Character Development: Laurie

Laurie by Hragon

Laurie (Laurenthian) started out life as my MC, and my first sort-of-but-not-really first original character back in school when I had to write stories that weren't Harry Potter fics and very much a

drone. He was there to serve a purpose as a vessel for stories, and he did the job reasonably well but we were both very dissatisfied. It wasn't until 2013 that I really gave him the space to grow and develop, and when I did changed completely beyond expectation.

He began as a quiet, imaginative boy -- very shrewd, very observant, who sneaks around the house to listen and find out for himself what no-one will tell him. In that respect, he is very similar to Wendy from Karen Wallace's wonderful novel of the same name, and one of the most influential books I've read. Based on Peter Pan, Wendy is the oldest of three siblings and takes her responsibilities very seriously. She has learnt that she cannot trust adults to tell her the truth, so if she wants or needs something, she has to go out and get it for herself. She cloaks herself in the imaginary, and relies on her imagination to protect her and make sense of things she doesn't understand, and that

is something that's very much part of 'The Moon Path'. Laurie is the same, but it's his loneliness that really provokes his imagination into action, and the need for companionship.

I suppose it would be worth saying here that I wrote 'The Moon Path' because I wanted to pay homage to my own imaginary friend, who was very important to me during my teenage years and probably saved my life. I wanted to write about that relationship and that dependency. So, at least in their early incarnations, Laurie is very much me, and Joanna is very much Him. As they grew and my focus shifted -- due mainly to a comment from my grandmother after reading NaNo2013 saying she thought it was a book about the brothers -- they changed into something much more themselves. And I'm glad for that.

As drafts have progressed, he has remained essentially the same -- still astute and sharp, and very much reliant on his imagination -- but he has become sharper, fiercer and much more impatient. He is undeniably a product of his parents, inheriting (to a degree) both their tempers, but thankfully being raised predominantly by his brother has tempered him somewhat, and I think it's his loyalty and affection for Dakin that just about keeps him from being the brat he is in danger of being.

Klaus Baudelaire - Series of Unfortunate Events

Talking of Laurie's brattiness, that's not necessarily a description I would give him, although I can

understand why people would and do think of him in that way. In the beginning of the story, Laurie is thoughtless and, for the most part, very selfish because that is the way they (his mother and brother) have encouraged him to be. They want him to stay childish and careless, and have orchestrated the situation that allows for that. When everything changes and falls apart, it is arguably Laurie who has the biggest adjustment to make, and he has to do it alone. He is angry and hurt, and no-one will explain anything. Having spent seven years being incredibly, and destructively, sheltered, coupled with a firey temper and uncontrollable indignation, he struggles hard, and thinks and acts before think about the consequences, because there have never been consequences before, at least none that he was aware of. In part three, when Laurie is thirteen, more than anything he is defensive, and that manifests in unfair aggression. He is unreasonable, but it is self-preservation and distrust more than simply being spoiled-brattiness.

Little Women's Laurie

That being said, in this the fourth draft, he is becoming sweeter and a little less jagged, at least towards Dakin, and I'm enjoying the way that that conflicts with how he is with his parents and Alyk. He has a little more perspective this time around, and I think/hope that's making him a little more sympathetic. He's still fierce as hell and probably wouldn't think twice about breaking someone's arm who threatened them, but that's his way of repaying Dakin and stepping up to take the big-brother role when Dakin loses it.

Visually, he is a combination of BBC Sherlock and Klaus Baudelaire (Series of Unfortunate Events)

and his name, obviously, is shamelessly stolen from 'Little Women' because Laurie is wonderful.