1. joeh1234

    joeh1234 Active Member

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    Advice on Imaginary Character.

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by joeh1234, Jun 20, 2016.

    Hey All, I am looking for a bit of input about a character I am working. My story started out as a love story and the premise was a simple one, a man who had separated from his wife and was on a self destructive (drug induced) downward spiral, decides to go travelling and meets a woman.
    Long story short the woman originally was going to be a figment of his imagination, so I wrote all the interactions with the MC and the woman subtly. As the story progressed it changes into something completely different so now the love story between them is now secondary to a murder mystery.
    I am in the position now where the character can still be a figment of his imagination or a real woman. However I am at the point in the story now where I need to make the decision.

    Some additional information, the MC decided to take this trip to find out what he wanted to do with his life. And as the story unfolds and he begins assisting the police, he starts to warm to the idea of becoming a police officer, (but ultimately I think he will become a private detective, and then I can write multiple stories about this character).
    I think it is a good premise that the love interest stays as a figment of his imagination and it will be revealed in the story towards the end. She generally appears when he is feeling low and doing drugs. But, she also provides him with information that he has seen but not registered it consciously, so she tells him stuff that he thinks he hasn't seen but when you read the story he has.......if that makes sense. SO yeah she is like his subconscious, the things he wants to do and the things he wants to say and the way he wants to live (or so he thinks) she lives.

    So in peoples opinion, do they think it is lazy to write someone off as "Imaginary" or as long as it is done in a decent way it's not a problem.

    Thanks for reading what I believe is my longest post on this forum to date :D
    Joe
     
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  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    I think it sounds really intriguing. I don't read much murder mystery (unless that's the same as a typical detective story? Unsure if they fall under the same genre) but that's not something I've come across in crime before. It reminds me of

    Odd Thomas, where it isn't revealed until the end that Stormy is dead, and Odd is interacting with her ghost. I think I actually cried.

    I really liked that twist and didn't find it cheap at all.

    I think the danger for you is using this woman as a device to solve the mystery. If she tantalises him with hints ("Don't you remember what you smelled in the hallway? Dear dear.") and makes him think--gives him an additional challenge--that'll be great. If she tells him stuff he already knows ("There was blood in the hall. You smelled it.") that COULD feel cheap and 'easy' for your main character. Does that make sense?
     
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  3. joeh1234

    joeh1234 Active Member

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    Yeah I really enjoyed Odd Thomas watched it last yeah, I remember I had left the window open whilst I was watching it and a cold breeze hit me in the face towards the end of the film so my tears were not emotional lol (OK Maybe they were).

    The example that comes to mind in respect to my story is the MC is stood outside a hotel and he see's a lawyer (integral character) get into the back seat of a car and be driven off. Later on in the story the girl describes the driver as she saw them as well from a different vantage point . The driver later becomes a integral to the story too.
    Obviously there is a lot more to it than that, but that is the general thing. This is not a constant theme (her giving him information) so it isn't overdone.
    The trepidation I have is the next couple of chapters really need to solidify if she is real or not, so I am just a little nervous committing to this type of character.
     

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