John, I love your metaphor of animals as "barometers" for their human companions at the end of the essay. I quite agree, though with amendment. Humans -- or, for you, humanoids -- are the main characters in our stories, so we tend to think of barometers of one kind or another as storytelling tools (like the objective correlative). However, when I tell a story with an animal character, I try to bear in mind that animals are living beings in their own right with their own distinct personalities. I can use it to gloss what humans are thinking, feeling, or doing, but not only to gloss. The animal has a mind of its own, agency, and it can venture off-script, defying the humans' expectations of it. I think this is an important rule for writing realistically with animal characters.
So far, my novel Quibble has featured a horse, a silver gyrfalcon, and a wolf. Later, a raven will make a cameo appearance. In my favorite "animal" chapter, the wolf Clarity plays the role of peacemaker between two sparring humans: https://singulardream.substack.com/p/quibble-chapter-45
I should clarify that I definitely treat animals as distinct characters with emotions and personalities in my stories. That especially shines through with Bella and her interactions with Calandra in the Alien People Chronicles trilogy. Stray is another example. He's a cat in my novel Under a Fallen Sun who helps save Paige, the main protagonist, from antagonistic aliens in the penultimate chapter.
Yeah, I expected so, John. I didn't write my comment in a spirit of accusation or criticism but only to append a point about this topic I think is pretty important for writers.
John, I love your metaphor of animals as "barometers" for their human companions at the end of the essay. I quite agree, though with amendment. Humans -- or, for you, humanoids -- are the main characters in our stories, so we tend to think of barometers of one kind or another as storytelling tools (like the objective correlative). However, when I tell a story with an animal character, I try to bear in mind that animals are living beings in their own right with their own distinct personalities. I can use it to gloss what humans are thinking, feeling, or doing, but not only to gloss. The animal has a mind of its own, agency, and it can venture off-script, defying the humans' expectations of it. I think this is an important rule for writing realistically with animal characters.
So far, my novel Quibble has featured a horse, a silver gyrfalcon, and a wolf. Later, a raven will make a cameo appearance. In my favorite "animal" chapter, the wolf Clarity plays the role of peacemaker between two sparring humans: https://singulardream.substack.com/p/quibble-chapter-45
I should clarify that I definitely treat animals as distinct characters with emotions and personalities in my stories. That especially shines through with Bella and her interactions with Calandra in the Alien People Chronicles trilogy. Stray is another example. He's a cat in my novel Under a Fallen Sun who helps save Paige, the main protagonist, from antagonistic aliens in the penultimate chapter.
Yeah, I expected so, John. I didn't write my comment in a spirit of accusation or criticism but only to append a point about this topic I think is pretty important for writers.
Yes! Great piece on animals in writing.