'Method writting'

[Estelthea]

I was wondering if other writers had found themselves acting out parts of their stories or gurning in a mirror to try to get a facial description right and how deep you delve into a character's mind when you are creating them. I studied a bit of drama at school and I do find some of the techniques very useful for getting to the heart of a character - ideas such as acting out their daily routine and thinking of their lives before and after the plot affects them or thinking about the subtext of what they are saying.

I've done some very odd things in the past to try to really capture a character's mood almost as if I am an actor preparing to play that role. Some make a bit of sense, such as writing about a character who feels tired late at night or trying to say a piece of dialogue in the same tone as the character would or even wearing some kind of costume to represent them (I once purchased a pair of black boots because they reminded me of one of my characters and for some reason I do better if I wear them when I write about her!). The same character came into my head a few years ago when I was at uni and used to walk back from my friends' flat quite late at night - although it was a really safe area - and I created this girl who lived in a dark world and was very confident and liked being out at night. Once I was back at home I found it much harder to write about her than I did when I was out.

I've never gone and acctually played a character in a role play (I've never really been interested in that) but I try to make them live in my head and I have wondered how they would react in situations I've experienced or how I would react in a situation from the story. Does using a character or world in a RP game help, especially if the character was not designed for a RP, if the story came first?

Any other 'method writers' out there?

 

[aurelio]

I see nothing wrong with your approach, Estelthea. Lots of actors use it to get their characters to have added depth, so why not writers?

I don't do what you do when I write. Although all the characters we writers create are ultimately coming from us, some of my characters are not at all like me, so to dress up or even try to experience their life vicariously in some other way might start to limit the types of characters I allow myself to write, in the same way actors get "type-cast."

Sometimes observing other people you know or meet can be just as useful.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've never dressed up as a specific character but I spent a lot of time, at one point in my life, making and wearing costumes for one historical recreation event or the other.

And I do recommend trying on the clothes of the era you are writing about and wearing them for a while. You can learn a lot that way. Not just about what you can and can't do in a long skirt, for instance, but how the various restrictions and freedoms of a particular set of clothes reveal, confirm, and even structure the social standing of the person wearing them.

 

[Estelthea]

I don't do what you do when I write. Although all the characters we writers create are ultimately coming from us, some of my characters are not at all like me, so to dress up or even try to experience their life vicariously in some other way might start to limit the types of characters I allow myself to write, in the same way actors get "type-cast."

Sometimes observing other people you know or meet can be just as useful.

I must admit that some of my characters are based, in some way, on my own life and experience (something about writing what you know) but I've tried it with those who are nothing like me just to try to get something right.

I find it helps to describe a certain movement if I act it out - even something really simple like opening a door - and I can do that even if the character is like me or not, in fact it works best if the character is nothing like me because if they were I would have less trouble writing from their point of view!

 

[Esioul]

I sometimes write monologues about various subjects in the 'voices' of my characters-it's easy and quick to do and enables me to explore the way my characters think and react to things. I carry a small notebook around and when I haven't anything else to do I just write a couple of pages of monologue.

I do see what you mean Estelthea- I also think that anything that helps one to understand and write about one's characters better and in more depth is a useful exercise.

 

[Estelthea]

I sometimes write monologues about various subjects in the 'voices' of my characters-it's easy and quick to do and enables me to explore the way my characters think and react to things. I carry a small notebook around and when I haven't anything else to do I just write a couple of pages of monologue.

I do see what you mean Estelthea- I also think that anything that helps one to understand and write about one's characters better and in more depth is a useful exercise.

I've not tried to write monologues but I have written a story as if I was a particualr character writing the story rather than narrating it. That was quite fun but I did get stuck in the style for a while so everything I wrote sounded like it was written by a elderly male historian!

I might have to give monologues a try and see what happens

 

[Estelthea]

And I do recommend trying on the clothes of the era you are writing about and wearing them for a while. You can learn a lot that way. Not just about what you can and can't do in a long skirt, for instance, but how the various restrictions and freedoms of a particular set of clothes reveal, confirm, and even structure the social standing of the person wearing them.

I used to draw my characters in historical costumes and think about movement and what the clothes represent about the character. I always remember seeing some tiny shoes from China/Japan (not sure which) worn by wealthy women who had their feet bound so they could hardly walk.

I've never gone the whole hog and dressed like a character but I do find having the odd thing that reminds me of them, a piece of jewellery or a top in their favourite colour, really useful.