We're looking at character tags. Here's how some of the master story tellers help us remember who their characters are. Jim Butcher's Dresden seriesHarry Dresden is a practicing wizard who hires out as a detective. Jim Butcher has said that he consciously creates tags and traits for his characters to help readers identify them. In Butcher's … Continue reading Character Tags: How the Masters Use Them
Category: Story Master Wednesday
The Reader-Character Bond: How the masters do it
This week, we're learning how to forge the reader-character bond. Here's how the masters do it: For these examples, I'm rereading only the opening scenes and otherwise drawing from memory. Let's Get the classic example out of the way first: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J. K. Rowling (MG)Main Character: Harry PotterFirst two chapters, … Continue reading The Reader-Character Bond: How the masters do it
Three-Dimensional Characters: How Stephen King Does It
Stephen King. All I can say is, no matter which of the three methods for creating three-dimensional characters you prefer, Stephen King is ALL ABOUT the three dimensions of character. Especially in The Shining. To make this exercise more manageable, I've merged Frey/Egri's dimensions (physiological, sociological, psychological) and Brooks's dimensions (Surface Appearance, Backstory, and Meaningful Choices) … Continue reading Three-Dimensional Characters: How Stephen King Does It
Structure of Plot: How Lisa Unger does it
We’re doing the Outer Journey this week, and today we’re looking at the Outer Journey of Ian Paine, the main character in Lisa Unger’s Crazy Love You. (We did Ian’s inner journey last week.) Spoiler Alert And a note: Half the story is told in flashbacks. While flashbacks support the front story and inform the journey, … Continue reading Structure of Plot: How Lisa Unger does it
Character Change: How Lisa Unger does it
We're looking at the Inner Journey this week. Here's the inner journey (to my eyes and ears anyway) of the main character, Ian Paine, in Lisa Unger's Crazy Love You (336 pages). Spoiler Alert. And Long Post Alert. Crazy Love You is about Ian, a 30-something graphic novelist who writes Fatboy and Priss, heavily based on … Continue reading Character Change: How Lisa Unger does it
Tension, Conflict, Suspense: How Harlan Coben does it
It's Tension, Conflict, Suspense week, and today we're looking at how Harlan Coben milks the tension, conflict, and suspense in No Second Chance. I guarantee that I did not pick up on all of his uses and manipulations, but here's what I did spot:d Levels of Tension Macrotension: No Second Chance is the story of Dr. … Continue reading Tension, Conflict, Suspense: How Harlan Coben does it
Setting: How the masters use it
We're looking at Setting this week. Here are some setting passages from some of the books I've read lately. Let's see how the masters multi-task. Melinda Salisbury's The Sin Eater's Daughter When I first came to the castle, many, many moons ago, I was awed by it, by the decor and the beauty and the … Continue reading Setting: How the masters use it
Antagonists: How the masters do it.
Here are my takes on the antagonist breakdowns of the stories we looked at last week (for main character want, need, flaw, symptoms). Andy Weir’s The MartianThis is a story about a guy who's left behind on Mars and has to survive until he can be rescued. Antagonist: This is a man vs. nature story, … Continue reading Antagonists: How the masters do it.
Want, Need, Flaw, Symptoms: How the masters do it
We're looking at how the masters give their characters emotional wants and needs and character flaws. Here's what I've seen in the stories I've read lately: Andy Weir’s The Martian Character: an astronaut abandoned on Mars. General Want: to survive Specific External Goal: to modify the resources that were supposed to last six people thirty-or-so days so … Continue reading Want, Need, Flaw, Symptoms: How the masters do it
Backstory: How the Masters Use It
Usually when backstory is effectively used, you don't notice it. It's often "marbled" in with the front story, as James Scott Bell says. Still, here are some examples of backstory that I have noticed (or remembered): Cheryl Strayed's WildIn this story, a girl goes on a hike as a way to deal with her mother's death. The … Continue reading Backstory: How the Masters Use It
Writes With Tools 