Time to Write

Do you (or your male characters) have these secrets?

      In Redbook magazine, Ty Wenger wrote about the “11 Don’t-Tell-the-Wife Secrets All Men Keep” (I read about it on line at WebMD). While I doubt it’s really pertinent to ALL men, it’s fun to consider and potentially a great spur for fiction writers in thinking about their male characters. Here are some of the 11:

Yes, we fall in lust 10 times a day—but it doesn’t mean we want to leave you.

We’re unnerved by the notion of commitment, even after we’ve made one to you.

Earning money makes us feel important.

We like it when you mother us but we’re terrified you’ll become your mother.

We’ll always wish we were 25 again.

 Thinking about whether, how, and why these apply should help flesh out any male protagonist who is in a relationship (or maybe help explain why he’s not). Even if these kinds of  issues never come up directly, they would inform who he is. 

(There's more information on developing great characters and plots in my book, "Your Writing Coach" - number one in authorship on Amazon.)

Blake Synder leaves behind an important concept

Blake Snyder, scriptwriter and the author of the screenwriting manual “Save the Cat,” died recently apparently of a heart attack. His book was one of the most popular on the topic and although I never met him,  a few times I showed up to teach at some conference or film school shortly after he’d presented his workshop and people had only good things to say about him.

 The point of the title of his book is that if you want the audience to like your protagonist, early on in the script have him do something good (even if he’s an anti-hero) -- and you can’t get much nicer than saving a kitten or a puppy.

 I think this advice applies to villains as well. Nobody wakes up and says, “Ah, another day in which to be irredeemably evil, mwahhahahahahah!” – unless they’re in a comic book.

 It may be trite to point out that even the worst villains in real life, say Hitler or Stalin, were nice to their mothers or kind to their secretaries but it does heighten the tension in our desire to understand them. Certainly one of the great mysteries of life is how people can be good in one way and so evil in another, and any work of fiction is stronger for acknowledging that.

 If you’re looking for a good book about screenwriting, one that’s fun and easy to read as well as full of good advice, “Save the Cat” is a good bet even though the author, sadly, has left the set.

(There's also information about writing scripts, novels, non-fiction books in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)

How to write a good villain (hint: use a mirror)

I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but I think it’s important enough to repeat: In Writer Magazine, novelist Diana Gabaldon was asked why writers often don’t get their villains right. Her answer, in part:

“First, there is a squeamishness that leads people to be superficial and stereotypical because they don’t want to go deeply into them…The corollary to that is, of course, that they’re not accepting the villain as being a wholly human person; they’re thinking a villain is something other. And they’re not.”

 Here’s the crucial statement:

“You do have to accept them as actual human beings and also as parts of yourself, which is where the emotional honesty comes in.”

I think that being willing to step into the dark space of your self is what distinguishes the outstanding writers. Not comfortable, but essential.

 (If you want to be more creative and productive, sign up for my Brainstorm e-bulletin by sending an email request now to BstormUK@aol.com.)

Use a 'worry box' to develop your characters

On the Evolution self-development site, I ran across a tip to create a “worry box.” This is any kind of file or box into which you drop pieces of paper on which you have written anything you’re worried about.

 

The notion is that this will allow you to have a clearer mind, but it struck me that this could also be a great way of fleshing out your characters. In that case, it could be a “worry file” in which you jot down everything you can think of that your character worries about, large and small.

 

For instance, I’m just starting on a novel in which the protagonist is a children’s entertainer. Among his worries: running out of work, that people will think he’s creepy if he’s still doing this job when he’s older; that another children’s entertainer is going to steal his act; that he’ll be sued if a child ever gets hurt (he’s let his insurance lapse to save money)—and quite a few more (he’s kind of a young Woody Allen type).

 

Not only does knowing what he or she worries about help you understand your character better, but if you’re ever short of conflict or detail in a scene, dipping into your character’s worry file could be very useful.

Character traits: the joy of text

Occasionally I post some observations about people (or, as we writers know them, “characters”) that you might find useful when writing fiction. This one is about how texting has become a routine part of the life of teen-agers—if you’re writing teen-age characters who aren’t texting, you’re giving away your age…

Here are some observations in a recent article by Katie Hafner in the New York Times:

“American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier.

Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, Calif., recently surveyed students at two local high schools and said he found that many were routinely sending hundreds of texts every day.

“That’s one every few minutes,” he said. “Then you hear that these kids are responding to texts late at night. That’s going to cause sleep issues in an age group that’s already plagued with sleep issues.”

“Greg Hardesty, a reporter in Lake Forest, Calif., said that late last year his 13-year-old daughter, Reina, racked up 14,528 texts in one month. She would keep the phone on after going to bed, switching it to vibrate and waiting for it to light up and signal an incoming message.” (Her parents confiscated her phone for a while and now limit her to 5000 (!) text messages a month.”

