Continuing our discussion on Characterization, cost and reward, motivation and desire, let’s do a little exercise with our current WIPs. I’m going to work from a single gender view point, but take the liberty to apply to hero heroine, or any POV character. Remember, all point of view characters must have some kind of journey and story arc. What does your hero want? How is is going to get it? What is it going to cost him? What are the oppositions? What does he want? I see this answer a lot in the manuscripts I read: Love. He wants to find love. Well, that’s noble and very Christ like. But why? Finding true love is a noble journey, but will not make for a very interesting book. How much does […]
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Yeah, but what about me? Character change Day 6
Yesterday we talked about Character Change – and the point where, after their first attempt and failure, they get a glimpse of what it will cost them to succeed. Today we’re going to talk about the reward for succeeding. Every summer, I take the five week beginner’s Tennis class through our local community center. Let me say that again. Every Year I Take the Beginners Tennis Class. That’s right. Just the Beginners. Yes, there’s an intermediate class. And an advanced level class. And then people actually PLAY each other. For points. And wins. But see, progressing would require something, well, that I’ve tried to push out of my brain every since I escaped six years of piano lessons: practice. Now the thing is, I do like […]
Read the RestAck! What is that Smell? Character Change Day 3
I could see the problem. Actually, to be honest, I could smell it. Seeping from my oldest son’s tomb-like room. As if, yes, there might be a corpse inside. I stood at the threshold of the doorway and peered in. He lay, a lump under his sheets, the floor of his room riddled with the debris of his teenage boy existence – old pop cans, bowls of hardened ice cream, decaying socks, his grimy attire for the last week. All of marinating in the brew of young manhood filth. He needed to clean his room. I flicked on the light (hey, it was 9am. ) “I think your room needs some attention.” Somewhere beneath the covers, he grunted. “Seriously, I can’t see your floor.” “It’s there, or you’d be falling […]
Read the RestRelease the Woobie! Character Change Day 2
Susie writes: My son has a Woobie. Remember the security blanket from Mr. Mom? Yeah, that’s my son. His Woobie is a disgusting denim comforter he sleeps with. It’s ripped in seven places. The stuffing is coming out. If I wash it, it will disintegrate in my washer. I fear the Woobie. So, while he was at school yesterday, I remade his bed. I washed his sheets. And I took the comforter and shoved it in a black plastic bag and hid it in the closet. Hoping, maybe, he wouldn’t…uh, notice? He came home, and we all had a nice dinner (borscht) and watched the debate and then…bedtime. I was reading, peacefully in my own bed when Peter walked in with a distressed look. “Mom, where is my….blanket?” He appeared about three years old. “Uh….” And here’s where I […]
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