This evening, I had the honor to watch a movie with some of the funnest ladies I know. The movie was called "Lost in Austen," a hilarious movie for any Jane Austen fans out there (much like myself). The film was over-loaded with crass remarks, one too many inappropriate scenes, and some worthless content. However, I didn't really notice much of this until after the movie was over. I was too involved in the plot.
A young woman, Amanda Price by name, loves the novel, Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. Her image of the most perfect gentleman on earth is Mr. Darcy. But when she gets pulled into the world of the Bennett family through a mysterious doorway linking our worlds, everything changes. She screws everything up! No one marries who they're supposed to, and you're kept guessing with twists and turns the entire movie up until the very last thirty seconds.
So yes. The idea was fantastic. But one of my favorite parts was the way she took it all. When she found that Mr. Bingley was falling in love with her instead of Jane, all she could say was, "You're supposed to marry Jane!" Then later, when Mr. Darcy falls in love with her, "You're supposed to marry Elizabeth!" But the entire idea behind all of this is that the characters were different because she was looking at them from a different perspective. She was disappointed because they weren't the beautiful characters she imagined. Mr. Darcy was the biggest jerk for most the movie, Bingley was an air-head, Mr. Collins was... well... Mr. Collins... And Mr. Whickham ended up being a good guy- ALL because she was amongst the characters and looking at it all from their angle. Grant it, it didn't change the characters themselves, she just saw different parts of them that she couldn't see from the view of ink on a page. It all became alive and real.
I don't want to make everything outrageously confusing twisted. I just want to be able to see my characters from more than one angle. In my original first draft, I peeked in on the thoughts and impressions of several of the characters. This gave me ideas of what they all thought of the same character, but not different aspects of the character herself. Fortunatley, this problem was obstructed because I had to ex-nay the whole "divided perspective" I had. Honestly, it's much easier to write and much more relatable. However, now I must broaden the perspective of the main character so that she may be able to see different aspects of the characters around her.
I know this may be a bit confusing... But just think about someone you know really well! This person is not solely a boad model collector who has never been out of the house a day of his life. There's more to him. He may design boats for big cruise-line companies. He may have an obsession with The Amazing Race... His one dream in life may be to lay out on the deck of a boat so long that he gets sunburned.... Now, I know I'm being ridiculous (probably because it's about 1 AM)... But you get my point! There's more to a person than just one perspective!
Here's my question: How do I broaden the perspective of my main character to better view those around her without changing her character as well? How do I better view these characters?
That's a good question. :/ I guess the best way to think about it is to think of yourself and look at your friends/family. Maybe your character is who she is because of the perspective those around her have already given her?
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