It seems ironic that today we’re talking about the Black Moment in character change, the day after we have one of the closest political races in history. Half of America is waking up looking at the blue skies, the other half see the gloom. Regardless, it’s an opportunity for everyone to examine what they believe. And, if you’re a McCain follower, it’s an opportunity to say, what now? How then shall I go forward? A Character at the crux of their Black Moment needs to ask the same questions. If you’ve been following My Book Therapy, think back to the beginning of the year when we started developing our characters. We talked about a character’s greatest fears, and why they had them, and then used that to create the Black […]
Read the RestArchive | How do I write the Character Change Journey? RSS feed for this section
Training for Battle – More Character Change
Ack, we left our character on his second attempt to change, and with a mini victory….and then Rachel and both had to finish our books. *grin* Yesterday we both turned them in, yay!, so this week we’re going to finish the journey on character change! We’re been through acts 1 & 2 – showing him the need for change, and the cost and rewards, stirring up a desire inside him, and giving him a taste of victory. Now, as the Act 2 fades out, we’re going to move him into….training for Battle. (or tackling the change inside). This is the fun part of the book (which is why I’m moving it back to Act 2- the section where all the fun and games happen). You’re going to put your character […]
Read the RestOnce is not enough – Character Change day 8
So far, we’ve covered our hero’s goal and desire, he’s calculated cost verses reward and he’s made his attempt to achieve his goal. And… he failed. So, in the example of Dragon Slayer the Third, what makes him go back again to try to win true love? Let’s say he’s realized he needs an heir to the throne or when he dies his evil cousin becomes King. DS the Third has given his life for his kingdom and it’s people. He doesn’t want them subject to evil King cousin. He wants an heir. However, he doesn’t want a marriage of convenience. Ah, now we’ve upped the stakes. If he wanted just an heir, he’d take any of the lovely damsel’s prostrating themselves before him. DS the Third wants real love, […]
Read the RestAn exercise in Cost and Reward – Character Change
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 […]
Read the Rest
