“Supernatural” has some great exchanges. There are many people who come to mind that prefer dialog in prose to description. Even peers of mine find it much easier to write dialog than long narrative passages. The difficulty in writing dialog well is twofold: Making conversations clear, and making them feel natural. Both of these challenges,… Continue reading What Characters Say
Tag: character
The Special Cases
In my experience, no character is or should be completely without flaws, issues, or fault. The characters we create emulate the people in our lives, and since those people are imperfect, so to should our characters be. The more flawed or abnormal the character, the more compelling the story, right? Well… sort of. Within limits.… Continue reading The Special Cases
Rogers' Rules
Meet John Rogers. You may know him as the writer for projects like Leverage. He’s also a stand-up comic, video gamer, and dissector of storytelling. In playing Fiasco with Wil Wheaton, he’s conveyed three of the best rules for storytelling I’ve heard since I’ve tried to memorize most if not all of the advice distributed… Continue reading Rogers' Rules
Execution by Plot
If you want a surefire way to kill your story and slay any interest a potential reader will have in it, let the plot drive. Looking back on some of the books I’ve read in my formative years, a host of franchised novels many of which I’m likely to donate to a library when I… Continue reading Execution by Plot
Writer Report: Getting To Know You
I mentioned last week that there’s a notion kicking around in my head for my next project. I also mentioned that I want to ensure the story is about characters, not just the universe and any cool stuff that’s in it. As much as imaginations are captivated by things like Jedi knights, Sith lords, alien… Continue reading Writer Report: Getting To Know You
What Characters Feel
As much as I like to judge the ultimate merits of a character by their relationships, we also learn a great deal about a character from the way they deal with, or ignore, their emotions. We may put up a brave front in the face of friends, competitors, or even close relatives and spouses, but… Continue reading What Characters Feel
Characters and Relationships
To paraphrase Churchill, I tend to judge a character mostly by the quality of their relationships. The more complex the connection, the more driven the characters involved, the better the story becomes. I’m not just talking about romantic relationships, either. Each of us has a variety of connections to others, ranging from simple acquaintance to… Continue reading Characters and Relationships
Know Your Fear
I find it amusing when people say they aren’t afraid of anything. I have to wonder if they’d maintain that notion if they were alone in a diving suit down in the Marianas Trench. Most people I know would be unnerved by the very notion of being entirely alone with nothing but angler fish for… Continue reading Know Your Fear
IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1
[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/gangster_no_1.mp3] ‘Crime drama’ is a pretty broad spectrum for stories. Some are from the perspective of those on the people’s side of the law, following detectives and prosecutors in their pursuit of justice. Others give us the point of view of the individual criminal, from the ones trying to rise above a life of crime… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1
Perception
In the broadest possible terms, Jungian psychology divides the self into three parts, much like Freud does, but Jung’s divisions have less to do with urges than they do with perception. There is the self we are, the self we believe ourselves to be, and the self perceived by others. With sufficient observation and self-awareness,… Continue reading Perception
