Every character is the Main Character of her own story (1)
At long last, Charlie feels her career is going forward again.
After university she plunged into the fast and dirty world of estate agency, relishing the excitement of cut-and-thrust corporate life and making good use of the competitive talents that had made her an outstanding athlete during her teens.
Five successful years later, fully qualified for promotion, and very eager to climb, she hit the glass ceiling and found herself in a long queue waiting to fill dead men’s shoes: with a strong emphasis on the word men’s.
Charlie looked long and hard at the housing industry. All her experience suggested that times were going to get very difficult for commission-based sales people over the next few years. Remembering how temporary blips in the local market tended to turn cut-and-thrust into dog-eat-dog, she decided it was time for a sideways career jump.
She chose retail management and wowed everyone in an interview at the same supermarket she’d worked in part-time while at uni. Accepted onto the organisation’s fast track program, she went to work on the shop floor and was made welcome by several old timers, including Sheila, a neighbour and long-time friend of her parents.
Six months later, just as Charlie’s bosses were preparing to move her on to gain experience elsewhere in the store, she hurt her back. Badly. It was an old car accident injury, complicated by heavy lifting on the shop floor. One day she woke up to a pride of neurosurgeons standing around her hospital bed talking percentage chances of permanent paralysis.
Every character is the Main Character of her own story (2)
Every character is the Main Character of her own story (3)
Every Character is the Main Character of her own story (4)
How do you get inside a character’s head?
Rebecca Laffar-Smith said,
August 20, 2008 at 12:31 pm
GRRRR HOW DARE YOU!!!! I HATE “TO BE CONTINUED!”"”
Gimme the rest of the story!!! *pouts* If I’d known I’d be left on a cliff hanger I’d have read this tomorrow when I could read the rest. *pouts some more*
Did you know I even tend to wait till a trilogy is entirely written and I have all three books in my hands before I start the first? Cliff-hangers, they’re EVIL!
David Bridger said,
August 20, 2008 at 12:40 pm
LOL!
I’m genuinely laughing out loud here, Bec!
I’m glad you like my cliffhanger.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith said,
August 20, 2008 at 12:43 pm
*pouts* LOATH the cliffhanger, loved the rest. :-p
David Bridger said,
August 20, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Well, I doubt this’ll endear my cliffhanger to you any more, but it’s your own fault.
Who was it pounded my ears two months ago about making long posts?
Rebecca Laffar-Smith said,
August 20, 2008 at 1:26 pm
lol *groans* Now I see the irony. My own good advice will lead me to my doom. Still, it WAS good advice. So I suppose I should just shut up and pretend to be patient while I wait impatiently.
R. Alexander Spoerer said,
August 20, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Interesting. I’m curious where you’re going with this character study and how you got the idea.
David Bridger said,
August 20, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Thank you. In this series I use real life situations to illustrate points about fiction writing.
Joan Kremer said,
August 21, 2008 at 3:21 am
How dare you do this to us, David??!!!??!
Fabulous writing — fascinating character. How’m I supposed to wait until tomorrow?
LOL — can’t wait to see where this goes!
Joan
David Bridger said,
August 21, 2008 at 7:47 am
LOL Thank you, Joan!
j3black said,
August 25, 2008 at 2:43 am
Character is important, but it’s just as important that the character have an interesting story. You’re definitely doing that with Charlie. The way she aggravates her old back injury integrates character and story. It could happen to a man, but no doubt it knocks her down further because she is a woman and must work doubly hard to impress. Of course, the conflict you leave us with is most important. Terrific writing.
David Bridger said,
August 25, 2008 at 9:09 am
Thanks, James.