I love the show Project Runway. Okay, love isn't quite the word. Let's see...addicted. That's it. I'm addicted.A few weeks ago, there was an episode that has no equal in the history of Project Runway. And if you watch the show, you know exactly what I'm talking about, right?
The challenge was this: Design your own fabric using HP Smart Touch technology, then design a look using your fabric. The fabric design must represent something deeply personal to you.
So the designers set to work on their computers. One of my favorite designers, Mondo Guerra, is known for his bright fabric choices. So it was no surprise when he designed a colorful pattern with plus signs that linked together.
When asked what it meant, he kept it close to his chest. But in his private interview in front of the camera, he explained it like this.
"I used the plus signs because they represent..." He stopped talking. Opened his mouth and closed it again. Took a deep breath. "They represent my HIV positive status."
Whoa.
His voice wavered, and tears trickled from his eyes. "My family doesn't know..." He shared the misunderstandings in his family's history and the fact that he didn't want to hurt them with the truth.
At that point, I pretty much lost it. As in, I turned into a crying, blubbering mess reaching for the tissue box.
Here's the thing. In the first episode when I first "met" Mondo, I didn't really care for him. He came across as socially awkward, a little geeky, very distant. As the show progressed, I saw shreds of light that slowly endeared him to me - like when he befriended the designer everyone loved to hate and apologized for misjudging him earlier on.
But there was something about learning Mondo's secret that shook me. It gave me insight into his social awkwardness, the distance he kept between him and the other designers. This secret ate away at him. When he finally revealed his secret to the other contestants, the physical change in him was palpable. He literally lost 100 pounds from his shoulders.
And it got me thinking about my characters. What deep dark secrets do they hide? Everyone has one, whether it's as serious as Mondo's or not. There's something each person holds inside that explains who they are and why they react to situations the way they do.
As writers, we have to explore our characters until we find the core issue that defines them, that secret that even their family doesn't know. And think about how we can bring those secrets out in our stories for maximum emotional impact (aka, making readers reach for their tissue box).
Do you get writing inspiration from watching TV? What deep dark secrets do your characters hide that you can use to enhance your story?
*Red Cross photo by Renjith Krishnan
