Writer or “Roadie”: Who Leads the Way – the Author or the Character?  

Yes, I created a character in my image … but a way better version, and far more interesting. 

 Sophie Bloom, the protagonist in my new novel, THE UNBREAKABLES, is a hot mess. Her marriage falls apart, her besties betray her, her 19-year-old daughter studying abroad is having an affair with her married professor, and she lets her own passion – her art – fall by the wayside. She hits rock bottom … until she heads to the south of France (where I did my, ahem, “research”) and the new Sophie Bloom begins to blossom.

Sophie is me—not so much in plot—but in character, in her soul. I, too, saw my first marriage self-destruct. I, too, put my kids’ needs before my own (I’m still working on this). And I, too, had to reinvent myself after heartbreak, in order to survive and ultimately, thrive. 

How, I wondered as I began to develop her character, do I separate? How do I stick Sophie on a journey to rediscover her joie de vivre, and make it her very own—not mine. 

I knew I would be spending the next two years with her—writing, editing, revising—and then another year minimum promoting and touring. What can I give Sophie to go the distance? And then I thought, why stop there? Every good relationship is a two-way street—a give and take—what can I learn from her as she creates a new life for herself…

“Who’s leading who?” I wondered, as I began to type away—am I the writer or Sophie’s roadie? What does she want out of this relationship—what do I? I finally decided that instead of assigning a leader, we’d walk side-by-side on this journey … 

Let’s do this. 

As a Mom of three daughters, now young women, I’ve seen it all, gave my all. Whatever my girls needed, I made sure they had it. Sophie did the same for her 19-year-old daughter Ava, until realizing that she had left nothing for herself. 

As someone who found love again the second-time around, I had to do things differently in my new relationship. And Sophie, well, I’m not going to spoil that for you … but let’s just say, on this one, she listened to me. 

As someone who has passionately written since third grade, no matter what kind of crazy happened in my life, I never gave up my writing. Sophie, however, gave up sculpting. She let go of her dream, and was too afraid to reclaim her power. That’s it, I thought, let’s give this girl back her dream, but not make it easy. There’d be an emptiness, a void, a black hole for her to figure out how to fill it up again. I plucked from my own past, my own trials and errors, and made them hers.

Now it was her turn. What would it feel like to go from a committed lifelong relationship to a much younger, albeit very experienced lover(s)? What would it be like to be alone in a foreign land and recreate one’s own life from scratch? I wrote Sophie, but in turn, she taught me, her lessons, her experiences – both sexual and artistic.

When Sophie compiled a list of survival goals, they ironically, became my To-Do list as well. As I would move through my day, I’d find myself thinking about Sophie’s list and try to incorporate it within my own life.

And therein lies the beauty: Going hand-in-hand with your protagonist, through twists and turns, a synchronicity develops. Many times your characters are composites of people you know, oft-times your characters will do things you would never do in real life—but perhaps secretly wish you could. 

As I wrapped up Sophie’s journey, I realized, she wasn’t just my character, but had become one of my peeps; an imaginary bestie perhaps. She went from hot mess to badass – my kinda girl. Truthfully, when I hit THE END, I just didn’t want to say goodbye, but it was time to separate. Like all good characters, Sophie had done her time, needed to turn a new page, and so did I. 

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Lisa Barr is the award-winning author of the historical thriller FUGITIVE COLORS. Her new novel THE UNBREAKABLES (Harper) comes out today. 

Instagram: @lisabarr18

Twitter: @lisabarr18

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Book Site: www.lisabarr.com

THE UNBREAKABLES

A delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre—a lust for life, art, and steamy sex.

“Artful, feminist, and emotionally gripping. The Unbreakables is a remarkable tribute to a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak and adversity.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town.

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor.

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever…and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

 

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips