Elisabeth was born a protagonist. She took charge of her life as a young child, playing willfully and exuberantly with any concept that came to mind. Her parents would teach her little things and find that they played a huge role in her later imaginings - Elisabeth as both Prince and Damsel Distressed whose plant hadn't received enough water and was wilting (after a lesson in caring for the family's little kitchen garden). Or the classic day that she asked her Father about atoms and was later discovered making (admittedly inaccurate) circle diagrams of protons, neutrons and electrons out of doll accessories and building blocks. In Elisabeth's world, that day she was a scientist making Very Important discoveries.
This protagonism continued in school where Elisabeth was the star of every spelling bee and the winner of every science fair. Her love of mythology and vivid storytelling skills made her a schoolyard favorite, with friends clamoring to hear the tales she would spin. In this she began to learn the important lesson that it is not always the main character who is most important - the narrator can also play a starring role.
Elisabeth's young life was full of of swashbuckling adventure and voracious consumption of all things mythological, scientific and fantastic. But no one could know just how important those things would be...
(To learn more about Elisabeth and the things that await her, check out my book! Armageddon: Pick Your Plot )
This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!
