How Fiction Works Writing Meme - Day Twenty One

[meridian_rose]

21 - The Myth of the Solid Character - even "well rounded" or "fully fleshed" characters are less solid the longer we look at them, writes James Wood. Agree? Disagree? Is there always room for more? In canon? In fanfiction?

I'm not sure about that. Is there always room for more? Yes, because you can't know everything about a fictional character – nor a real person.

Comments

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

Agreed - but there are still some things that matter more.

(I'm remembering the lecture I went to on detail - it's more important to know what the character would do with an anonymous lost wallet than what their shoe size is.)

[meridian_rose]

Oh, that's a good point :D I was thinking it meant that you can always learn more about someone, and maybe even books later you can still be surprised by things about them.

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

That, too - I doubt one can ever know everything about even one's own characters. (Or real people, as you said.)

[brontefanatic.livejournal.com]

If you knew absolutely every detail about a character, I think reading about them would be a little tedious. Plus, characters, if they are written true to life, as always changing and reacting to circumstances.

You can't know everything about a fictional character any more than you can know everything about the person closest to you.

Often, I don't think I even know myself all that well.

[meridian_rose]

Yes, part of the joy is discovering new things and seeing characters grow and develop. And yes, real people develop too :D