Who knew? Maybe you did, if you have a teen-ager…

(For tips on writing your novel and other types of writing, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online and offline retailers.)

Creating great characters (how Pixar does it)

In a New York Times article, the people behind the Pixar 3-D animated feature “Up"  talk about how they designed the characters.

 While they’re talking mainly about visual identity for animation, it’s not too hard to see how you could transfer some of these concepts to creating written characters for a novel or a live-action screenplay. They also talk about the research they did. Here's part of what they say about the way they came up with the dog:

"Dug is overweight and lovable. His owner has fitted him with an electronic collar that allows him to vocalize his thoughts. (The creators of “Up” wanted to avoid the humanlike talking animals that populate many animated films.) Mr. Nierva said Dug was inspired by a dog seen on the Internet. “Pete was looking around to adopt a dog and found this golden retriever-Labrador mutt,” he said. To help create a realistic-looking animated animal the designers took another road trip. “We went to the local dog day care, and we would ask the owners if we could see the overweight dogs,” he said. “We wanted to see how the fat hangs on the dog and how the fur hangs and, in movement, how that belly jiggle works.”

(for more insights into creativity, subscribe to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to BstormUK@aol.com)

The character arc--myth or mandatory?

In a recent issue of Script Magazine, “Mystery Man” wrote a long article called “The Case Against Character Arcs.” He claims that it’s considered mandatory especially in Hollywood that every protagonist have such an arc.

In case you’re not familiar with the term, a character arc refers to the change the character undergoes in the course of the story of a film or play or novel. 

For instance, Scrooge’s character arc takes him from greedy and self-centered to generous and a loving member of his family. 

Clint Eastwood’s latest film, “Gran Tornio,” takes his character from being a suspicious, closed-off bigot to a man who has opened up his heart.

 However, not every story has, or has to have, a protagonist who undergoes such a change. James Bond doesn’t change much. Examples from the article include the killer (or the others) in “No Country for Old Men,” `’Gandhi,” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

So, yes, while we do enjoy seeing people change (maybe it gives us hope that we, too, can change for the better), it’s not mandatory.

It all depends on what story you want to tell. I wrote a spec script not long ago in which a teen-ager is the only one who really knows what is happening (bad things) but nobody believes him. The story is about his determination to be heard, even when telling the truth could destroy his father. Other than becoming a bit less naïve than he is at the beginning, he doesn’t change much but I think the story works.

 Bottom line: if your story doesn’t benefit from a character arc for your protagonist, don’t feel you have to shoehorn one in. 

(For information on how to develop characters and plot, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers now.)

"Dexter" author interview - how it all started

If you like the TV series “Dexter,” or if you’re interested in crime fiction in general, you will enjoy this five-minute interview with Jeff Lindsay, author of the series of Dexter books upon which the series is based, including “Darkly Dreaming Dexter”--I especially liked his amusing story of how the character first occurred to him).

(If you can’t click on the video below, you can go to:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAK48ID7bjM&eurl=http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/moviezone.aspx )

Odd jobs: the mystery worshipper (a possible character?)

One of the things I look for when I read is reports of jobs I've never heard about. I suppose it's because I'm drawn to oddities and also because you never know when you'll be able to use something like that in a script or story. In an article by Alexandra Alter in a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal I ran across an interesting one: a mystery worshipper.

You've heard of mystery shoppers, right? They go into stores and restaurants and hotels and report on the service and the products they get. The WSJ says that, according to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association, there are roughly one million secret shoppers in the United States. (Can that be right? Doesn't that sound like a lot of secret shoppers?) Anyway, the secret worshipper is a secret shopper who visits churches and evaluates everything about them, from the quality of the paving in the parking lot to the sermons, to whether or not they're greeted as they arrive. 

The article mentions that some people think this is not appropriate because it reduces churches to just another consumer item. One of the pastors interviewed says that's just how it is. He says, "My competition is the Cracker Barrel restaurant down the street." Interesting idea. Redemption? Sure, would you like fries with that? I feel a story coming on...

Can you answer these questions about your characters?

In an article in Writing Magazine, William G. Tapply suggested some questions to ask about your characters to be sure you know them inside-out. Here are a few of the most revealing and useful ones:

* What personal demons haunt him?

* What's her favorite type of music?

* What does she like to do to relax?

* Does he have any health problems?

* Who depends on him, and why?

Naturally not all of these will necessarily be revealed in your short story or novel, but knowing the answers can help you to make sure the characters are alive in your mind, and that will ensure they are alive on the page, too.

(for lots of crucial information on how to write fiction, get your own copy of "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available at online and offline sources; and for tips and techniques for being more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin--just send an email request to BstormUK@aol.com)