“Cynicism is not a neutral position — and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and easy of evils.
I know this because much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent. The truth is, I was young and had no idea what was coming down the line. I lacked the knowledge, the foresight, the self-awareness. I just didn’t know. It took a devastation to teach me the preciousness of life and the essential goodness of people. It took a devastation to reveal the precariousness of the world, of its very soul, to understand that it was crying out for help. …
Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like, Valerio, such as reading to your little boy, or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song, or putting on his shoes, keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that it is so.”
Nick Cave, from his “Red Hand Files” newsletter, which you should sign up for right away
In storytelling, a character’s ghost is a past, significant (and often traumatic) event that shaped his worldview in a thematic way. It prepares the character arc and works as a motivator. Choose the appropriate ghost for your character and learn how to reveal it to the audience. (article written by @septembercfawkes​ )
It’s finally the month of Halloween! And if you are like me, you’ve been chomping at the bit to get those spooky Halloween decorations up (or … maybe like me … you already cheated and started putting them up last month). In any case, talking about your character’s haunting ghost or bleeding, holey wound seems like the perfect topic to kick off a writerly October (and a great way to prep for NaNoWriMo November).
What do I mean by “ghost”? Am I saying that your character has a ghost following him around?
Not literally.
But … in a sense, yes, figuratively.
In writing, a “ghost” is a past, significant (and often traumatic) event that shaped his worldview in a thematic way. It’s almost always the most important part of your character’s backstory.
Examples of Characters’ Ghosts
In Get Out, Chris is haunted by the night he didn’t phone for help when his mother didn’t come home from work–which indirectly led to her death.
In Frozen, Elsa is haunted by the fact she accidentally froze Anna when they were children.
In I, Robot, Del is haunted by the reality that a robot saved him over a 12-year-old girl.
In Finding Nemo, Marlin is haunted by the barracuda attack that killed his family (except Nemo).
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Willy Wonka is haunted by his father burning his Halloween candy (see, told you I was in a Halloween mood).
If this concept sounds vaguely familiar to you, you’ve probably been introduced to it by another term. The ghost is also often called the “wound.” Same concept, different terms. Because it’s October, we are going with “ghost” today.
Regardless, the important thing to remember here, is that the ghost isn’t a person or some other supernatural entity, it’s an event (or in some cases, a string of events). It’s often a critical component of character arc (even if the ghost doesn’t actually manifest on the page) and therefore theme, so let’s get out our Ouija boards and channel the spirits—er, I mean, delve deeper into ghosts!
Spooking Your Character with a Ghost
Most protagonists will start the story with a flaw, weakness, or misbelief that they must overcome by the end. This is what creates a positive change arc (we’ll talk about other arcs in a bit).
The ghost is the event where that flaw, weakness, or misbelief originated.
Often the character (like all of us) started with a—more or less—innocent view of life.
Then BAM! Something unforeseen, something significant, something traumatic happened.
The robot let a 12-year-old die. A barracuda killed his family. His father tossed the candy corn, suckers—and worst of all—chocolate into the fire!
Life is not what he thought.
As the character tries to make sense of what happened, as he tries to cope with the trauma, he comes to a conclusion about life—the wrong conclusion.
Del will never trust robots.
Marlin believes danger is ever present—he must be over-protective.
Willy Wonka decides family isn’t important.
Each of these characters must overcome this flaw, weakness, or—perhaps most accurately said—misbelief about life to become a better, more whole person, who has a chance to beat the antagonistic force.
In a sense, the ghost is where the need for a character arc took place.
Quick Key Features of a Character’s Ghost
The ghost almost always happens in the past.
In fact, it is almost always the most important (or only pertinent) element of your character’s backstory. On rare occasions, the ghost may take place within the novel itself, which you may find in an origin story. If so, as K. M. Weiland points out in her book Creating Character Arcs, it’s usually part of the first act.
The ghost is an event … or a string of connected events.
It’s most common for a ghost to be a single moment—Chris’s mom not coming home and dying, or Elsa freezing her little sister. But it can also be a series of events. In Harry Potter, Severus Snape’s ghost is a series of events that cover his relationships with Lily and James. Despite how different the events may appear on the surface, they are all ultimately connected into one single haunting ghost story.
Taking place in England the owners of the yard slowly kept adding sections to the contraption so when the squirrel learned one section and got the nuts, they’d add another section. It took over 2 weeks to get to the final product you see in the video.
