characterization
October 6, 2009
- Turning good guys to bad and vice versa or writing characters that are a hearty mix of both has always been a favorite pastime of mine. People were convinced Ty was the hero of TYGERS until about 4 scenes in, when I turned the tables and showed them a 4 y/o boy's best friend was a psychopath instead of his hero, which completely freaked one reviewer for a few chapters. OTOH, Mik, Jorg/Veriel, and ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
July 1, 2009
- At a recent meeting of the writing group I am in with wonderful writers from the Squaw Valley Community of Writers (plus one), we engaged in a lively discussion about how to make our characters really live on the page. One of our members offered a list of questions to ask about your characters -- things you may not need to use in the story or novel, but that you as the author should know about ...
- Continue Reading » 3 Comments
February 25, 2009
- Because I work in a writing center, there’s always talk about how better to get across to the student you’re helping that you’re serious about helping them overcome their challenges. That you ‘feel their pain’ in a totally non-ironic, non-Clintonesque way. Displaying empathy.The trouble with conversations like this is that often I hear too much focus on how to display empathy. “Think ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
January 26, 2009
- While writing a book I constantly ask myself the question: "How much worse can I make it for Raine (my MC)?" I've found that if I don't need a yardstick to measure the crap, then Raine isn't in it deep enough. And since I have an ensemble cast: Mychael, Tam, Piaras, and Phaelan -- I try to keep the men in just as much deep doo-doo.Of course, I know that I have to find a way out for ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
January 6, 2009
- Today I read a blog post by an agent where she listed a couple of cliche phrases that will invariably cause her to groan and reject the query or proposal. I placed a comment in the post saying that I would include the enirety of "Eat, Pray, Love" as a groan inducing cliche.Then I looked at some of the cliches that she and other respondents to the post had listed. They were almost ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
November 25, 2008
- I can't quite remember where it was that I found the bit of advice that is the title of this post. It may have been the New Yorker or it may have been a book I am reading on the poet Donald Hall.At any rate, it was enough to get me up out of bed when I read it and jot it down in a post-it note so that I didn't forget it. As an aside, I am always getting up from bed to write little notes down so ...
- Continue Reading » 1 Comment
November 6, 2008
- First: a duality HaikuI and me agree, there can be no difference, between I and me. That came to me yesterday while I was writing Verilog (its a hardware language DGMS).That Haiku is true on many levels and the more I study it, the more depth it takes on. Sometimes I think it would be truly fun to be able to write Haiku in Sanskrit. But alas, I am a moron verbally speaking.Today's topic (now that ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
October 19, 2008
- Showing vs. Telling Online Workshop! November 2-284 weeks ($20 for course)Ever wondered how to show your story instead of telling it?She was beautiful. Telling. Her red curls cascaded over her bare shoulders like a fiery display of roses in full bloom, accentuating her creamy skin, perfection and beauty rolled up into one delightful woman. Showing.So how does the writer show rather than ...
- Continue Reading » 0 Comments
October 15, 2008
- A discussion over at Storytellers Unplugged sprang up after Brian Hodge’s last post about characters and characterization. I don’t want to rehash what has already been said, but some other things caught my eye and ear in a short period of time, and as often happens, they formed themselves into the germ of an idea for a blog post. No one who goes to movies can have missed the great method ...
- Continue Reading » 2 Comments
October 14, 2008
- “There is some legitimate concern behind the question “how do you write that stuff,” if someone writes “that stuff” very well. People want to know how you can do it. How you can write from the point of view of a killer, or a very psychologically damaged character of one sort or another and bring that character to life.” - Macabre Ink - Writer’s As Method Actors Over in my main ...
- Continue Reading » 1 Comment
