“Everyone
is kneaded out of the same dough,
but
not baked in the same oven.”
—Yiddish
Proverb
Aside from the notion of whether it is nature
or nurture that shapes personality, and with it, destiny, there is something
that every writer must struggle with and every reader must decide whether to accept
or reject: how stereotypical can a character be before we call the narrative
racist, or sexist, or simply poor and formulaic? There is nothing to make the
character singular and thus fully fleshed out.
And the other side of the coin is
really the same question, only read in reverse: how unusual can a character be
before we exclaim that such person would never do this or say that? Would a twelve-year-old
use proper archaic English they could have only glimpsed from Shakespeare? Would
a four-year-old remember something that happened when they were two? Both are
possible, but not typical, and many would say are unbelievable.
I ask, because I have read enough
reviews, given reviews, or gotten feedback, and have seen both reactions. “Formulaic,”
and “unbelievable.”
Classical musicians face similar
balancing dilemmas when interpreting well-known pieces of music. A piece of music must sound different and
new, thus it lives. But it can’t be so singular that the composer wouldn’t
recognize it, and the listener would have their expectations smashed.
I like the Yiddish proverb above, because
it reminds me of this delicate balance: similar, but not the same. Made of the
basic stuff, but formed into a different shape.
A delicate, almost undefinable balance.
A good visual is the tightrope walker. I think of her as I dialogue with my
characters, and pray I don’t miss a step and fall off.
©Tightrope
Walker by Seiltänzerin (1913)
8 comments:
This reminds me of my first book, Touch of Death. The MC is extremely accident-prone and people criticized me for it, saying no one can possibly hurt themselves that much. But I hurt myself way more than my MC did! I once hurt myself sitting down on the couch. No lie! Sometimes I think reality can be more unbelievable than fiction, and then where does that leave us as writers?
I can relate. The least apropos feedback I've gotten was always in this vein. I'd get a "I don't think such and such would do such a thing," and it was based on real life I can vouch for ;)
Stay safe, Kelly.
I agree, Mirka! This is a hard line to tread.
Yup. Especially when readers' feedback to the same characters comes in contradictory suggestions, ey?
You're right. It's a delicate balance. And truly--fact is stranger than fiction.
Balance is everything.
I love your comparison to music interpretation. How perfectly said.
Living with classical musicians helps :)
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