A recent reader comment got me thinking about how my characters get the validation that we all need, as humans, and how this affects their self-worth.
I’m imposing the analysis after-the-fact, since I didn’t start out by psychoanalyzing Wynter, Xay, and the Fairn boys. They developed on the page over the course of several years.
Standing back now I can see a few interesting patterns when it comes to how they view themselves – which affects what motivates them and what supports or messes with their mental health.
The differences between them comes from not only their personalities (I’ve written previously about their personality types) but their experiences and even their birth order. I imagine Caleb wouldn’t be quite the same today if he’d been the youngest of the three boys “raised” by Harry. And what if Jesse was the one who’d been separated from his twin Joy? What if Indio had been the eldest – would that have been enough reason for him to take more responsibility?
(Links throughout go to the Wynter Wild Wiki, which give bios for the characters and contain spoilers.)
Continue reading “Self-Worth and Validation (for my characters)”