Writers' Wednesday!!!
There are many ways to prevent characters reading flat and predictable. A quick fix is to give them more than one function from the start.
The love interest or femme fatale can serve as the comic relief. The expository characters (both know-it-alls and newbies) can be saboteurs.
And just because one character typically runs point as your go-to girl/guy, that doesn't mean you can't trade duties a few times. Let another character steal their thunder. Their reaction could be interesting.
Try it out. I'm sure you'll see your story improve along with your characters.
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
07 March, 2012
15 February, 2012
Defining Love
Writers' Wednesday!!!
Valentine's Day seems like it was just yesterday and yet, love is still in the air (and on clearance). Sure. We have one day of the year dedicated to loving, or (depending on your age) liking. But thankfully, love lasts longer than a pink Twinkie that rolled under your car seat.
As writer's, we must find a way to inject love into every story to remain relevant, marketable, credible, and universal. If your main character is incapable of love, it has to be shown by contrast to a love interest with the potential to warm him/her up by the end of the story, even if the Grinch ends up staying Grinch-y.
Everyone can relate to love. And if another character loves your central character, it makes it easier for your readers/audience to love the character. Love is also a great motivator for rational characters to do irrational things or take on insurmountable challenges.
That's all well and good, but how does one write love? It isn't an easy thing to define, and once you have, you've opened your story up for debate. It's in the action.
Any woman can tell you that actions speak louder than words. The most silvery of tongues will tarnish in idle hands. Conversely, a cold tongue can melt butter with a demonstration of the heart.
Don't try to shortcut the process of love in your story. Even if it's a survival-horror and that whole extreme-situations-can-create-extreme-emotions thing applies. A compelling subplot of love can help your story stand out in any genre.
Valentine's Day seems like it was just yesterday and yet, love is still in the air (and on clearance). Sure. We have one day of the year dedicated to loving, or (depending on your age) liking. But thankfully, love lasts longer than a pink Twinkie that rolled under your car seat.
As writer's, we must find a way to inject love into every story to remain relevant, marketable, credible, and universal. If your main character is incapable of love, it has to be shown by contrast to a love interest with the potential to warm him/her up by the end of the story, even if the Grinch ends up staying Grinch-y.
Everyone can relate to love. And if another character loves your central character, it makes it easier for your readers/audience to love the character. Love is also a great motivator for rational characters to do irrational things or take on insurmountable challenges.
That's all well and good, but how does one write love? It isn't an easy thing to define, and once you have, you've opened your story up for debate. It's in the action.
Any woman can tell you that actions speak louder than words. The most silvery of tongues will tarnish in idle hands. Conversely, a cold tongue can melt butter with a demonstration of the heart.
Don't try to shortcut the process of love in your story. Even if it's a survival-horror and that whole extreme-situations-can-create-extreme-emotions thing applies. A compelling subplot of love can help your story stand out in any genre.
01 February, 2012
Cardinal Points Of Argument
Writers' Wednesday!!!
As a helpful writing exercise, pick three main topics of contention. Best way to start would be to write a page on each, detailing your arguments for how you see the issues.
Now flip it.
Write a convincing counterpoint to the three pages you just wrote. If you go back and read them with a clear cut winner, strengthen and edit the weaker argument until it becomes stronger. Then work on the former winner until it makes a definitive comeback.
If you do this properly, you should have two very well thought out positions on issues that may very well be eternally debated and it should get harder to say which one is the stronger. Now write a third position until it practically invalidates the first two and then challenge it with a fourth.
Not an easy exercise, but a helpful one.
You could add a couple more arguments to each issue, but we'll call four good enough. Two is not good enough. You may not be able to adequately write four separate opinions on each issue and some research will be required. That's a good thing.
Until you can see at least four sides to every issue and write each one as if it were your own personal conviction, your characters will suffer. Not drag themselves across lava beds suffer. More like why does everyone else seem to have it all together suffer.
Characters represent cross sections of society. They have to be convinced and convincing of their world view or they will never seem real to the reader/audience. In order for them to be convincing, you have to be convincing as the writer.
Evil for the sake of being evil isn't nearly as interesting as evil that believes wholeheartedly that it's doing the right thing. Of course there are good people that do bad things and vice versa. I assure you that nothing will build up sympathy for your main character like having him/her be called, shown, and/or proven wrong and then have to struggle to make his/her case.
As a helpful writing exercise, pick three main topics of contention. Best way to start would be to write a page on each, detailing your arguments for how you see the issues.
Now flip it.
Write a convincing counterpoint to the three pages you just wrote. If you go back and read them with a clear cut winner, strengthen and edit the weaker argument until it becomes stronger. Then work on the former winner until it makes a definitive comeback.
If you do this properly, you should have two very well thought out positions on issues that may very well be eternally debated and it should get harder to say which one is the stronger. Now write a third position until it practically invalidates the first two and then challenge it with a fourth.
Not an easy exercise, but a helpful one.
You could add a couple more arguments to each issue, but we'll call four good enough. Two is not good enough. You may not be able to adequately write four separate opinions on each issue and some research will be required. That's a good thing.
Until you can see at least four sides to every issue and write each one as if it were your own personal conviction, your characters will suffer. Not drag themselves across lava beds suffer. More like why does everyone else seem to have it all together suffer.
Characters represent cross sections of society. They have to be convinced and convincing of their world view or they will never seem real to the reader/audience. In order for them to be convincing, you have to be convincing as the writer.
