. Why? None of them were perfect! They were "losers", people who had lost stuff, and that gave each of them interesting traits that just enthralled you in the story!

Flawed characters are characters that we can relate to, empathize with, cry with. We CANNOT feel any connection with a perfect character.

     They should be memorable. Another example from "Guardians of the Galaxy". In that movie, you had the man (Starlord) who lived among a bunch of aliens carrying around a Walkman. You had the green assassin lady (Gamora), Drax the walking thesaurus, Rocket, and Groot, the tree monster. These are all memorable characters because they are unique. Every character in your story should be unique, but the protagonist most of all. Why bother telling their story? What's special about them? Why are they the hero and not someone else. Your protagonist should be set apart from the others, different, even if they don't know it. It is the characters that are going to make the story memorable, and a unique main character is going to make it all the more interesting.

     Your readers should be able to sympathize with them. This goes back to the fact that your characters can't be perfect because they won't be real to the readers. When your protagonist is hurt, your readers should be hurting with them. This means that bad things need to happen to them. We don't want to watch your protagonist skipping through the roses all 300 pages! We, as readers, are CRUEL. We want to see what your protagonist is made of by throwing them in the fire! But, at the same time, we want to be able to feel bad for them.

Another thing is that if your character is a total jerk, the readers are less likely to care if they get hurt. Your protagonist, unless they are completely evil, should not be the badguy! And that means they probably shouldn't act like one. We want a hero, a flawed, imperfect, beat-up hero, but a hero nonetheless. If your protagonist is a jerk, I would suggest that you throw little things in so that your readers know they aren't all bad. Maybe he gets into fights at the bar but helps little old ladies across the street. Maybe she is a thief but she gives a few scraps of food to a hungry kid.

     Again, you can do whatever you want in your story, but whatever you do you want to have a powerful, affecting protagonist. That will be a key element in drawing in your readers and keeping them enthralled in your story.


     (Thank you for listening to my ramblings. If you have any input, please comment below.)

Romance Between Characters

Romance. Ugh. This is a subject that I struggle with a little bit because I'm not really one for the ooey-gooey stuff. Don't get me wrong. I love a good love story. But whenever I sit down to right a love scene I'm constantly second-guessing myself and trying to keep it from becoming cheesy. Now I'm pretty sure I will NEVER be a romance writer, (no offense to any romance writers) and you might be of the same mindset. However, there are elements of romance in most stories, and I have found that there are some things that you have to be watchful of.

     Love story vs. Lust story. Our society seems to be under the impression that love and lust are the same thing. Movie directors and writers alike fail to distinguish between the two. I would boldly say that lust stories are put forward to gratify our sin nature whereas a good love story is affecting and meaningful. Love has to do with affection for a person, and it often shows itself through self-sacrifice and service to the individual loved. But lust has to do with selfish desire. You can go ahead and write your lust story if you want to. I just don't want you to confuse love and lust because they are not the same. Don't present one as the other or visa versa.

I'm not condemning kissing or physical touch in stories. Relationships between characters can be used in powerful ways. But if that's ALL that's ever happening in your story, it gets old pretty fast. Any scene that doesn't empower your story and have a purpose should be taken out. So throw out the unnecessary touchy-feely! That's not all that love is!

In the story I wrote, two characters end up falling in love. How often did they kiss? Once at the end. When did they admit their love for each other? At the end. Did they ever embrace? Only a few times. Not a very enthralling love story, you may say (and you may be right). But in that story, I tried to convey love a different way, where the guy gives the girl his cloak when she's cold. Where the girl jumps in front of an arrow to save him. Where the guy carries the girl when she's too tired to go any farther. That, in my mind, is a more powerful representation of love.

     Developing the relationship. Call me a killjoy if you like, but I don't believe in love at first sight. People don't meet and fall in love in two seconds. They might take a liking to one another pretty quick. At first sight, they might be attracted to one another. But love doesn't just suddenly happen. It develops as you get to know the person better. They might not even like each other at first! Believe it or not, my characters (mentioned before) met when the guy tried to rob the girl with a knife! There certainly wasn't any "zing" between them until quite a while later.

     Keep it real. No one is perfect, and therefore no relationship is perfect. People, even if they are "in love" aren't always going to get along perfectly. Love is not all rainbows and butterflies! It is *shudder* commitment and sacrifice. Again, rainbows and butterflies are just fine, just don't forget to include the other, that is, if you want things to be realistic. And we already established that the more real things become to the reader, the more enthralled they will become.

These are just my own personal opinions on this subject. If you disagree with me, that's perfectly fine. You can write romance into your story (or leave it out) however you want! It's YOUR story. But I think that we can do a better job, as a society, of showing what love really is.


     (Thank you for listening to my ramblings. If you have any input, please comment below.)

Showing Hidden Emotions

Almost every story has at least one character that tends to hide their emotion. Whether they're in pain because of a dark secret from their past or they just want to be strong in front of their peers, it is important to know how to show emotion without the character showing it. Is that a contradiction? I don't think so. There are ways to show these emotions without just stating them outright. And often these emotions will come through stronger if you present them in a subtle way.

