I wound up just sticking to one writing session for today, because that session was a pain in the ass. For reasons that I now totally understand: Yesterday, I got to write the intense nightmare Sydney Tempest was having. Today, I had to write Modis being super positive.
But it wasn’t so much the positivity that made today rough–it was Modis’ age.
I remember certain things about being a kid, but I have no idea how old I was when I felt those things. I know everybody’s different, but I also know that being young means being subject to a universal suite of things–being much more heavily swayed by what everyone else is doing, for example. So . . . when I was 10-ish . . . was I trying to be cool already? Did I care if other kids liked what I liked? Was I smart enough to get myself out of trouble? Was I still naive enough to think my mother could solve any problem?
Of course, so much of this is case-sensitive; Modis is a smart kid, so, regardless of the intelligence of other kids his age, he’s able to get himself out of harm’s way. He’s had a really solid upbringing, so he’d probably be extra naive about his dad being able to solve any problem. A bunch of this I’m pretty sure about.
But, around it all, there’s the question of, “Is he believable?” Do I make him sound too much like a grown up? But wouldn’t it be really annoying if I gave him the speaking ticks kids have (“Hey! Hey! HEY! Um…,” “Whoathatssocool,” etc.)?
Questions like these made today’s scene super slow-going, especially because it involved Modis interacting with his familiar. In the end, I’m satisfied with what I got, but I can’t help thinking he sounds older than he should. 11? 12? Eh–I’m not sure.
But what I am sure of, at the very least, is that I’m not locked into making him 10; when the novel is done, whatever age he reads like is the age he is.
And, in the meantime, I should just be thankful. This is a new problem; I’ve never had to worry about a character sounding the right age in my work. At the very least, I know that I’m doing something I’ve never done before, and that feels awesome.
Words for the Day: 649
NaNoWriMo Total: 7,887
House of Error 