Evil for the sake of being evil isn't nearly as interesting as evil that believes wholeheartedly that it's doing the right thing. Of course there are good people that do bad things and vice versa. I assure you that nothing will build up sympathy for your main character like having him/her be called, shown, and/or proven wrong and then have to struggle to make his/her case.
09 November, 2011
Argue With the Voices in Your Head
Writers' Wednesday!!!
Remember all those news stories where people defended their atrocities by claiming the voices in their head compelled them to commit such acts? Kinda doesn't make it better, right?
Ever hear yourself, or another writer you know, say that the characters tell you/them the story? That you/they just go along for the ride and see where they take you? Kinda doesn't make it better, right?
Characters have lives. Like real people. And. Just like real people. Most of their life is not as interesting as they think it is. If you let your character tell you the story, start feeling around for the cool spot under your pillow.
Being a writer is not (or should I say, "shouldn't be") the same as being a cab driver. It's more like being a tour guide. For truly compelling writing, it's like being a tour guide where the characters don't really know what they signed up for and probably wouldn't have signed up had they known. Imagine getting into a cab, telling the driver where you want to go, the driver speeding off, driving like a complete lunatic in the opposite direction, getting into a barely survivable accident, discovering things about yourself you never knew, and giving the driver a good tip for the experience.
Don't let the voices in your head tell their own story. Fight them on it. Challenge them. Make them convince you that doing what they originally wanted is the right way to go. Something like this:
You: Don't go up the stairs. It's overplayed and makes you look ridiculous.
Protagonist: I have to go up the stairs.
You: No you don't. Call the cops. Go to a neighbors for help. Anything that hasn't been done a million times.
Protagonist: But, my kids are up there. No one will believe a mother left her kids upstairs with a monster.
You: Good point. But, we don't know the monster is up there.
Protagonist: I heard him. Even if it wasn't him, I just want to see my babies and make sure they're all right.
You: Fine. Go upstairs. But you're turning on a light. None of this fumbling around in the dark crap.
Protagonist: If I turn on a light where I am, I won't be able to see into the dark areas of the house and I'll give up my position. I have a better chance of seeing my kids or the monster first if I keep it dark.
You: That's why they always turn off the lights? Well, fine. But you're going to have to explain that to the readers because it sounds cliche and psychotic. Especially because we don't even know the monster is up there. You're probably going to just scare your kids.
Protagonist: I can feel him up there. I'm going.
You: Hey, monster! Are you up there?
Monster: We don't know yet.
You: Ha! You answered. You are up there.
Monster: Well played. lol. (someday I'm going to dedicate a whole blog post to the misuse of 'lol' and other acronyms.)
Okay. So. Arguing with your characters can help you solidify your story and make it more interesting than just "channeling" their spirits. It can also help you skip over the boring non-essential details and focus on the good stuff. Don't let them coast through their life on easy street. Check out my blog post on conflict for more on that.
Now... how to get psychos to stop going along with the voices in their head...
Remember all those news stories where people defended their atrocities by claiming the voices in their head compelled them to commit such acts? Kinda doesn't make it better, right?
Ever hear yourself, or another writer you know, say that the characters tell you/them the story? That you/they just go along for the ride and see where they take you? Kinda doesn't make it better, right?
Characters have lives. Like real people. And. Just like real people. Most of their life is not as interesting as they think it is. If you let your character tell you the story, start feeling around for the cool spot under your pillow.
Being a writer is not (or should I say, "shouldn't be") the same as being a cab driver. It's more like being a tour guide. For truly compelling writing, it's like being a tour guide where the characters don't really know what they signed up for and probably wouldn't have signed up had they known. Imagine getting into a cab, telling the driver where you want to go, the driver speeding off, driving like a complete lunatic in the opposite direction, getting into a barely survivable accident, discovering things about yourself you never knew, and giving the driver a good tip for the experience.
Don't let the voices in your head tell their own story. Fight them on it. Challenge them. Make them convince you that doing what they originally wanted is the right way to go. Something like this:
You: Don't go up the stairs. It's overplayed and makes you look ridiculous.
Protagonist: I have to go up the stairs.
You: No you don't. Call the cops. Go to a neighbors for help. Anything that hasn't been done a million times.
Protagonist: But, my kids are up there. No one will believe a mother left her kids upstairs with a monster.
You: Good point. But, we don't know the monster is up there.
Protagonist: I heard him. Even if it wasn't him, I just want to see my babies and make sure they're all right.
You: Fine. Go upstairs. But you're turning on a light. None of this fumbling around in the dark crap.
Protagonist: If I turn on a light where I am, I won't be able to see into the dark areas of the house and I'll give up my position. I have a better chance of seeing my kids or the monster first if I keep it dark.
You: That's why they always turn off the lights? Well, fine. But you're going to have to explain that to the readers because it sounds cliche and psychotic. Especially because we don't even know the monster is up there. You're probably going to just scare your kids.
Protagonist: I can feel him up there. I'm going.
You: Hey, monster! Are you up there?
Monster: We don't know yet.
You: Ha! You answered. You are up there.
Monster: Well played. lol. (someday I'm going to dedicate a whole blog post to the misuse of 'lol' and other acronyms.)
Okay. So. Arguing with your characters can help you solidify your story and make it more interesting than just "channeling" their spirits. It can also help you skip over the boring non-essential details and focus on the good stuff. Don't let them coast through their life on easy street. Check out my blog post on conflict for more on that.
Now... how to get psychos to stop going along with the voices in their head...
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