CampNaNoWriMo : Break Time

I love camp. I love writing, but sometimes I go into writing overload. I just write and write and write and the life going on around me goes a bit ignored. My husband keeps me balanced as best he can and my daughter knows how to grab my attention. So my family is still there, but my brain doesn't always know when to take a break.

To fix this I cut time out of  my writing schedule for me time. This past week my me time has been all about an anime. Fairy Tail is a great way to let the mind rest and recharge. The characters are rich and the stories are enjoyable. While watching one of the later story arches I realized it was the characters I loved more than anything. They are proof that fictional characters can make you cry, laugh, fall in love and want to kill them. (Any reader already knows fictional characters can do this.)

I'm pulling one of my favorite characters out for a bit of character study. This is a great way to look at how an already complete character is setup and can help an author give some depth to their own characters.


Cana

She is a drunk with daddy issues. And I mean a drunk. In the anime she can turn up a barrel and drain it. Thankfully she's a functioning drunk. This means that even while three sheets to the wind she can walk out into the middle of an arena and pull off one of the most powerful spells of the Fairy Tail Guild.

Cana is loyal to her guild members. She is strong enough to fight off enemy guilds and still deal with her own emotional stuff. Cana's mother died when Cana was very young and the small child wondered around until she found the guild her father was apart of. She had never met her father, only heard about him. Then she sees him and realizes he doesn't recognize her as his child. So Cana decides she's not going to tell her father about anything until she's become a super strong wizard. She joins Fairy Tail and suffers watching her father paying attention to all the children.

I think this is what led to the drinking. Is it a healthy way to deal with emotional issues? No, not at all, but it's her crutch. As you'd expect from a person basically raised by a group of adults in a guild, Cana is very lively. She believes in living life to its fullest and that's just how it is. No ifs ands or buts about it.

Her daddy issues come to a head and she fails to get the title she wanted before she told him. Her father still loves her and wants to be with his 'little girl' as much as he can to make up for lost time. It's kind of smothering, but Cana keeps getting stronger. She keeps reaching for that goal, I believe in part to make her father proud.

In the current story arch that I'm watching Cana proves that a drunk with real daddy issues can save the day. When everyone in the guild is knocked out of the fight, Cana takes charge, issues orders and in a way leads an attack to save everyone. This is her true bad-ass moment and it was a journey that would make any father proud.

This is a complete developed character with a personal story line that made her real. Looking at Cana's development helps me work on my own characters.

Why does Kree have that weird tick? What's behind Jade's irrational fear of returning to the Dream Realm? Developing these details and others fills in a character and gives them personality that may otherwise read very flat.

That's all for today. Take time for yourself and happy reading/writing!

Peace and love!