Ok, so this blog post is going to basically just be a rant, more or less. Just giving you a fair warning before I babble on senselessly, trying to make a point. Bear with me, I have something to say, I promise.
So, recently I developed another story idea that I'm pretty excited about. It's not perfectly worked out yet, but the basic plot points are coming together and I've already written a rough first two chapters. Starting a new story is always fun because you never know where it's going to lead. It's so fascinating to watch a story develop before your eyes as your hands type furiously, trying to keep up with the brainstorming (at least in the early stages).
Where things get complicated, at least for me, is learning the voice of this new protagonist. Every time I try to work on something that isn't my already completed manuscript, I get really lost trying to find the voice. I prefer first person narratives because I like to hear the thoughts of the protagonist. I like to struggle with their thoughts and perceptions along with them. It's one of my favorite aspects of books, so I try to replicate that.
But learning a new voice is hard. The protagonist of my completed manuscript (her name is Jade) was easy to write, to an extent. I had had the idea for so many years that it was like she was a close, personal friend. I knew her well. I knew exactly how she would react to anything. The struggles I had writing that manuscript never had anything to do with Jade's personality or her voice. That was the one thing I never had a problem with. When I would work on that story, it was like Jade took control of my thoughts so that my thoughts and opinions synced with hers. Often, I would write for hours straight, getting thousands of words onto the page, only to later read it, Jade in my head, and think "Jade, what on earth were you thinking?"
And I liked that. It was easy. Even if I didn't agree with Jade's decisions (and I often don't), I understood them. I knew them. I never had to wonder, "What would Jade do?" or "How would Jade react to this situation?" So while I struggled with other aspects of the storytelling itself, I never had to worry about Jade's voice.
All that to say that now, whatever character I come up with at this point, I struggle to find their voice. I might know exactly how I want them to come across (i.e. shy, bold, flirty, sarcastic, etc.), but actually putting that into words is much harder than it sounds. I feel like I don't know this new character well enough to write like I'm inside her head.
But you know what's cool? Learning a new character is exciting. It's like making a new friend that quickly becomes a best friend. You get to discover her opinions, beliefs, quirks, and personality as you go. The more I write, the more I get to know her.
This happened to me once before. I tried to write a story but couldn't for the life of me get the hang of the protagonist's voice. I knew exactly how I wanted him to come across, but I just couldn't get inside his head, couldn't think like him. I unofficially gave up on it and left the six or so chapters I had completed just sit idle on my computer. Maybe I'll come back to it at some point and try again.
But I think that I just didn't write consistently enough to learn him. I need to spend time with my characters to learn them, just like I would with any person. You have to be around someone a lot to truly understand them. I think the reason that this current manuscript is going so much better in that regard is that I wrote about 4,000 words in one sitting, and by the end of it, I felt like I had a much better grasp on the protagonist's voice than I did at the beginning. I spent the time with her. I learned her brain.
Now that's not to say that Jade doesn't still linger in my head. It's hard for me to write a situation and not think "If this happened to Jade, she would totally do ___." And maybe it will always be that way. I think Jade will always hold a special place in my mind because she was my first protagonist. But the more I write other characters consistently, the easier it gets to differentiate between the current protagonist's reactions and Jade's. Jade's thoughts still pop into my head, but I can more easily push them aside and consider a different point of view.
So all that to say that if you too have a very pushy first protagonist, the solution is to write a lot and often in a different voice. Pick an idea that you have and learn that character consistently. Eventually you will come to know him/her really well and you'll be able to get inside their head. By the end of that 4,000 words, it became easier to think more like the protagonist and less like Jade.
Additional tip: tell your pushy protagonist to shove it.
KMG
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