Of Eyes

If you haven't noticed, characters are probably the part of writing that I excel at - or at the very least, what I am most fond of. So when I tell you that this idea for a story centers around an idea for a character, you shouldn't find it surprising.

I love Alice in Wonderland, though why exactly that is I struggle a bit to explain. There is a lot of insanity and craziness in the story, but it actually follows a set of rules, with a purpose, an expectable outcome, and definable characters and characteristics. It seems impossible to understand the first time, but the more attention you pay, the clearer the events become. My favorite example of which being the Mad Hatter. I won't get into him too much, but suffice to say that he's interesting not because of the questions he asks, but why he asks them. Real world consequences in a world of fantasy - pretty interesting if you ask me.

The hatter is the inspiration behind this character of mine. His perceived insanity - no less real, but defined by a set of laws. Whether or not he was the one who set those rules or another is hard to say, but they are incredibly important to him, if to no one else. But between those rules, how does he act? It's hard to say. In one instance he may think and act in a certain way, but in the next it may be entirely different.

What if there was a pattern? An observable one, one that could be learned, but couldn't be predicted. One that you have only to know and react to, like knowing how to talk to one friend over another.

My hatter has an unknown cause for his insanity, but has eyes that give away his patterns. A man with  multiple personality disorder that changes at the flip of a switch with no discernible reason or consistency between switches. But with each personality, the color of his eyes change, and each personality is directly tied to one of the different colors.

But as an author, this presents a lot of opportunities. Perhaps too many. How many personalities does he have? Just how different are they all? Do the personalities know about each other, and if so, how thoroughly? If not, why? How did this condition occur upon him, and is there anything that can be done about it?

These are the questions I want to answer. The deeper I get into it, the harder it becomes to write. But it also makes it more interesting. I can only hope that I can somehow do it justice.