Almost done with Character! We've been looking at how to select details to best convey characterization. Last week we came up with some details for Amos Anderson, the main character of one of the stories we've been developing. Now let's use those details as fodder for his introduction using the seven methods of character introduction … Continue reading Character Introductions: In our own work
Category: Own Work Friday
Character Names, Details, and Introductions: In our own work
We've been looking at how to select character details and introduce characters. Today, we're going to select some concrete details for the main character of one of the stories we've been working on and then next week we'll try out some introductions. Let's use the main character from our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950’s, … Continue reading Character Names, Details, and Introductions: In our own work
Character Tags: In our own work
If you've got lots of characters in your story or just have characters who leave the page for a while--or, you know, just have characters--it's nice to remind readers who these people are. Enter character tags. A couple of weeks ago, we identified six or so ways to tag characters, and last week we learned … Continue reading Character Tags: In our own work
Forging the Reader-Character Bond: In our own work
Forging the Reader-Character Bond. It's easier than you might think, and the results are well worth the effort. Especially if you can dig deep and come up with ways to demonstrate sympathy, jeopardy, etc. that are tailor-made for your specific character, in his specific story world. That extra specificity might be a little harder and take … Continue reading Forging the Reader-Character Bond: In our own work
Creating Three-Dimensional Characters: In Our Own Work
It's Three-Dimensional Characters week. Let's see if we can flesh out our characters with backstory and description, internal depth, defining choices and actions, and a future to anticipate or dread. When we last left off, we were working on a human rights attorney story and a diamond bullets story. Many of the past Friday posts have … Continue reading Creating Three-Dimensional Characters: In Our Own Work
Structure of Plot: In our own stories
It's Outer Journey week. Today we're going to see if we can flesh out the major plot points in the one-liner's we're working on. 1. Our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950's, against the backdrop of the first US Supreme Court case to affirm gay rights, a human rights lawyer joins a wealthy Los Angeles … Continue reading Structure of Plot: In our own stories
Character Change: In our own work
So, we're looking at the inner journey this week. Let's see what kind of an inner journey we can create for the one-liners we're working on. Here we go... 1. Our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950's, against the backdrop of the first US Supreme Court case to affirm gay rights, a human rights lawyer … Continue reading Character Change: In our own work
Setups and Payoffs: In our own work
We're looking at Setups and Payoffs this week, and today we're going to see if we can come up with some Setups and Payoffs for the one-liners we've been working on. Here we go. 1. Our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950's, against the backdrop of the first US Supreme Court case to affirm gay … Continue reading Setups and Payoffs: In our own work
Tension, Conflict, Suspense: In our own stories
It's Tension, Conflict, Suspense week. Let's see what kind of macrotension questions and conflicts we can come up with for the one-liners we've got going. 1. Our human-rights-attorney story: Set in the mid 1950's, against the backdrop of the first US Supreme Court case to affirm gay rights, a human rights lawyer joins a wealthy Los … Continue reading Tension, Conflict, Suspense: In our own stories
Setting: In our own stories
We're looking at Setting this week. When selecting settings, we're looking for places (i) that affect the character, (ii) that affect the plot, (iii) that we haven't experienced before, (iv) that we want to experience, (v) that are believable, and (vi) that are optimally placed in time. So, let's see what kind of settings we … Continue reading Setting: In our own stories
