I came to Ben a few days ago with a name of a new character. It was as if I had just bumped into her, I had just gotten a glance as she walked by, like I had overheard her name being said by someone who knew her. Her name is Rainy Day. Ben and I both knew that she was a romantic. But we knew nothing else.
Over the next few days, I thought of her often, wanting to unwrap the story she had to tell, finding nothing but minute details of her life. Humorous stories about her older brother, quirks about her mother, the story of her first date. Nothing important, but at the same time, essential to making these characters human.
Being at the beginnings of another story about a Time Collector, a clockmaker, a talking cat and a world inside a clock, I knew my time to devote to another story was sparse. I couldn’t abandon my other story for this new one, both deserved to be written. That was when I decided to use my free time, or use the time I needed to take away from the 25th hour, to work on developing the character of Rainy Day. Having more than one project to work on helps me with overcoming writers block (Just keep writing!!) and I think through developing this character, the events of the story will probably write themselves.
Ben and I spent just under an hour on our car ride to Cleveland, talking about Rainy Day…or more specifically, talking about her family. We didn’t stop too much to think, we just told stories, making them up as we go, allowing these characters to take on a life of their own and counting on them to introduce themselves to us. They didn’t disappoint.
It was exhilarating, like meeting someone you know will become your best friend.
We learned the names of Rainy’s pets, her brothers, and her parents. We learned about her parents’ occupations and how they met and fell in love. I will probably write a few short stories or give some more details as the characters develop more and share them on here. Stay tuned!
A Myth Retold 