And I have to couch these mannerisms in language that my readers will automatically associate with the clichés and archetypes with which they are already familiar. My characters have to come across as simultaneously human and dolphin - dolphin for the purposes of plot but human for the purposes of character. I suppose that's the soul of anthropomorphic writing, right there.
You've certainly hit the nail on the head.
Suggestion: seek out footage of dolphins and watch a lot of it. Watch them moving around and interacting with each other. See if you can find an aquarium or park near you that has dolphins and go watch them.
For me, writing an anthropomorph's mannerisms becomes MUCH easier once I have studied the animal's anatomy and can imagine all my bones and joints as if they belonged to the creature in question. With the vast majority of vertebrates, there are analogues for all of their bones in your body, and knowing that has helped me immensely.
But it may not help you; I am of scientific mind, and I don't know enough about you yet to know whether you are fundamentally of scientific or artistic mind, or what. But the watching dolphins thing should help no matter what you're like.
Other suggestion: If you haven't already, check out certain writings of Terry Pratchett, specifically those books that have a lot of the character Angua in them. (Feet of Clay, Jingo, and Fifth Elephant are probably the best of these, for this purpose.) Pratchett uses the metaphor of sight to describe how Angua (a werewolf) percieves scent, and how she remembers scents after returning to human shape. You may not want to use so obvious a metaphorical method for describing the senses humans aren't so good at, but it might give you some ideas. At least in your case you can focus on hearing, since that's the primary sense in many dolphin species, and it's easier to bend the human mind around fantastic hearing than an acute sense of smell.
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Date: 2005-07-14 04:57 pm (UTC)You've certainly hit the nail on the head.
Suggestion: seek out footage of dolphins and watch a lot of it. Watch them moving around and interacting with each other. See if you can find an aquarium or park near you that has dolphins and go watch them.
For me, writing an anthropomorph's mannerisms becomes MUCH easier once I have studied the animal's anatomy and can imagine all my bones and joints as if they belonged to the creature in question. With the vast majority of vertebrates, there are analogues for all of their bones in your body, and knowing that has helped me immensely.
But it may not help you; I am of scientific mind, and I don't know enough about you yet to know whether you are fundamentally of scientific or artistic mind, or what. But the watching dolphins thing should help no matter what you're like.
Other suggestion: If you haven't already, check out certain writings of Terry Pratchett, specifically those books that have a lot of the character Angua in them. (Feet of Clay, Jingo, and Fifth Elephant are probably the best of these, for this purpose.) Pratchett uses the metaphor of sight to describe how Angua (a werewolf) percieves scent, and how she remembers scents after returning to human shape. You may not want to use so obvious a metaphorical method for describing the senses humans aren't so good at, but it might give you some ideas. At least in your case you can focus on hearing, since that's the primary sense in many dolphin species, and it's easier to bend the human mind around fantastic hearing than an acute sense of smell.