When you’re characters come alive, writing is exhilarating! My labor of love lately has been new characters and plots! It’s an aspect of life I very much enjoy—beginning a new story.
They say that a writer’s life can be solitary. Most writers say that, and probably even their companions. Still, sharing these developing and sometimes far-flung ideas about character and plots with your friends or spouse is a hoot. When asked how he came up with the law of universal gravitation, Isaac Newton answered, “By thinking on it continually.” So you contemplate a character deeply; it’s fun to share them. See what the reaction is.
IT’S A LONG HAUL
A couple of years back, I began planning a new novel. After 45 days, I buried it in the desert, where the story started. I’d plotted a great deal and initiated the development of characters and storylines. That’s a lot of time to spend and then not write the book. Not every idea works. For me, characters and storylines must emerge; the theme and fusion of this intersects and interacts are inspirational. It just wasn’t happening. If I spend upwards of two years writing a book or screenplay, I’d better love the story and the characters! The dots must begin to connect, with new surprises popping up as you think, ponder, and talk about the story.
LOOKING FOR THE GODLINESS TO ARISE
Ultimately, I am looking for the goodness that will arise and impact a character and, hopefully, the audience. But that is initiated by awful situations or those that appear quickly. Otherwise, as a writer, I have no reason to write a story. After all—a significant character in a novel should be as perplexing and fascinating as your best friend or worst enemy. The characters must be real. Ideally, I’m looking for realism akin to life. Eventually, someone will be enlightened. A hero will rise from the ashes.
For the most part, people of a literary bent do not like Christian ideals. That’s what they’ve schooled for the last 75 years. (See Mystery and Manners by Flannery O’Conner). And to make matters even more complicated, many Christians don’t read fiction, especially if it’s not from a “Christian” source. Isn’t that puzzling? What’s to be done? Well, I decided to go ahead and write a screenplay (which I had been pondering for a great while) set on a starship traveling through interstellar space. Yep! I love science fiction, and I know that many Christians do so as well. They won’t admit it. But how, might you ask, will God find his way into a story concerned with interstellar space travel? Well, that is the greatest of adventures, which began with this theme: “Even in deepest space, God is as near as your very breath.”
Fun, Fun, Fun…
Anthony Barbera
