Hello again!
This week, we are going to talk about one of my (and probably a lot of others) biggest pet peeves: cardboard characters. Now, I'm not talking about a standee of Edward Cullen at your local Family Video. I'm talking about the way writers introduce their characters all the time.
How many times have you begun reading a novel (or script especially) and the first words that describe the main characters are "ruggedly handsome" or "insanely beautiful"? Writers, I know you want all of your characters to be perfect. You don't want to EVER think that there could be something wrong with your precious hero or heroine.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret here people. Doing this doesn't help your character one bit. In fact, it actually hurts them more than anything. Remember the ever-annoying "Barbie Girl" song? Reality isn't like that. People aren't perfect. We all have flaws and our characters should, too. By gearing them toward perfection right off the bat, you're unconsciously setting them up to fail.
Got that? Good.
Before I sign off for the week, I want you to do me a favor. On your next project (or current, if your in the early stages), don't paint your hero or heroine as a prince or princess, make them visually flawed. Make him A NERDY DORK WITH A MEAN STREAK or THE GIRL NEXT DOOR THAT NO ONE WANTS TO DATE. Better yet, how about calling your next lead A HALF PAST FUGLY or something like that. I'm just kidding. You don't have to go to these extremes but, have fun with it. Make your characters visually flawed as well as emotionally thawed.
Have fun with it. Be realistic. In the end, your readers and your characters will thank you for it.
Until then - write on!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Monday, January 18, 2010
Love Your Characters
You heard me... you need to love your characters.
How many books or scripts have you read where the story may be phenomenal, but the characters just don't hold your interest, are bland, or just don't seem like the author really put a whole lot of time and effort into them? It's a sad thing, but it happens and it doesn't matter how good your story is.
You've heard it time and time again that character is key and its true. The audience has to care about your characters. If your characters are a shallow mass of flesh that no one can relate to, it doesn't matter if you have the most intense, high-concept story in the universe, your book or script will flop. What would "Avatar" be like if James Cameron didn't care about his characters? Would "Gone With The Wind" have been such a success if people couldn't relate to Scarlet O'hara in some way and feel sorry for her?
Let's take a look at another example: the "Twilight" series. For as many people who love it, there are equally as many people who hate it. Some worship the series. Others dismiss it as poorly written drivel. But, if you push the plot aside, you have a group of immensely deserving characters. Every teenage girl can relate to Bella Swan - she's a new girl, not quite sure of herself... and there's this boy! Adolescence. We've all gone through it and Stephenie Meyer nailed it on the head. To make it even more interesting, the boy she falls for happens to be a vampire.
If there is one thing that all of the most popular works in the history of movies and literature have in common, they all have characters that the author took the time to research and develop. They went the extra mile to really give their characters life. You connect with them. You care about them. You care about what happens to them and when something tragic does happen to them, you hurt. They keep you involved and, when you do reach the end, you feel that you have grown with them.
Love your characters, please. If you do, your work will show it. It will be the difference between giving the world a story that will stand the test of time, or a story that will be instantly forgotten.
Until next time, write on!
How many books or scripts have you read where the story may be phenomenal, but the characters just don't hold your interest, are bland, or just don't seem like the author really put a whole lot of time and effort into them? It's a sad thing, but it happens and it doesn't matter how good your story is.
You've heard it time and time again that character is key and its true. The audience has to care about your characters. If your characters are a shallow mass of flesh that no one can relate to, it doesn't matter if you have the most intense, high-concept story in the universe, your book or script will flop. What would "Avatar" be like if James Cameron didn't care about his characters? Would "Gone With The Wind" have been such a success if people couldn't relate to Scarlet O'hara in some way and feel sorry for her?
Let's take a look at another example: the "Twilight" series. For as many people who love it, there are equally as many people who hate it. Some worship the series. Others dismiss it as poorly written drivel. But, if you push the plot aside, you have a group of immensely deserving characters. Every teenage girl can relate to Bella Swan - she's a new girl, not quite sure of herself... and there's this boy! Adolescence. We've all gone through it and Stephenie Meyer nailed it on the head. To make it even more interesting, the boy she falls for happens to be a vampire.
