Method Writing – The Climb #235

Wednesday 13^th September 2017

You’ve probably heard of method acting. This is where an actor is so mentally invested in a role that even when not playing them they take on some of the characteristics. It’s considered by many to be a very in-depth form of acting.
I think I method write. This occurred to me whilst researching something for future books. I say researching, but in all honesty I’ve just been watching some obscure TV and it gave me an idea about how to play the relationship between two characters in future books.
There’s been not only some seriously good acting in the stuff I’ve been watching (actors who can play an entire scene with just their eyes) but the writing is very solid, with multi-layered plot and complex characters.
But at the centre of this story is a romance. Now, I’m not really big on romance. I think it’s good to have – they are perfect opportunities for character development, and throwing spanners in the works – but I’ve never been a big one for romance books or movies. But what I like about this romance I’ve watched is how they have teased the audience. There’s a lot of “Will they-Won’t They” as well as clever ways to add complexity to the relationship so that you’re never sure whether the characters will get together or not. I find myself rooting for them.
So needless to say that I can think of a way that this could play into future novels. It’s not something I really want to put front and centre but something I could ebb out over the course of a number of novels. I didn’t think that was possible before, but now I have a very clear idea on how to do it, without it feeling like I’m trying to drag it out.
So my head has been filled with ideas of how the relationship would play out book to book, and driving this evening I was suddenly aware I was sighing.
Now I’ve had a stressful day, which I’ll come on to, but this was something else. As I do, I pondered on it for some time before coming to the conclusion that I was feeling heartbroken. This is a little odd. I’m not in a relationship at the moment and haven’t been for some time, so for someone as aromantic as me, it was a bit unexpected.
But I think I was so inside my main character’s head and in tune with their emotional state that somehow I’d taken on some of the characteristics.
I found it quite amusing… and a little odd, if I’m honest.
But I think back to Black as Knight and some of the scenes I’ve written and how I felt after writing them and I think there’s a little truth to the method writing idea. Yes, I can look at all my characters and see elements of me in them. I think that’s true for any writer. It’s like we split our soul into a hundred different pieces and these characters are our horcruxes. But there’s definitely points in the novel where my mood has changed based on the state of mind of the character I’m writing.
It’s probably why I find writing with other stresses going on so hard. I realised I work hard to really get inside the mind of my characters and I hope that shows on the page.
But it was just as well I’m not writing today, because in the day job it’s been hell. We’ve had the second of our three man team go down, leaving me all on my own. There’s part of me that likes the fact that I’m the last man standing. After all, I’ve been in need of a break for near to 6 weeks now which I’ve been unable to take due to illness and holidays. Given the things that happened last year, I don’t want anyone to say that because of my various illnesses I’m not up to the job. So I’ve been determined not to go down. But now the other two have… I’m not going to feel bad if I crash hard next week.
Still it meant for an exhausting and stressful day that resulted in the extra long drive where I made my revelation.
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