A to Z Challenge: R is for Rule Abider

This year, I'm participating in the insane awesome A to Z blogging challenge, which entails posting EVERY SINGLE DAY during the month of April, except for Sundays. Each day's theme corresponds to a different day of the alphabet: 26 days, 26 posts. I'll be blogging each day this month on some aspect of my current work in progress (WIP).

R is for Rule Abider

Yes, I know I'm conjugating that verb in strange and incorrect ways, but I'm calling it artistic license, so bear with me.

Let's go back in time for a moment, all the way back to April 7th - two whole weeks ago! - when this year's A to Z Challenge was in its toddler-hood, and we were all only posting about the letter 'F'. That day, my post was 'F is for Free Spirit', and I talked about the first of my two Uber Characters.

Once again, that's a made-up term, which I define as the umbrella character for every mortal person in each lifetime that a soul has. Since this novel is going to follow two souls from life to life, I thought I needed to decide what defined each soul: the traits, needs, and basic sense of spirit that are innate to the soul, and that would carry through from life to life.

So, the first soul was a Free Spirit - fiercely independent, suspicious of rules and authority of all kinds, and a bit wild, often in unexpected ways. The second soul, of course, is the Rule Abider.

This is Uber Character #2: cautious, controlled, and a lover of stability. This is a conservative person in the  true meaning of the word: not necessarily religiously or politically, but in attitude and outlook. As Google defines it, this is "holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation." In other words, this soul is just as likely to be a dominatrix as it is to be a priest. I know that sounds strange, but it really depends on how you define 'traditional.' Think about it: this soul would be a lover of rules and control - perfect for a dominatrix - who adheres to age-old traditions about that dominant role, and who keeps strict, ironclad boundaries between his/herself and clients.

See what I mean?

Now, of course, we have two diametrically opposed Uber Characters who couldn't be more different - and yet who find, over and over and over again, from lifetime to lifetime, that they are inexplicably and inextricably bound to each other. It's a case of each soul helping the other to grow where it needs it the most. Like yin and yang, or even simple puzzle pieces, they just fit together. The problem, of course, is convincing them of that fact, and that's where conflict, and fun, come in.