baci n. 30

So, I have been working up some characters for a new play I'm concocting, but I cannot seem to figure the main character out. There is no doubt in my mind that she is the main character, or that this is her story I'm going to be telling, but I'm having problems figuring out who she is. Most characters we, as writers, bring into being are wonderful amalgamations of people we have had contact with. Even minor personal traits of a person we have met only once can find their role in a character. Sometimes we use people we know as a basis for a character(though I've only really done this once, with permission). Most of the time, at the beginning, I think; "Who does this Character remind me of?" Even if the character (as often does) turns out little like the person whose memory inspired at least part of their being, at least it gave me a good starting point. I have used myself a couple of times, and those unfortunate characters have had far more miserable lives than mine can compare to.

So, I suppose, that is part of my problem. I cannot figure out who my main character reminds me of. Creating a character out of thin air is much harder than anything else I can think of. I think about all the different writing "tricks" I know; different lectures I've heard, and I find myself at a loss. It is interesting knowing you have a story to tell, and knowing at least a little bit about the character, but knowing that, unless you know the character, any conceit at a plot is useless. It is the character's story after all, and if she is not here, than her story really isn't.

So, talking about characters, the one below is based loosely upon myself, although in this case, his world is much better than my own.

Baci n. 30
“A kiss is the sweet prize, long sought after.”
Anonimos

How long had he sat there disconnected,
Plugged into cyberspace, yet still alone;
Closed to a world that shunned him long ago.
Could he ever be free of such a world
That assails all through pop-ups and bill boards
Selling sex and love to those who have found none?

He dwelt in both worlds; and though lived in none,
He was not from desire disconnected;
He sought love, not lol-cats on message boards.
He sat in the coffee house near alone
'Cept the barista who shared his small world...
Had she smiled at him a moment ago?

He had caught her glance once, so long ago,
At a time when he was plugged into none,
A look that invaded his ev'ry world.
He could not from her be disconnected,
On WOW, when tech-ing, and when all alone
She'd posted on all his mental message boards.

Could he see beyond his cubical boards
And see the life he dreamed of long ago?
Was he really trapped behind them; alone?
Yet she saw a truth where he could see none
And would not let him stay disconnected
For she did love him most, in all the world.

She moved to bring him into a new world,
Beyond illusion's false partical boards
That kept him forever disconnected.
He had caught her, fair nymph, so long ago.
Found love when she had been looking for none:
It pained her, now, to see him there alone.

She joined him as he sat there all alone
To bring light into his dark little world;
And because without him, her world had none.
She saw his obsolete mother boards,
And his OS out of date long ago...
Her kiss, old ENIAC disconnected.

How disconnected, lost and alone,
A moment ago... Her kiss claimed his world,
Beyond those broken boards, for love needs none.