If there is one thing that all of the most popular works in the history of movies and literature have in common, they all have characters that the author took the time to research and develop. They went the extra mile to really give their characters life. You connect with them. You care about them. You care about what happens to them and when something tragic does happen to them, you hurt. They keep you involved and, when you do reach the end, you feel that you have grown with them.
Love your characters, please. If you do, your work will show it. It will be the difference between giving the world a story that will stand the test of time, or a story that will be instantly forgotten.
Until next time, write on!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Good Map Yields the Best Treasure
What do literary classics like Moby Dick, Bram Stoker's Dracula, War and Peace and To Kill A Mockingbird all have in common? What do they have in common with uber-successful modern novels?
The short answer: A solid plot.
That's the ticket, right there. Like the title of this week's entry, any of these most treasured stories were the result of a good map - a solid foundation.
So, how do we come up with a solid foundation? It's not as hard as you may think.
I know I am going to catch hell from all of you purists out there that believe that writing is an emotional, spiritual endeavor. Purists believe that writing is something from the heart and that your characters will take on a life of their own and that they will dictate which way the story goes. In their defense, to a certain extent, they're right. But, at this point, you need to step in as a frugal director, otherwise, three hundred pages later, your characters may have a life of their own, but they’ll be wandering aimlessly.
Now, here is your challenge…
Are you ready for it?
Are you sure?
I want you to think like a screenwriter. That’s right. I want you to throw away all of your conventions and think as though you are writing your next Hollywood blockbuster.
Screenwriters, unlike traditional print authors, have an immense obstacle to hurdle every time they start a new project. With a novel, an author has a limitless (well, virtually) palette with which to create their masterpiece. A screenwriter, on the other hand, has to set up their story quickly and convey as much information in about an hour and a half to two hours as they possibly can. This is where your challenge will come to play.
I want you to get out the 3” X 5” index cards and map out, what you believe to be, the most important scenes/chapters in your story: the catalyst, the big event, the crisis moment, the showdown and the resolution (which I will cover in another post). Once you have these mapped out, tack them up on a cork board on the wall by your computer, so that you may look at them throughout the entire process. Then, as you progress, if your story seems to have the wrong flow, you can rearrange the cards until it gets your story back on track.
Okay, so you have your main scenes/chapters mapped out and tacked up. What’s next?
Next, you want to begin to flesh out your story, but here is the real challenge: every chapter that you outline needs to add to the story and propel the story forward toward the final conclusion. If it is something that does not move the story forward, chances are that you don’t really need it.
“But, what about my chapter where Charlie and Suzy have a fling and - blah, blah, blah????”
Short answer: if it adds to the story and moves it forward, keep it. If not, axe it. If any given chapter does not add to the outside (action) story or the inside (emotional) story, your novel doesn’t need it.
So, what do you say? Give it a shot! You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Once your masterpiece gets into the hands of your audience, they’ll thank you for it. You’ll give them a story so engaging and intense, that they won’t be able to put it down and – who knows? – you may even end up making a living doing the thing you love most, without the pain that goes with it.
Until next time… Write on!!
The short answer: A solid plot.
That's the ticket, right there. Like the title of this week's entry, any of these most treasured stories were the result of a good map - a solid foundation.
So, how do we come up with a solid foundation? It's not as hard as you may think.
I know I am going to catch hell from all of you purists out there that believe that writing is an emotional, spiritual endeavor. Purists believe that writing is something from the heart and that your characters will take on a life of their own and that they will dictate which way the story goes. In their defense, to a certain extent, they're right. But, at this point, you need to step in as a frugal director, otherwise, three hundred pages later, your characters may have a life of their own, but they’ll be wandering aimlessly.
