I’m amazed by the places I find inspiration for my characters.
My husband and I are currently reading the book Overcoming Overload by Steve and Mary Farrar. The book is about, as you might assume, keeping your life from becoming overloaded with too many commitments and too much stuff.
In the first chapter of this book, the authors suggest that when we find ourselves constantly stressed out by the hectic pace of life, it’s because we’ve bought into one of the following lies:
My daughter is currently obsessed with Beauty and the Beast. (This connects to what I just said, I promise!)
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| McKenna is a big fan of all things Princess. Here she is dressed as Cinderella, playing with the step-mother and and step-sister. |
We have the soundtrack (an ancient relic from when I was a little girl obsessed with Beauty and the Beast) and McKenna wants to listen to it over and over. We listen to it so much these days that I usually just tune it out, but something caught my attention the other day. In the opening of the story, when Gaston says to LeFou that he intends to marry Belle, that she’s the most beautiful girl in town, he adds on: “That makes her the best! And don’t I deserve the best?”
Gaston goes through the story believing he deserves it all. He deserves the best. It’s why he won’t accept Belle’s no. Because she’s the best and he deserves to have her.
I started thinking about the main character in the book I’m writing, who’s been raised in a society of selfishness and ambition. Just like Gaston, she believes she deserves it all. And it impacts her decision making process.
What about your main character? Or their best friend? Or the antagonist? What do they believe? How does that lie influence their decisions?