Learning From The Marriage Ref

The other night my husband discovered a TV show called The Marriage Ref. Naturally, we were sucked in for an episode–and it wasn’t just because Jerry Seinfeld was one of the referees. Nope, it was because of the characters.

The show’s premise is basically that married couples often have a ‘fight’ that go on for some time. And thus, in order to help resolve this ‘fight,’ once and for all, you need three celebrities to step in and weigh in on either the wife’s side or the husband’s side. In theory, this should end the ‘fight’ once and for all.

The episode we watched had a husband who is obsessed with growing giant pumpkins. Yep, seriously. This man knows about a billion types of pumpkins, grows world record breaking sized fruit, and even sneaks off to grow them in the neighbour’s yard. But the best was the husband who partakes in crazy bets with his friends. For instance, mowing his lawn dressed as Elvis, (how perfect is that?) jogging around the neighbourhood in his wife’s exercise gear (yes, that includes her sports bra–and, yes, he stretched it out.) Naturally, his wife was suitably appalled by her mate’s behaviour. Personally, I was somewhat delighted by the ingenuity and creativity of some of the bets. (As well, some of these quasi-humiliating bets might be something I’d be prone to do in the right setting.)

So, what can writers learn from a show life this?

Well, think about it. Why are these folks on TV? Because these are good, one-of-a-kind, interesting characters that entertain the bejesus out of the audience. Moral of the story, when building characters, build them deep, quirky, and real. And if you get stuck, watch The Marriage Ref.

Good luck and have fun!

When Characters Do Bad Things

I was peacefully writing away yesterday afternoon.

La, la, la.

That was me. I began a new chapter with a new character. He carefully slipped out of the house in the morning, being extra careful not to wake his wife who didn’t need to get up for a few more hours. Off he went to work, the ever-so safety conscious employee. All day he works alongside his longtime buddy. Then he shocks me. As he is driving away from the plant, he drives downtown and meets his buddy’s wife for a long-standing affair! They even have a hotel room booked for every Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30. I was shocked. So shocked I almost stopped writing. Seriously. My fingers paused. My brain leapt scrambled against the brick wall it had been flung against and my jaw dropped.

I stuttered. I blinked. I couldn’t believe it. Sure, in the past my characters have done some pretty zany stuff. But they have never, NEVER done anything that I would disapprove of. And this guy did. I created a cheater and I didn’t know. I’m really quite choked at him. Why would he do this? He’s a good guy with good relationships. Or, at least, so I thought.

I had to stop writing. I left him at the hotel room door. It was hard writing about this as it came so out of left field. The character will stay. The affair will stay. And I will get over it.

What surprised me the most was maybe not his affair, but how shocked I was. I started jumping on what was flowing from my fingers onto the screen. I was getting in the way when I was in the groove and the right, honest words were hitting the page.

I honour the groove, and yet, my brain was stuttering at my fingers, so I had to quit. I was afraid I was going to spoil it. That I was going to get in the way of the story.

Has that ever happened to you? Have your characters shocked you so thoroughly you had to put down the story and compose yourself?