http://www.stephanie-osborn.com
We're getting ready to start talking about a different element of modern storytelling: character. As she has a new book out, a book with strong characters and more than a hint of romance, I asked Barb Caffrey to write an additional blog article -- not just about how characters work in telling stories, but specifically about how HER characters were designed to interact in her new book, An Elfy On The Loose. Consider this as a kind of segue from Romance to Character Development in our Elements of Modern Storytelling series.
~~~
Characterization in
AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE
Or, Why Bruno the
Elfy Is So Much Fun to Write
By Barb Caffrey
If you've read my
novel AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE – or even
if you've only heard about it a little – you probably are aware that my main
character, Bruno the Elfy, is quite an intriguing character to wrap a book
around.
Why? Well, Bruno
didn't exactly start out as a hero-type. He's short: he's only three feet tall.
He doesn't think he has any appreciable magical skills at the start of AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE, either, and this
is a problem considering he comes from the magical race of Elfys – and all of
them seem to have at least some magic. (Bruno doesn't realize the reason he
doesn't seem to have magical talent is because he's been intentionally
mistrained by the orders of the Elfy High Council.) And while he's young – the
equivalent of a teenager in human terms – he thinks of himself as jaded,
worldly-wise, and experienced.
Of course, many
teens do the latter. And it's because of their lack of experience when teens
think they already have experience
that the story of AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE
originally came to me.
But I'm getting
ahead of myself.
Actually, Bruno
the Elfy came to me in a dream. I had just read an anthology about Elves, where
the editor – whose name escapes me – said (my best paraphrase here),
"These aren't your typical Elfie-welfie types of Elves. They actually do things."
And Bruno piped up
with, "It's not like that!"
I noticed that
Bruno was dressed all in black. And he proceeded to tell me earnestly
that while the Elfys in his culture liked to rhyme (thus the nonsense term
"Elfy-welfy), he, himself, did not. And while the Elfys in his culture
liked loud clothing – the louder, the better – he, himself, obviously did not.
Then I found out
he was trapped in a haunted house in California .
He'd been sent there by the Elfy High Council, a rather mysterious bunch of
people from another dimension I'd get to know (and mostly dislike). His
teacher, Roberto the Wise, did not agree with the decision to maroon Bruno on
our Earth, and was trying to get him back...but Bruno had met Sarah – a young,
Human girl, and his eventual love interest – and Bruno didn't want to leave her
behind.
Just knowing that
much gave me an insight into Bruno's character. He's loyal, almost to a fault.
He is a good judge of character. He doesn't know much about himself (as most
teens or teen-equivalents truly don't), but he does know this: He believes in
good things – love, friendship, and ideals.
And as I went on,
I learned that Bruno is also a scholar – as Roberto's one of the foremost
scholars in the Elfy Realm, that's no surprise. Bruno has a lot more magic than
he thinks, something Roberto knew but couldn't directly tell him due to the
wishes of the High Council. And there truly is a conspiracy against Bruno.
All of that helped
me as I tried to figure out more about what Bruno's doing in that haunted
house. Much less more about the diminutive and enigmatic Sarah, who surely must
be a whole lot older than she seems – but why? And again, what's she doing
there at all?
Many young men of
whatever species would probably run away from Sarah, no matter how attractive
she is and no matter how short she is – which has to be an attraction for
Bruno, no matter how much he denies it – because there's something obviously
wrong there. Sarah's parents are awful, and not just to her. They have trapped
Bruno for no reason except that he's an Elfy and they apparently don't care
much for Elfys. So you'd think Bruno would just want to get away from that whole
situation, run to Roberto, and forget about Sarah, her dastardly parents, and
that whole, strange, screwed-up house…
But Bruno doesn't
do that.
Even though he's
not a prototypical hero-type, Bruno believes in fairness. As Sarah has been
kind to him, he judges her for what she is along with what she's done – and
after Roberto's attempt to rescue him goes horribly wrong, Sarah does her best
to hide Bruno from her family. That, too, works in her favor.
And as they get to
know each other during this desperate crisis, they realize they have a lot in
common. They both have magic. They're both a wee bit older than they thought.
And they both believe in the same things – love matters. Family, no matter how
screwed up, matters. (Though no one should suffer abuse. Ever.) And good can
indeed win over evil, providing you're careful, smart and willing to work with
others for the benefit of all.
But none of it –
not one blessed thing – would work without Bruno. He is a fully realized,
multidimensional character with likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses,
and seems like someone you might just know...that is, if he weren't so short. And
it's because of this that you can buy into his adventures, you can buy into his
romance, and you can buy into the fact that this young Elfy just might be able
to save everyone if he just can figure it out in time.
That, to my mind,
is why Bruno is so much fun to write.
~~~
Interesting, every bit of that, Barb. In fact, Bruno rather reminds me of one of the main characters from a true fantasy classic -- Frodo Baggins, of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Short, diminutive male of a non-human race; not possessed of great magical powers, or really, great powers in general; trapped in a situation for which he didn't ask; yet responsible, loyal, and determined.
Folks, be sure to check out An Elfy On The Loose.
-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com
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