Archetypical Characters
Posted by mgnann on March 23, 2009
Over the past few days I’ve been revising a section near the middle part of the book, three or four chapters in which the character’s personal goals become more wrapped up in the overarching storyline.
The setting is a small trade town that has been taken over by Kabladan’s armies in order to confiscate any trade goods that would be moving to the capital city, Taris. It is the first destination of our two main characters, the knight and the woman, the former who was beseeched by the latter to serve as a guide to get her there.
When I originally wrote this part I knew there were some scenes that did not quite flow the way I wanted them to. The town itself was kind of bland and the side characters popped in and out with no explanation as to who they were or where they came from. I’ve tightened much of that up, added some backstory that will help make these secondary characters more understandable, and interjected some color into a setting that was pretty much black and white.
Overall, I think these 3-4 chapters are some of the most exciting and action packed sections yet written. So much begins to happen, secrets revealed, fight scenes, information about the invading armies. My only hope now is that it isn’t too much information for the reader, but I don’t think it will be. Rather I expect these few chapters to be a crux of the book, a sort of turning point where the story begins to open up and show more of the world and it’s history.
Also, two new main characters are introduced for the first time. Which makes our company complete!
One more thing. If you look at the post so creatively entitled, The Book, which now is it’s own page, A Simulacrum, you can see a mention of the six characters I am working with. All are common archetypes found in literature; the warrior, the mysterious woman, the wanderer, etc. Intimate symbols like these are easily recognized by readers and grant them the ability to hitch a ride with a comfortable vehicle that will carry them through unfamiliar terrain.
I’m resisting the urge to turn this into a disquisition about archetypes and unconscious persona’s, so if you’re into that kind of thing and want to learn more about it, and how it relates to characters in literature, religion, myth, and legend, then I highly recommend Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Coming up, I plan to do some posts devoted to each of my main characters. I’m not sure exactly what the content will be, perhaps narrative flashbacks by each, or excerpts that show them in action. Something that will set up their identity without spoiling the story. If anyone has any ideas or opinions on what they would like to hear about, drop me a comment.
Until then, adios!
