Writing undersea worlds – channel your inner Mermaid
Want to write an undersea story that submerges your readers
in a Mermaidian world? Or perhaps you’re an Ariel-wannabe who can’t wait to
create the next epic marine adventure?
Either way, dive into your story with confidence using these
5 top techniques for channelling your inner Mermaid:
- Know your underwater characters
If you can’t visualise your characters, then how will your
readers? Put your comfy pants on, you’re about to be glued to your seat for some
serious research time! Think fish. Think deep sea mystery. Search through
pictures of marine creatures, watch documentaries about underwater life, mine
the likes of Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest for #mermaids and more. The better
your understanding of what your character looks like, moves like, how she
breathes, eats, communicates and lives, the better your internal image will be
and the clearer your written descriptions of her behaviour.
- Discover the world she lives in
Immerse yourself in underwater scenes. Building on your
understanding of your character, try to get a fix on what it’s like to live
beneath the waves. If you can, dust off the scuba diving equipment or mask and
snorkel and revisit the exquisite feeling of actually being there. Otherwise,
visit an aquarium, watch videos, talk to people who’ve spent time working under
the sea (marine biologists, ichthyologists etc) and get a feel for how the
underwater world behaves. Use your senses. What does it smell like, can you
taste it? What do you hear under the water? How do you see and communicate? How
would the pressure of all that water affect something as simple as body
language – a nod, a wave, shaking your head?
- Explore her motivation
We’re all aware of the ‘Hollywood’ mermaid stereotypes, from
sucrose long haired beauties to toothy underwater witches. So your job is to
come up with something unique. One way to beat the stereotype is to provide
your Mermaid with a strong motivation, one the reader will relate to. What does
your character need? What is she prepared to do to get it? How will this change
her? For example, if your Mermaid needs to find her long lost Mother, how far
is she prepared to travel? Who will she betray to get the information she
needs? What aspects of her upbringing and which members of her family is she
willing to abandon to get her Mother back?
- Activate your character
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