By combining your character internals with their history via
their personal filter, you've already gone deep into your
character.
Props take you one step further.
I was first introduced to this concept by Carolyn Greene,
author of The Plot Doctor. If you're a plotter I recommend
the "kit". If you're a pantster, you will go insane in 3.2
seconds.
The following is my interpretation of props, my
applications, etc., not Carolyn's.
Props, in my opinion, can be split into three categories:
tangible, mannerisms, and crutches. When combined with
internals and POV filters, these elements take your
nicely-polished character to a high shine.
From your character's strongest two or three traits, choose
several possible props to refine their persona.
Let's take a
restless modern cowboy, living
life through the POV filter of
LOSS, as an
example.
Some
tangible props
for this type of man might be:
- cigarettes--make the brand distinctive, personal. Make
the habit purposeful (smokes when confined or to relax or
when preparing to lie.)
- a unique pair of boots (that hold meaning or memories
for him)...there's a country song whose lyrics have the
line "the scars on my knuckles match the scuffs on my
cowboy boots" illustrating how he lives the life, not just
dresses for it.
- saddlebags that he carries in his truck instead of on
his horse; ones which hold unusual items (that further
define him) like:
- photos of the family he lost
- a book of poetry--a gift from his late wife
a digital camera--to document his travels and relive them
when he's stationary; moving helps him forget his pain.
- his palm pilot--to check email, his only contact with
family and friends since he lost his family.
- a truck that has two hundred thousand miles on
it--from all his travels, his restless attempts to either
remember his family or forget their absence.
Restless modern cowboy mannerisms might include:
- Pinching his cigarettes between the tips of his
fingers (the *manly* hold of a cigarette).
- Not finishing one before he disposes of it and lights
another.
- Shifting on his feet.
- A nervous tick (maybe a result of nerve damage from
the accident in which he lost his family), a quark such as
wiping his brow or upper lip with the back of his hand,
lifting and repositioning his cowboy hat (guys with
baseball caps do this all the time, too).
- Squinting into the distance instead of looking someone
in the eye while they talk, giving others the feeling hedd
rather be somewhere else.
A restless modern cowboy's crutches--elements of his personality he
leans on in crisis--might include:
- Feigning preoccupation with his electronic toys as
avoidance.
- Using his duties on the ranch to get away when he
feels closed in or the memories are too strong (ride the
fence line, take a trip to the feed store).
- Maintaining a gruff exterior to keep other's at a
distance.
I did this whole restless cowboy thing
on the fly, so they may not be an exact fit, but I think it
gets my point across.
Now I'm going to provide some examples of how I utilized
these props with Cassie (heroine) and how I weaved them into
the story.
Remember: she's a professionally independent,
personally insecure physician living through the
POV filters of SUSPICION and FEAR.
Example 1 (tangible props):
On a deep breath, she sank deeper
into the comforting leather driver's seat and forced her
mind clear. But that only lasted a moment before the uneasy
sense of forgetting something, of needing to be somewhere
she wasn't crept in. Her hand drifted to her waist, but
found the cool casing of the pager she usually wore absent.
The anxiety pushing its way up her chest attested to the
turn her life had taken over the years. When a pager and a
cell phone became security blankets, when being needed and
in control at all times reshaped a life, big changes were
needed.
Notes: This
sense of pagers and cell phones creating a lifeline is very
real to medical professionals, and a perfect tangible prop
for Cassie.
Example 2 (tangible props):
To keep her focus, she mentally
reviewed the contents of her bag for possible weapons:
scalpel, scissors, needles, flashlight.
Example 3 (tangible props):
The cop ambled over to the men and
entered into a low-volume discussion. With their attention
diverted, Cassie pulled a digital camera from her medical
bag. Multiple professors had advocated the importance of
documenting interesting cases for teaching files, evidence
for court cases or simply covering one's own ass against
liable or administrative quandaries. It fit in her palm, and
she cupped it tightly, edging toward the rear of the truck.
Notes: Her
medical background (experience and supplies) are a constant
prop--because it's a huge part of who she is.
Example 4 (mannerisms):
Her hand drifted to her waist, but
the cool casing of the pager she usually wore was absent.
Notes: This is
an example where a tangible prop can pull double-duty. The
action of her hand drifting to her waist constantly
searching for what grounds her is also a mannerism.
Example 5 (mannerisms):
She stretched her neck, forcing
the morbid, agonizing thought away. Her cervical spine
popped and stress relief flowed over her shoulders.
Notes: This is
one of her little quirks; she does it when under extreme
stress. I actually do it quite often when I'm writing.
Example 6 (crutch):
She swept his immaculate light
blue jeans and polo shirt with one look. Her fear dissolved
into fury. He hadn't been harmed in the accident, nor had he
lifted a finger to help any of these women.
Notes: She
often uses anger to control her fear.
Example 7 (crutch):
Heat crawled up Cassie's neck and
burned her face, but she restrained a blowout. She needed to
strike a balance here--authoritative but not
confrontational, professional but not condescending. She
knew this type of man much too well.
Notes: She
constantly falls back on the control she learned in medical
school to maintain composure.
Example 8 (crutch):
When she was sure no one had
followed, she passed through the security gate and started
down the long, palm-lined driveway until she could no longer
see the main road. Cassie stopped the car and let it idle,
taking comfort in the soft glow highlighting the trees'
rough trunks and illuminating the undersides of the fanned
leaves, the soothing ocean waves on the shore yards away.
With all her fear and anger shoved to the background, Cassie
focused on her body, on regulating her chaotic heartbeat and
shaking limbs. But no matter what she did, memories of her
own past seeped in.
Notes: Another
of her 'crutch patterns' is to present a strong front to
others and break down when she's alone.
