TECH: The Universe in a Grain of Sand (Moldy Oldie) (490 words)

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 Original Posting 8/4/2019

Writer's Digest, April 1992, pages eight and 10 had an article by Nancy Kress under this title. The subtitle says "To make your characters and setting universal, make them specific."

Nancy starts with a short anecdote about a student writer who says their story could be about anybody, so they haven't really decided who the person is. They want to represent the universal human condition!

"It's not that a single character in a short story can't represent the universal human condition. Certainly he or she can. But the construction of fiction offers a paradox here: the more universal you try to be, the more particular you must be in terms of character. The way to universality of theme lies not through creating anybody, but only through creating a specific somebody. The only way to achieve Everyman is to create Particularman."

Why? Well, basically readers are looking for identification. How much does your character resemble the reader. If the answer is not very much, readers shift to trying to understand a different life. However, those different characters don't represent universals. They don't represent you! On the other hand, when a reader does identify with the character, they become universal – at least there's the author, the character, and the reader… And then there's everybody else.

"If your reader can identify with your character, that character has at least a shot at representing universality of human truth to the reader."

So when do readers identify with the character? It's not through a lack of individual characteristics. Vagueness does not create identification. No, bonds are best built through similarities between the reader and the character, through definite qualities. "That's why the well-drawn individual character will seem more universal than a vague, amorphous one." What the character does and says and believes are things the reader can predict because the people feel real, and the reader can imagine themselves sharing.

Reader identification!

But, wait a minute, sex, age, socioeconomic class, interests… Those are not likely to be the same as the reader? Well, yes, but while such attributes influence how the character thinks and acts, it's really character, personality, individual essence that let the reader identify the character. Emotions!

Along the way, it's not just characters. Setting also needs to be specific, with details chosen to illuminate, to give a impression.

So, clean up the fuzz! "Fuzzy characters in fuzzy settings do not add up to depictions of the universal human condition.… To create the universal, create the particular, and create it in such a way that you take us below the surface of both character and setting." Make us notice, make us care, and we will love the story.

So there you go. If you're looking for an exercise, take something you're working on, and go through and look for the fuzzy places, the characters and settings that aren't really specific. Then add the details, make them pop into the reader's mind.

EXERCISE: Running around the wheel (of emotions?)

[mbarker]

Original Posting 8/9/2019

Okay. Let's start with a simple roll of the dice. Eight-sided, now! So, here's what you chose!

1. Fear: a feeling of being afraid, frightened, scared.
2. Anger: feeling angry. A stronger word for anger is rage.
3. Sadness: feeling sad. Other words are sorrow, grief.
4. Joy: feeling happy. Other words are happiness, gladness.
5. Disgust: feeling something is wrong or nasty. Strong disapproval.
6. Surprise: being unprepared for something.
7. Trust: a positive emotion. Admiration is stronger, acceptance is weaker.
8. Anticipation: looking forward positively to something that is going to happen.

>From https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emotions#Robert_Plutchik's_theory

They also have this cool wheel, very colorful, with lots of emotions. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emotions#/media/File:Plutchik-wheel.svg

Aha! The leaves of the flower in the wheel are the eight from the list. So the pairs are actually
1. Joy versus sadness
2. Trust versus disgust
3. Fear versus anger
4. Surprise versus anticipation
Okay...

Anyway, roll your eight sided dice or simply pick a number from 1 to 8.

Incidentally, if you don't have an eight-sided dice handy, you can also go to this link https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VUc0WqhGjbca-0s5k-eQJogo8-Ep-XdCqhcFfgrv5A8

Each time you open it, you will get a new selected emotion. Or you can press CTRL-R and the spreadsheet will randomly pick another one.

Now take that emotion, and do the method acting trick. Think about a time in your life when you have experienced that emotion. What caused it? What did you feel? How did your body react? What did you want to do to express that emotion?

Now, let's consider making a scene where a character is experiencing that emotion. Go ahead, convert your experience into a scene. What happens to make the character experience the emotion? Who else is in the scene? What does the character say, do, how do they act while they feel that emotion? And then...

Mostly, for this exercise, just write that snippet, that little scene, with one character experiencing an emotion. You can use the strong version, the middle version, or the weak version of the emotion, whichever one works best for you. But make sure that when your reader reads that scene, they can recognize that emotion. You probably don't want to come right out and say Joe was scared, but... What shows us that Joe is terrified? What makes us feel that terror? Or whichever emotion you picked.

There you go. One emotion, one scene, one character. Now, spin that colorful wheel of emotions again! If you really want a hard exercise, take two random emotions, and show us the scene where the character experiences the first one, and then something happens and transforms it into the second one. Go ahead, I dare you. I double dare you!

TECH: Character Arcs (Part 1)

[mbarker]

Original Posting 8/17/2019

I decided to start reading Creating Character Arcs by K. M. Weiland. I'll try to remember to put the Amazon link in here, but you can find it there pretty easily. Incidentally, she offers a free related book at https://www.kmweiland.com/free-characters-book that you might want to get.

(Link? Right. https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Character-Arcs-Masterful-Development-ebook/dp/B01M6VC68U/ should get you there, I think.)

So, in the front material, she raises some interesting questions. Which arc is right for your character? Positive arc, negative arc, flat arc? You don't want to pit the plot against the characters. Instead, we want to blend the structure and character development, but how do you do that? What are the pitfalls you might run into? What about using overarching character arcs for trilogies or series?

Now, you might think that character arcs are pretty simple. Just three steps. The protagonist starts one way, through the story learns some lessons, and bam, the protagonist changes. But, of course, it's not quite that simple when you look at the details.

First, character arc and structure go together. Plot is structure, but what is character arc? Well... "The character drives the plot, and the plot molds the character's arc. They cannot work independently."

