Oh Halloween. The time of masks.You may have noticed I rather like masks.
Masks can be beautiful and terrifying. They can be eerily serene or make bold statements. A good mask will haunt and intrigue you. It may delight you or reveal something about the wearer you hadn't noticed before.
You can make them with bright colors or muted colors. Beads, feathers, flowers, gemstones. Plastic, wood, ceramic, paper, paint, glitter glue. Masks can be made of so many wonderful things.
And they can be invisible.
People--including characters--wear masks all the time. There's the face we show others, and the parts we keep hidden. Masks are armor. Some are bigger, fuller, more opaque; some are translucent wisps of fog. But everyone has a mask or ten that slip in and out of place with every interaction.
What are your characters' masks? What does each mask say about your character? What happens when the masks come off?
--
*A Kippy is a cat.
And they can be invisible.
People--including characters--wear masks all the time. There's the face we show others, and the parts we keep hidden. Masks are armor. Some are bigger, fuller, more opaque; some are translucent wisps of fog. But everyone has a mask or ten that slip in and out of place with every interaction.
What are your characters' masks? What does each mask say about your character? What happens when the masks come off?
--
Jodi Meadows is the author of INCARNATE. (January 31, 2012 - HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books.)
She lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. You can find her on her website and blog.
*A Kippy is a cat.
I did a ballet number in high school where we all wore masks that we'd made. It was SWEET. Definitely kind of eerie. But this is something I will have to think more about with my characters. It's a good way to understand them better.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!
Those are very good questions. The kind that will make me sit down and think. For that, I thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Masks, oh yes. Love this post and your questions at the end. One of my characters is a shape-shifter who kind of lives in masks, but the others have their fair share of different faces they wear too. And yep, it gets fun when the masks come off!
ReplyDeleteAlso, can I just say again how drop dead gorgeous your cover is!!!!
Rain - Oh wow, I bet that ballet was AMAZING!!
ReplyDeleteShawna - Glad this was useful!
Heather - Oooo, love the shapeshifter! That sounds awesome!
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ReplyDeleteReally many thanks