Getting to Know Kate

This interview is dedicated to Harold Underdown and Ann Manheimer, who have pushed me to figure out what my main character in Half-Truths wants.  

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As I read novels I try to uncover what the characters want and the obstacles that get in their way.  In a well-written book this tension between goal and satisfaction of that goal drives the story and keep readers rooting for the main character's success. 


A few days ago, in an attempt to solidify what my main character, Anna Katherine Dinsmore wants, I decided to interview her. Here is what she told me.

CAROL: What do you want, Kate?

KATE: I want my grandmother to like me. To stop bugging me. To leave me alone and let me be myself.

CAROL: Why?

KATE: Because she gets on my nerves. She makes me feel like I’m not good enough the way I am.

CAROL:  There’s got to be more to it than that.  Did you ever feel loved by anyone?

KATE: In Cheraw. Auntie always made me feel safe. Selena liked me. The goats did too. But they would like anyone who fed them and rubbed their heads. Dolly was sort of partial to me though.

CAROL: What else do you want?

KATE: I am lonely and would like a friend. To feel like I belong somewhere. I belonged on the farm in Cheraw. Now I don’t. I’ve told you. In Myers Park I feel like a cornstalk in a rose garden.

CAROL: Anything else?

KATE: I want to go home and have Daddy there and feel safe again.

CAROL: I didn’t know that. So, is this book going to be about you trying to get back to Cheraw?

KATE: No, I don’t think so. I also want to be able to speak my mind. Does that count?

CAROL: You’re cheating. You must have read the book!

KATE: Come on. I want honesty, a friend, to feel safe and accepted.  What do these all have in common?  

CAROL: Hey, I thought I was asking the questions! These are all internal struggles. What about some external struggles? You know, “public stakes.”

KATE: Having a friend so I’m not lonely is public. I might have to take some risks to prove to that person that we can be friends.  And I’d also love to get back at Grandmother for how she treats Mama and to tell her to stuff it! That’s pretty public!

CAROL:  I would say so.

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After this interview, I took out a copy of my reproducible, Create a Character, and filled it out. This also gave me more insights into Kate, her longings, and her personality.

If you are writing fiction, feel free to download this reproducible. That's how I found out that Kate wants to get even with her grandmother. Other interesting tidbits came out including how she is embarrassed about the pimples on her forehead, her changing body, and her smelly feet. 

I don't know where Kate is taking me, but I think I'll go along for the ride. Meanwhile, here are two Norman Rockwell pictures that have

helped me to picture Kate as I write her story. The first one is how I picture Kate at about 10, the second when she is 13. 

Girl with Black Eye, 1953

Girl at the Mirror,  1954

                        

Writing into the Unknown

The last time you enjoyed a novel I bet you didn't stop to think if the author deliberated over what point of view to use, if she worried over the scene sequence, or if she wondered about just how much dialect to include. My guess is that you didn't question why the author gave the protagonist a dog rather than a cat as a pet and you didn't stop to wonder why the author included what the antagonist ate for dinner one night or what type of car her father drove. If the novel was written well, then you didn't stop to think about any of these questions because the book was seamless. The story flowed and you allowed yourself to be carried along with the current.

I'm on the opposite end of that process. I'm trolling about for the pieces that will fit together to create my story. I'm sitting down at a blank screen with thoughts sparking in my brain but not a clear idea of how they will come together. As a nonfiction writer, I feel more comfortable describing the intricate process of making a glass paperweight then imagining the conversation between my characters. Fiction feels a lot like I'm jumping off a cliff and I'm not exactly sure where I'll land. It is, as I wrote to my friend, Joyce Hostetter, writing into the unknown.

But as I explore Charlotte in 1950, the setting for my middle grade fiction, I'm meeting and talking to wonderful people who willingly share their stories. Already I have talked with several women who were pictured on the cover of LIFE magazine in July of 1951. One woman asked me why I was writing this book and wondered if it wouldn't be easier to write about something I already knew. I laughed, agreed, and said, But this is so much fun!" I paused and then added, "And I'm learning a lot too.

I find that as I tackle this project I need "real" prompts to weave together my story. I refer to several Norman Rockwell books of illustrations. My newspaper clippings file of Charlotte's history grows. I watch TV documentaries and plan to scour the public library to uncover what was newsworthy in the south in the summer of 1950. I'm looking forward to interviewing Charles Jones, one of the individuals who led 200 people to protest segregation in Charlotte in 1960. Each person I speak to adds another dimension to my story; each article another tidbit. With their voices in my head, their words recorded in my laptop, their pictures staring at me from books, I feel more equipped--but ultimately, when I sit down to write, I'm still writing into the unknown.
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