The first thing we have to realize when we are doing this is that THE READERS ARE NOT STUPID. They are going to catch the little details and the hints that we throw at them. We don't have to make everything totally obvious for them to get it. In fact, I know that when I read a book I like to look for little bits of foreshadowing so that I can try to guess what's going on in the background.

Subtle hints can often affect your readers more than if your tough male character just starts bawling. There may be a place for that, but it's not likely that he will do that, especially around other people.

Here are three tips that might help in conveying the emotion your character doesn't want to show:

     1. Give your character a specific action that shows they're trying to hide something. A small, tell-tale sign. Maybe they rub their hands against the front of their trousers. Maybe they stare at the ground or avoid eye-contact. Maybe they get up in arms when they think they're being confronted about it. Whatever it is, make them do something that they don't normally do except when they're hiding something. The reader will notice that finger-twitch or that tight jaw and come to a conclusion on their own.

I have a character that has a dark secret and a lot of baggage that he's trying to carry around without anyone knowing it. Whenever he feels like someone is seeing what he's feeling inside, he intimidates them until they back down and leave him alone. Choose something that will fit your character's personality.

     2. Write a scene from that character's point of view. This method will allow you to present how your character feels and why they feel that way. But I don't think that it's as good as showing them in their struggle to conceal emotion from the point of view of other characters (even if they don't notice it). One of the first mistakes I made in writing was thinking that in order to gain sympathy for my character I needed to show all the horrible things that happened to him and show him in agony. So I wrote a bunch of scenes from his point of view in attempt to gain sympathy for him. It made him look like a whiny, pitiful wimp! If you show, rather than tell, emotion on characters and show them trying to hide it, you will be more likely to gain sympathy from the readers.

Another tool is to write about that character's nightmares. Show them in their waking hours where they appear to be in control. Then show what they dream about. This will help to convey the emotion that they are trying to hide from themselves!

     3. Dialogue. Again, this can vary depending on your character. They might shut down and not talk at all, or they might chatter nervously without stop. But make their dialogue odd when they are trying to hide emotion. Have them speak with double-meanings, avoid questions, or snap at other people.

How your character responds to emotion is completely up to you. YOU are the writer. But not all characters are going to display their emotion outright. Everybody deals with pain and hurt differently. Try to make your character unique in how they try to conceal their feelings.

Here's an example from one of my books of a character concealing emotion:

After what seems like a long time, I say, "Andrew?"
"Hmm?" he grunts.
"Why can't you swim?"
He glances at me, scratching the back of his head. "Earl Vaska is convinced that he can use electricity to genetically modify people. He experimented on me while the idea was still new."
I wait for him to go on, then prompt, "What does that have to do with water?"
He stares straight into the distance, "He used to put me in a tank full of water with an oxygen mask on and charge the water with electricity. Every once in a while the oxygen tank would malfunction."
"That's awful!" I exclaim, kicking a pebble across the road. After a moment, I say, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," his voice is flat. "It doesn't matter."
And for a while we just watch the wind ruffle the leaves in the high trees.

So, we've got Andrew talking to his friend about some of the things he suffered during childhood. Nothing big really happens here. He doesn't burst into tears or start getting angry. But we see him breaking eye contact, and his answers go from long to short. That makes it pretty clear that he doesn't really want to talk.

I think that realistic characters are the ones that don't always display their emotions outwardly, because a lot of times we try to hide our emotion for one reason or another. This is just another tool that we can use to make our characters more real to the readers.

     (Thank you for listening to my ramblings. If you have any questions, please comment below.)

Novel Soundtrack

Do you ever just sit at your computer when you're supposed to be writing and daydream about your story in movie form? Ever hear a song that sounded like it was written for one of your characters? I can personally say that I do this all the time -- and totally nerd out over it.

I'm going to be camping out on the subject of characters for a while because they are such a vital part of your story. While we are on the subject of developing characters, I would like to point out another method that will help you, as the writer, get to know your characters. And that is making a soundtrack for your book. This might sound a little odd, but it is actually very helpful. Music, in my mind is a very powerful thing. A lot of times listening to it cures writers' block for me.

Now I suggest that we use music as an inspirational tool as well as a way to really flesh out our characters.

Just think about your characters and your story while you're listening to music. Or even better, listen to it while you're writing. The stronger emotions that you have while writing will create stronger scenes and inspire a stronger reaction from your readers. And I think that music is one of the things that will stir up these emotions inside you.

For example, this song (Monster by Imagine Dragons) reminds me of Shale from my book. I listen to this sometimes when I need to write something from his point of view:

 

Another example is Battle Cry -- also by Imagine Dragons -- which reminds me of my antagonist, Othnor:

 

 

If you think about it, these can give you a pretty good look at what's going inside these peoples' heads, right? I added stuff to my characters after listening to certain songs, and they made them more interesting.

 

Besides finding songs that remind you of your characters, you can find some that remind you of different scenes. Doing that has also provided me personally with a lot of inspiration. I found it helpful to listen to Not Gonna Die by Skillet when writing my climax:

 

 

Of course, finding songs for your characters isn't necessary for their development. That's not what I'm saying. But it certainly can be helpful, and I don't think you will be sorry if you take the time to do it.

 

Do you have any songs that remind you of your story? Comment below!