Heightening observations

What more do I know about Hilary?

Self-effacing in public, there's nonetheless an inner, steely core: she makes herself do things she doesn't want to so that there's always a tension between the outward appearance - mousy, retiring, pale - and the will that drives her. The same will that allows her no quarter over what could so easily lapse into agoraphobia pushes her to ignore her poor health, so that she always reaches home gasping with exhaustion, weak-kneed and shaking.

That same tension is reflected in her dress - drab to extreme in her outer layers, yet there is always a splash of colour somewhere, a talisman to keep up her resolve. A jewel-like peacock scarf, a waistcoat of many colours, even a trim of coloured lace on a petticoat, all offer armour in her battle against complete effacement.

Questions:

Is there an opportunity to add the thoughts of your character? Can you situate your character in relation to a particular location?

Yes, this will develop as Hilary is placed against her background.

Does what your character says in their dialogue tally with what they think, or is there a discrepancy?

No, there will always be some degree of discrepancy because of the tension I've already described. What Hilary will say and how she will act will often be at odds with each other.

Can you smuggle in some details about your character’s back story, their life prior to when we meet them?

That will depend - at the moment I like that her back story is something of a mystery.

Can you try to infer how your character acts in the world – for instance, are they overwhelmed or in some sense out of control (like Spicer in the Greene extract) or are they hapless (like Victor in the Atkinson extract)?

One of the things that interests me about Hilary is that she is both in control and not. Some circumstances, like her health, are at least partly beyond her control. For instance, she is dependent on her medication, and takes it methodically, although she will often arrive home at the last possible moment to take it, staying out as long as she can because otherwise it is controlling her.