I was going to talk about the Black Moment this week. Then I decided to back up and talk about the Dark Moment. There’s a certain order to things crafting a novel. So there’s no sense in talking about the What and Why of the Black Moment if we haven’t tackled the What and Why of the Dark Moment. What: Dark Moment This is a specific negative event in a character’s past that shapes them into the person they are today. Heads Up: This next part is crucial. You recreate the Dark Moment in the Black Moment. More on that in my next What and Why column on the Black Moment. Why: Determining the Dark Moments is essential in developing both your hero and heroine. Out of the Dark Moment […]
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“PUT CHARACTERS IN OPPOSITE SITUATIONS.”
Continuing from my post last week on fast notes on characterization during a Donald Maass session. These are an eclectic gathering designed to make you think differently. Have fun! “These are the moments the characters become larger than his or her own life. Break out of box, out of character, do the unexpected. The are the moments we remember.” “A “wink” can be the most unexpected thing a character can do.” But it must be out of character. “Take your characters to places they would never go.” Eventually they have to become who they really are – reverse or repent of what they’ve done. Stop thinking about redeeming our characters. Can’t always be thinking of redeeming them. Redeem them from what? Take your characters to the bad/dark/confused place, wrong place, […]
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Fast Notes On Why Characters Matter
Hey all, I’m on a deadline but didn’t want to ask our handy-dandy David, assistant extraordinaire, to repurpose another old blog for me so, I found some notes I’d taken during a Donald Maass seminar and thought I’d pass them onto you. Nothing earth shattering here. Nothing we’ve not talked about already here in MBT Land but it’s good to be reminded. I sometimes like bullet points, don’t you? Or maybe an esoteric, eclectic gathering of ideas and thoughts that might jog a creative, off-the-beaten-path part of my brain. If we’re too linear, too sequential, we run the same worn path of our creative brain and forget their might be other less traveled paths to take and just might lead us to something extraordinary. So here’s my non-sequential, out-of-context, come […]
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Reach Back and Reach Forward
I can remember in my early days of writing, not the early ones when I was 12 years old and wrote stories on a typewriter I bought at a garage sale. I mean when I made a full-time go of it in my mid-20s. I felt so alone, so isolated…so weird. With the internet it is much easier for newer writers to find help. We realize that there are others out there who hear voices in their head and have reasonable conversations about murdering characters and destroying relationships. [All in the name of craft] We have an incredible opportunity now to learn from other writers—are you taking advantage of that? “Well, Tiff, I’m reading this blog post, aren’t I?” Yes, you are. But what are you doing with it? What did […]
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