From the Fiction Desk

There is a diagram that was used in a marketing class that fits how characters perceive the other characters as well as the world around them. The diagram had the person staring through a veil of perception at the wall of reality. Like real people, our characters will see themselves in various lights either to their benefit or determent, depending on their level of self-esteem and guilt. While they may perceive themselves in these lights, the question that should be raised is how do other characters perceive them and their actions?

Every character, no matter how small, is a protagonist in their own story. They go about doing things because they are trying to achieve their own story goals. If a writer takes this approach to creating their characters, they could create an army of real characters missing only the element of how they are perceived by each other. Why does John love Jane, but Jane wants nothing to do with John. Maybe Jane sees John as a player or as a loser. Maybe Jane would like to be with John, but because of peer pressure from her friend Jill, she will not. Why? Because Jill thinks he is creepy. As the writer begins to build the relationships they also should begin to build the perceptions that every character has in regards to the others they are interacting and have a reason or a “perception veil” for it. As an example, maybe Jill sees John as creepy because he reminds her of someone she knew who scared her.

In television, movies, and plays, the viewer is often not informed of the character’s perception of another unless that character says something about it or there is a narrator. In short stories and novels, the author does not have to worry about this handicap—they are the narrator and can either fill in or leave open the blanks as necessary to tell their tale. The decision to do this depends on the story. However, regardless if the author ever reveals the reason, the author should know it as the perception and the reason behind it will dictate how the two characters will interact.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for articles, blogs, poetry, and stories I write.