Now, here is your challenge…
Are you ready for it?
Are you sure?
I want you to think like a screenwriter. That’s right. I want you to throw away all of your conventions and think as though you are writing your next Hollywood blockbuster.
Screenwriters, unlike traditional print authors, have an immense obstacle to hurdle every time they start a new project. With a novel, an author has a limitless (well, virtually) palette with which to create their masterpiece. A screenwriter, on the other hand, has to set up their story quickly and convey as much information in about an hour and a half to two hours as they possibly can. This is where your challenge will come to play.
I want you to get out the 3” X 5” index cards and map out, what you believe to be, the most important scenes/chapters in your story: the catalyst, the big event, the crisis moment, the showdown and the resolution (which I will cover in another post). Once you have these mapped out, tack them up on a cork board on the wall by your computer, so that you may look at them throughout the entire process. Then, as you progress, if your story seems to have the wrong flow, you can rearrange the cards until it gets your story back on track.
Okay, so you have your main scenes/chapters mapped out and tacked up. What’s next?
Next, you want to begin to flesh out your story, but here is the real challenge: every chapter that you outline needs to add to the story and propel the story forward toward the final conclusion. If it is something that does not move the story forward, chances are that you don’t really need it.
“But, what about my chapter where Charlie and Suzy have a fling and - blah, blah, blah????”
Short answer: if it adds to the story and moves it forward, keep it. If not, axe it. If any given chapter does not add to the outside (action) story or the inside (emotional) story, your novel doesn’t need it.
So, what do you say? Give it a shot! You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Once your masterpiece gets into the hands of your audience, they’ll thank you for it. You’ll give them a story so engaging and intense, that they won’t be able to put it down and – who knows? – you may even end up making a living doing the thing you love most, without the pain that goes with it.
Until next time… Write on!!
Welcome from the S-man
Greetings! Welcome to my blog.
As the blog title says, writing is both a pain and a joy. If you are here, it is because you love writing (or your bored and have nothing better to do in your life than to surf blogspot all day -j.k.). You live for it, or hope to make a living doing it. The inner story is clawing away at you, desperately trying to break free but, without the proper tools and guidance, most of us can never set that story free.
This is where the love can become clouded by the pain. When all of writings little nuances poke their ugly heads out, it can become frustrating. Do I use a comma or a semicolon? Which word should I use to convey the deepest emotional impact? What is the difference between a declarative and an imperative?
I will be the first to tell you that I am not an English whiz... not by a long shot. If you want definitive English tutoring and help, this is not the blog for you. However, if you are looking for some new ideas on how to maximize your potential, then you have come to the right place.
Every Thursday, tune in right here to get some new ideas on how to make your writing the joy that it should be and, at the same time, wipe away the pain that keeps your story from achieving its true potential and reaching its audience. Who knows? With a little luck and a lot of persistance, you may even make a decent living off of it, as well.
The sky is the limit!
As the blog title says, writing is both a pain and a joy. If you are here, it is because you love writing (or your bored and have nothing better to do in your life than to surf blogspot all day -j.k.). You live for it, or hope to make a living doing it. The inner story is clawing away at you, desperately trying to break free but, without the proper tools and guidance, most of us can never set that story free.
This is where the love can become clouded by the pain. When all of writings little nuances poke their ugly heads out, it can become frustrating. Do I use a comma or a semicolon? Which word should I use to convey the deepest emotional impact? What is the difference between a declarative and an imperative?
I will be the first to tell you that I am not an English whiz... not by a long shot. If you want definitive English tutoring and help, this is not the blog for you. However, if you are looking for some new ideas on how to maximize your potential, then you have come to the right place.
Every Thursday, tune in right here to get some new ideas on how to make your writing the joy that it should be and, at the same time, wipe away the pain that keeps your story from achieving its true potential and reaching its audience. Who knows? With a little luck and a lot of persistance, you may even make a decent living off of it, as well.
The sky is the limit!
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