Then, guess what, character arc ties into theme, too! So with plot, character arc, and theme all working together...

In the last bit of the introduction, K.M. suggests that there are three basic arcs we need to look at. First, the positive change arc. The character starts out with personal unfulfillment, lacks, problems. The story challenges their beliefs. And, eventually, they conquer their demons and change to a better person. Second, the flat arc. Typically, these are heroes who are acting as catalysts to change around them. Often, minor characters experience growth around them. Third, the negative change arc. It's the positive change arc, flipped. Here, the character ends up worse than they began.

Okay? So this book is about characters who change, who start out with some problem or issue, and either improve, stay the same, or get worse. Now, how does that work? Well, K.M. says she is going to mostly talk about the positive change arc, but we will cover all three. So, watch for the next episode in this series!

TECH: Character Arcs (Part 2) (560 words)

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 Original Posting 8/23/2019

Part one of the book is about the positive change arc. As we noted in part one of this series, the positive change arc starts with a person who has some issues. The story challenges those beliefs, they learn some things, and conquer their problems and change for the better. So where does it all start?

Chapter 1 is about the lie that your character believes. Characters don’t want to change. That resistance causes conflict, which becomes plot. “Whether the connection is immediately evident or not, the external plot is all about the character‘s internal journey.” Wow, let that sink in. The external plot is all about the internal journey?

“Plot, in its simplest manifestation, is all about the protagonist‘s goal. He wants something, and he can’t have it, so he keeps right on trying.“

Okay...  Now, the positive change arc is about a change in priorities, in realizing that the character is not getting what they want because either (a) they want the wrong thing or (b) the morals and methods they are using to get it are wrong.

So, we’re looking at change. But, what lie does the character believe that is causing this? They have something lacking, there is some reason for them to change. They are somehow incomplete on the inside. There is some misconception that is leading them astray. E.g., might makes right, you have to earn love through X, money is the most important thing in life.

The Lie! Some specific belief, that you can state in one short sentence. Now, there may be qualifiers.

Okay, how do you find the lie? Start by looking at your plot. Does the conflict show it? Then look at the character’s actions and reactions. Fear, hurt, guilt, secrets, shame… These are all symptoms of the lie. Often, the character wants to shed the symptoms, but the lie holds on to them. If you need some ideas, take a look at the listings of negative traits available in various places.

Some questions to ask to help identify the Lie:

  1.  What misconception does the protagonist have about themselves or the world?
  2.  Because of this misconception, what is the protagonist lacking, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually?
  3.  How is the interior lie reflected in the exterior world?
  4.  When the story opens, is the lie making the character miserable? How?
  5.  If not, will the inciting event and/for the first plot point make them uncomfortable?
  6.  Does the lie require qualifiers to narrow the focus?
  7.  What are the symptoms of the lie?

Whoo! So there is some belief, some way of looking at the world, something that the character holds onto, that is a misconception, a LIE! What is that mistaken idea, that wrong way of thinking, that twist that is keeping our character miserable?

Exercise? Sure. Take some stories you are familiar with. Now, think about it. Does the story have a positive character arc? Does the character start out with some problem, learn some lessons, and become a better person? If so, what is the lie, the misconception, the false belief that they start with. Go ahead, write up a short statement of the lie for that story, that character. Do this for at least three positive change arcs.

Then watch out for part 3 of this series, where we will look at what the character wants versus what the character needs.

TECH: Character Arcs (Part 3) (500 words)

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Original Posting 8/30/2019

I'm rather slowly working my way through Creating Character Arcs by K. M. Weiland. Chapter 1 talked about the Lie that the character believes. Some belief, some model, something that is out of step with reality, but the character believes it, and it causes problems, symptoms for them. Chapter 2, that I want to talk about today, is another conceptual chapter, where K. M. takes a look at what the character wants as opposed to what the character needs. The Lie that the character believes is the reason for the character arc, for their change. But, what they want usually is a perceived cure for the symptoms of that Lie. What they need, on the other hand, is truth. Truth with a capital T!


So, what the character wants, often is a goal. What does the character want? Is it a major story goal? Looking at the goal, we are often taking the plot and making the goal an extension or reflection of something that really matters to the character at some deep level. So think about why does the character want this? Fairly often, what the character wants is external, physical.


On the other hand, what the character needs is Truth, an antidote to the lie. Typically this isn't physical, although it often manifests as something physical or visual. It's a realization that transforms the character's view of the world and of themselves. Fairly often, the character is called to sacrifice what they want for what they need. Sometimes, this sets up them actually getting what they want.


So, some questions to consider.


1. How is the Lie holding the character back?

2. How does the lie make the character unhappy or unfulfilled?

3. What truth will disapprove the lie?

4. How will the character learn the truth?

5. What does the character want more than anything?

6. How is the plot goal related to or an extension of what the character wants?

7. Does the character believe that what he wants will solve personal problems?

8. Is what he wants blocking what he needs?

9. Does What He Needs block What He Wants, or, will he only be able to get What He Wants after getting What He Needs?

10. How will the character's life be different once they embrace What He Needs?


Remember, what he wants versus what he needs drives the internal conflict, and provides gasoline for the fire of the outer conflict.


So, we have a lie, an untruth, that our character believes. Because of that, they want something. However, that's not what they need. So...


As an exercise, take a look at a story with a positive character arc. Last time I asked you to identify the Lie that the character believes in this story. This time, add what the character wants, and what the character needs. See if you can pick those out and identify them in a short phrase or sentence. The lie the character believes, what the character wants, and what the character needs. Three pieces of information that shape the character arc. Watch for Part 4, where we'll talk about your character's ghost!