So this is what’s perking around in my head.
There is a character who has had something horrendous happen to her. She has come through it in a rather heroic way….take a breath, readers; she comes through it, not like some other McKennas! Now, there is a sneaking thought in my head; what would be her reaction REALLY?
I love this character. She’s one of the best of the Family, one of the cream of the crop. Having come through this experience, I would like for her to be a shining example of Love Conquers All, or Faith Brings Her Through. That she goes on to have a great life and happy marriage and everyone can marvel at the strength of this person. Because she is strong and beautiful and good.
But, would it happen like that? Now, there’s this thought scrambling around that says: Long term reaction would be not so pretty. Ugly even. She may act on an impulse that would send her good intentions into a tailspin. She may react to the residue anger in a way that would utterly betray someone she loves. Would she?
See, it’s not that I’m analyzing what reaction to a trauma SHOULD be. This is the way my characters behave; they don’t. They don’t behave. Just as I have a character tucked neatly into his niche of respectable life, he makes a U-turn in my head into muddy humanness.
I have tried in the past to force my alter-family into tidy, but interesting, Life. Remember Jackson Flynn? Why didn’t he and Brynn just settle into a reasonable facsimile of my own life and continue to just take in orphans and strangers and why couldn’t Old House become a refuge for outcasts? That would have been just as interesting, wouldn’t it? But no, Jackson had other ideas. I couldn’t force him to be something he’s not.
All right, so this character…what to do with her? She can hold onto what I wish she would have and probably slide into oblivion. She can turn by degrees into a typical villain and everyone can point to this traumatic event to shake their heads and say Look what happened. She can have an overlay of her old self and a tussle with inner wounds, that will eventually, or often, drag her into regrettable actions. Which she may or may not enjoy. Which?
I have no idea right now. How odd is that? They’re YOUR characters, Heidi. Make them do what you want. Not so easy. How strange.
The answer remains to be seen. #futurestories