How Could You Do That? – Putting the Characters You Love Into Difficult Situations
Jamieson Villeneuve
July 09, 2007
What do you mean?” I asked.
I’m talking about Mave!” she yelled. “How could you do that to her? How could you let that happen to her?”
Perhaps I should back up a bit and explain. In my new young adult novel, The Ghost Mirror, the heroine is a thirteen year old girl named Mave Mallory. She’s got a lot of weight on her shoulders. Not only are her parents cruel and neglectful of her but she also learns that she is The Last Witch and is the subject of a prophecy.
As if that isn’t bad enough, Mave also has to battle Mr. Lavender, an eater of souls, who is stalking and hunting her. Once he finds her he will kill her and drink in her soul. Mave is also put face to face with prejudice, almost burnt alive, attacked by birds and consumed by fear. Not your average life for a thirteen year old girl.
Do you even feel bad for what you put her through?” my friend asked.
Of course I do.” I said. “But it’s what had to be done.”
But you’re the author!” she yelled at me. “Surely you could have made sure she was safe.”
Well, see, I could have. But I think of myself as a story teller. If I hadn’t told the whole story, something would have been missing. It wouldn’t have been the true story.
I found it immensely difficult to put Mave in difficult situations. I’ve come to love Mave like the sister I never had or a long lost friend. And, let me tell you something: The Ghost Mirror only gives you an idea of what's in store for Mave. There are two more books planned and things will get darker with each book.
It's one of the reasons I haven't written the sequel yet. I don't want to go there. But I'm going to have to because in these cases, the story really writes itself. I don't like it, I don't enjoy it, but I have to tell the story the way it needs to be told.
I knew that Mave's family wouldn't like her. This is more because people always fear what they do not know or understand and it was the same with Mave and her parents. But don't worry; they get what's coming to them in the second book.
I don't like putting Mave in situation where she could possibly die. I knew at the beginning of writing The Ghost Mirror that it would be tough going for Mave. But I also knew that she would be able to get through it; That she would have to in order to reach her full potential and fulfill the prophecy.
In the end, I had to write the story the way it wanted to be written, regardless of what was going to happen to Mave. This was really hard to do. But I didn't want to shy away from what was going to happen because of my own selfishness.
Of course, it hurt to do so. But I think that if I had not let the story go where it needed to go, the dialogue would have suffered and it would have come off sounding fake. This happens a lot, especially in young adult fiction; the author feels the audience may be too young so they talk down to them.
One author who doesn't do this is J. K. Rowling, author of the incredibly popular Harry Potter series. And look how amazing those books are! Like her, I prefer not to patronize my audience and let the story remain as is.
In the end, Mave gets through her trials and tribulations with a few bruises and scratches. People die along the way and good does not necessarily triumph over evil. But isn’t that the nature of storytelling? Anything and everything will happen if you are not afraid to let it. I hated seeing Mave in dire straights but she had to experience hardship to come into her own.
My friend still thinks I have no heart but I did what had to be done. I told everything, leaving no stone unturned. I told the true story, the whole story, as it was meant to be told.
You have to tell the whole story, the true story, for it to have any power. When there is power in words, they can take you anywhere.
For more info on The Ghost Mirror, visit www.jamiesonwolf.com or www.theghostmirror.blogspot.com or www.thehauntedwalk.homestead.com and you can purchase a copy from www.etreasurespublishing.com