Writing for Real(ism)

by Bethany Maines

My brother and his wife recently sent out some new baby
pictures and an update on how  they’re
doing.  With the baby at 10 weeks old
they are getting approximately 5-7 hours of sleep and they declared it “luxurious”.  Oh, I remember those days! If you read my
post on Mom’s vs. Navy Seals “Hell What Now?” you know that I’m sympathetic to
the trials of sleep deprivation.  But now
that I’m a bit more on the other side (next stop – terrible two’s!), I’m
intrigued by the idea of how I can apply this knowledge to my characters.

Writers are told to add physical characteristics to their
characters and bring realism to the fictional world.  And I think all writers enjoy building a
character dossier – eyes, hair, height, tattoos.  But I think until I had my child it didn’t
occur to me to build in the psychological effects of physical changes and
stresses.  When one gains weight, there
are changes such as bumping into things you didn’t used to (I swear I didn’t whack
my baby belly with the car door more than 8 or 12 times).  With weight loss people can find themselves
turning sideways to go through doorways that fit them just fine.  And what about memory and focus problems that
come with hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, or trauma? And as if these very
physical realities weren’t enough, I think I should be asking not only “How
does my character deal with this physical limitation or stress?” But also “What
does my character feel about their reaction?” 

Now I just have to figure out how to write all that around a
dead body,  3 – 10 suspects, and a three
act structure and I’m sure I’ll have a best seller on my hands.

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.