The Tragedy Paper
by Elizabeth LaBan
Thank you Elizabeth for the awesome guest post. I really like an inside view into how you develop your characters, especially Tim as I found him an amazing character.
Elizabeth on Tim, the main character.
The first thing I knew about Tim MacBeth was his name, which I guess is pretty typical of meeting someone. Now that I think about it, that seems fitting because for me writing a character really is about getting to know him or her. Characters form and come to life as I write. For that reason, I always find the first few drafts of my novels to be a little lonely – I don’t really know the people I’m hanging out with very well yet. As they grow and develop I look forward to being with them more and more. By the time I went through the last draft of The Tragedy Paper, I knew without question what the characters would all say and do in a given situation. I felt like I knew them the way I know people in my real life.
Beyond his name, though, I knew also that Tim was an outsider, and not just because he was new to The Irving School. I wanted him to have an affliction of some sort that he dealt with every day, but not something that made it hard for him to live his daily life. I also liked the idea that his issue was one you could see the minute you were with him. I have a 14-year-old, and I remember being that age, and I think most teenagers feel exposed, like everyone is looking at them and can see everything about them, even if they don’t have something that necessarily makes them stand out in an obvious way. Tim’s being an albino just highlights that feeling even more. At the beginning of the book Tim explains, “Sometimes I feel like I have a spotlight shining on me as I walk in a crowd – that’s how washed-out I think I look. Even in the airport, with tons of people around, you still can’t miss me.” Sure, Tim is talking specifically about his lack of pigment in that passage, but don’t all teens feel that way to some extent? It gave me a way to amplify the insecurities that are present in most adolescents.
I’m sure I could have come up with another “difference,” but as Tim came to life in my head, this characteristic really stuck. I didn’t want to make him disfigured or have a big scar, and I didn’t want him to feel sick or have a hard time getting around, because that wasn’t what this is about for me. Also, I didn’t want to choose something that was a definite, clear negative. For Tim it is, and of course everyone wants or thinks they want to be “normal.” But even though Tim struggles with how he looks, who is to say he isn’t very handsome in his own way? Being an albino also moved the story along, and offered so many possibilities for the choices Tim makes in the book. Ultimately that is what leads to his tragic downfall – an error in his judgment – not only about how the world perceives him, but also by making a choice related to being an albino that leads directly to the tragic event.
Beyond his name, though, I knew also that Tim was an outsider, and not just because he was new to The Irving School. I wanted him to have an affliction of some sort that he dealt with every day, but not something that made it hard for him to live his daily life. I also liked the idea that his issue was one you could see the minute you were with him. I have a 14-year-old, and I remember being that age, and I think most teenagers feel exposed, like everyone is looking at them and can see everything about them, even if they don’t have something that necessarily makes them stand out in an obvious way. Tim’s being an albino just highlights that feeling even more. At the beginning of the book Tim explains, “Sometimes I feel like I have a spotlight shining on me as I walk in a crowd – that’s how washed-out I think I look. Even in the airport, with tons of people around, you still can’t miss me.” Sure, Tim is talking specifically about his lack of pigment in that passage, but don’t all teens feel that way to some extent? It gave me a way to amplify the insecurities that are present in most adolescents.
I’m sure I could have come up with another “difference,” but as Tim came to life in my head, this characteristic really stuck. I didn’t want to make him disfigured or have a big scar, and I didn’t want him to feel sick or have a hard time getting around, because that wasn’t what this is about for me. Also, I didn’t want to choose something that was a definite, clear negative. For Tim it is, and of course everyone wants or thinks they want to be “normal.” But even though Tim struggles with how he looks, who is to say he isn’t very handsome in his own way? Being an albino also moved the story along, and offered so many possibilities for the choices Tim makes in the book. Ultimately that is what leads to his tragic downfall – an error in his judgment – not only about how the world perceives him, but also by making a choice related to being an albino that leads directly to the tragic event.
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