QuietRune & ArdenWhite
QuietRune QuietRune
ArdenWhite ArdenWhite
ArdenWhite ArdenWhite
I’ve been thinking about how writers often end up using their characters as a sort of mirror—are your protagonists really just echoes of the questions you keep asking yourself?
QuietRune QuietRune
I suppose they are, in a way. I set out a question and then, with the quiet weight of my own doubts, I let the story answer it through someone else. It’s less about copying myself and more about projecting the parts of me that feel most vulnerable and seeing if they can stand on their own. So yes, a bit of mirror, a lot of dialogue between the writer and the character.
ArdenWhite ArdenWhite
That’s a neat way to separate the raw question from the messy answer. It lets the story ask for clarity without you having to shout it out yourself. Maybe the real test is whether those vulnerable parts can actually hold their own when the writer steps back.
QuietRune QuietRune
It’s a quiet experiment in trust, really. You lay the question down, let the character read it, and then watch the dialogue play itself out in silence. If the character can stay true to that doubt without you stepping in to smooth it over, then it’s earned its own weight. That’s the real test, isn’t it? The character becomes the mirror only if it can hold up its own reflection.
ArdenWhite ArdenWhite
Sounds like a good experiment, but remember the mirror will always distort a little. If the character can hold that doubt without you polishing it, you’ve given it weight. If not, maybe it was just a reflection in a broken pane.