tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post1709612261880819567..comments2013-05-14T17:56:19.312-07:00Comments on A Jedi's Musings: Complex CreationsLive, Love, Laugh, Write!http://www.blogger.com/profile/07004471744200892329noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-82819175611718655362009-04-29T10:05:00.000-07:002009-04-29T10:05:00.000-07:00My two cents worth? Write a character sketch of A...My two cents worth? Write a character sketch of Aria. Interview her. Ask her if she likes crunchy or creamy peanut butter. Toilet paper over the top or underneath. Bath towels folded and hung up or tossed on the ground. If she had a cat, what kind would she have? Does she fly straight from one place to the other or does she meander? Does she have a particular way she flies - smooth and straight, with a hiccup from a previously injured wing, bouncing like a swallow? Some of this stuff, she's never going to do, obviously, because she's a fairy - but the answers to those questions will give insight at least into her personality. Make a list of her favorite foods, her not favorite foods. Old scars - even ones as minor as cuts on her hand. Does she have any other sort of treasured accessory other than the gem? What is she afraid of? Can she whistle? Roll her tongue into a cylinder? Cross her eyes? Has she failed spectacularly at something and, more importantly, does anyone else know about it (i.e. was it a private or public failure and has she dealt with it?)<br /><br />Another way to look at characters is to dash off a side conversation that you may never use - get two characters in an argument over whether the red squares or black squares are more special in chess. Make them face their greatest fear. Write three pages and call it good.<br /><br />Or - for a real mind-bender - take a character and write a scene from their perspective, using "I" "me" and "my." Really get into their skin and try to think the way they do.<br /><br />The great thing about all these is that, with a little tweaking, you can always incorporate them into your story if you'd like. :)<br /><br />*phew* Sorry for the length - I've found in the course of my writing that I love to dig into characters, slip into their skin and find out the little details that make them unique. It helps when I write larger motivations because minor details reveal bigger character traits - a character's like of creamy peanut butter ties into his need for order and consistency and his fear of change.<br /><br />Oh - and I steal character traits all the time from my favorite stories. Believe me - other stories are a gold mine sometimes. Although, don't steal anything blatantly obvious (a wizened little creature wandering around muttering "my precious" isn't a subtle lifting of ideas, it's a blatant character kidnapping). :D<br /><br />Have fun, m'dear! :D You might even find some new ideas that make writing seem less like slogging through molasses and more like minding sugar from the candy caves. ;)<br /><br />Me and my weird metaphors. :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-731126655756634522009-04-27T23:35:00.000-07:002009-04-27T23:35:00.000-07:00Yes! Characters and setting are my great loves in ...Yes! Characters and setting are my great loves in a story. I'll follow a flat or nonexistent plot to the end if I can care enough about the people or the place. That's what I try for in my stories, absolutely!Carapacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00489746197701446680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-61346241345964070562009-04-26T17:36:00.000-07:002009-04-26T17:36:00.000-07:00I love knowing the characters! I also think it is...I love knowing the characters! I also think it is critical to connecting to the storyuniquecommoditieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06569243316500671054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-29100393277163445132009-04-26T11:25:00.000-07:002009-04-26T11:25:00.000-07:00For me, what builds loyalty with a story are the c...For me, what builds loyalty with a story are the characters in the book. I imagine it is difficult to write LONG segments but bless you for trying!!Erika https://www.blogger.com/profile/02042799019418411409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-44854699630230706782009-04-26T06:46:00.000-07:002009-04-26T06:46:00.000-07:00When I am reading I love to get to know the charac...When I am reading I love to get to know the characters. I loved The Denver Cereal because of that just as much as the story.sundcarriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00866482585240648400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811257280600913675.post-26487181416109723932009-04-26T05:45:00.000-07:002009-04-26T05:45:00.000-07:00I don't write, but character quirks and depths are...I don't write, but character quirks and depths are great...one of the reasons I love to read. You can really immerse yourself when you know the characters.<br />It's one of my fave things about Joss (visual entertainment Iknow, but still...) - his characters are so rich, you can even tell who is talking if you were to just read the lines - they all have there own way of saying things.<br /><br />And I can't imagine character depth is easy in short bursts...far from it! Unless you were merely releasing an already full book in installments - it's going to be a challenge...but you always seem to take your own life challenges pretty well...so I'm sure you can handle this one too :)TiLThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15569608376145813091noreply@blogger.com