When Your Character Misbehaves

31 Days in October

Following people who's work we admire is a common practice with modern internet capability. I am not sure I would introduce myself to these women if I saw them on the street but I am grateful that they share their lives and give me a sample of good creative writing and knitting.

Day 22-

So, I have a main character in Rubato named Reggie Watts. I don't know him as well as I should. When I am writing in his point of view I get muddled and that's when I accuse him of misbehaving. Here is what he would look like if Rubato was made into a movie and Michael Fassbender had the staring role. Ha! Ha!

His new homicide detective partner Stevie (Stephanie) Dangerfield is causing some difficulties for him. 

    Reggie was propped up against the dirty wall of the police precinct, one leg wrapped around the other, anchoring him to the floor in a straight line. He was bothered by the earlier incident at the crime scene. Did Stevie really expect him to take off his shoes at the door of every place they visited? Especially a house that looked like they never cleaned their floors? For God’s sake, she was having a tea party with the neighbor guy instead of asking him a few simple questions and getting out of there. If their partnership was going to work he didn’t need her to get under his skin. And, what  was she doing sitting on the back lawn while he was taking the call from Detective Jeppson? Was she doing some kind of meditation thing? He thought of her thick brown hair like a halo around her head as the afternoon sun was melting behind the trees. 

      Reggie shifted his weight and planted both feet firmly on the floor. Where was she now? Why did she think she needed to stop off at her house before coming into the police station. The door at the end of the hall opened abruptly and Stevie came striding towards him.

    “Took you long enough.” He said with a forced smile. “Horak is in there and he looks agitated. Do you want to take the lead and tell him about his wife?”

    “Sure.” 

     Stevie looked refreshed in a new outfit. The blue of her shirt brought out the color of her eyes. There was pink lipstick on her lips which had not been there earlier. With her hair behind her ears Reggie noticed small pearl earrings. 

     Reggie checked his notes. Had Stevie delivered the news of a dead spouse before? He hoped she could be bold enough to interrogate the husband but still be kind. He turned the doorknob of the interview room and opened the door for Stevie to walk in first.

My challenge is to allow Reggie to reveal what he feels inside, staying true to his nature. 

And so it is with yarn. I know, you were waiting for the comparison. 

Yarns can be made from natural or synthetic materials. They can be smooth or deeply textured. I am working with two strands at the same time right now. One is a very thin fingering weight wool and the other a fuzzy mohair wool. The mohair misbehaves and I often must go back and re-work a stitch to make sure I've grabbed all the fibers. 

So what do you do if your book character or your yarn misbehaves? 
Get to know them better. 

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