Tag Archives: Character Arc

Creativity kickstart for writers ~ 5 super fun steps!

26 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Creativity, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January is International Creativity Month, a great time to remember where the magic happens in the creative process. If we’re honest, there’s two drastically different sides to writing fiction:

  • OC (obsessive compulsive)—the linear, orderly mindset required for tracking the details that make a novel rich and believable
  • Happy place—where stories start and creativity takes flight

Imaginative rocket made of school supplies

Getting lost in the necessary details

We have to think linearly, assess the plausible, and be orderly and organized in execution to write good fiction. As Mark Twain so adeptly explained, “Fiction, after all, has to make sense.”

Writing a novel requires tracking story structure, character traits and arcs, setting and world building details. And maybe more! JK Rowling created an overall spreadsheet for the Harry Potter series, as well as spreadsheets for each individual book. The following image is of Rowling’s hand drawn spreadsheet for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

JK Rowling's outline for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Rowling’s grid outlines the chapter, month, chapter title, with an explanation of how that chapter relates to the over-arching plot of the book. There are columns for each of the book’s six subplots (prophecies, Harry’s romantic interests, Dumbledore’s Army, Order of the Phoenix, Snape and crew, and Hagrid) as well.

Remembering all the necessary details across hundreds of pages can bog down the heartiest of writers, especially when under deadline. Luckily, there’s a cure!

Creative rejuvenation

Creativity is innate to everyone. Much of what is perceived as “writer’s block” is temporary amnesia, we’ve forgotten the pure joy of having fun. When your creative fuel tank sputters on empty, try the following steps to blast your creativity into orbit:

  1. Do something silly, like running up the Down escalator, jumping on the bed, or having a food fight. Breaking up your routine with something random and unexpected, opens a creative doorway.
  2. Make a creative mess. A BIG one! Nothing breaks the bonds of orderly stuckness quicker than doing something that’s the total opposite.
  3. Skip. Everywhere. For an entire day! We stop skipping around the age of 10 or 12, but no one knows why. Scientifically that is. I think it’s because that’s the age we start forgetting how to naturally have fun. Skipping for an entire day will force you to remember what it was like to be naturally happy. Instant creativity is the result.
  4. Do something your 12 year-old self loved to do. For me it was rollerblading, but do whatever made you happy at that age. Again, it’s about tricking yourself into remembering what it’s like to be naturally happy. Then, the creative faucet turns on with firehose force.
  5. Give yourself permission to do NOTHING for an entire day. This is harder than it sounds. In our overachiever society, we’ve forgotten how to slow down and live in the moment. For more about this creativity enhancing practice, check out The Art of Doing Nothing, by Veronique Vienne.

Tranquil spa setting

The mystery of depth ~ Creating characters we care about

29 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in Character, Story, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Agents and editors want stories that have characters they can care about, characters with depth. For the longest time, I had no idea how to accomplish this. I knew depth meant complexity, but how you created that quality in characters was a mystery. Then one day, while watching an episode of NCIS, the pieces of the character-depth-puzzle magically fell into place. Who knew Abby and Gibbs would be the key that unlocked this literary mystery?

NCIS -- Abby and Gibbs

1. Mix it up with multiple character traits

In a 2-dimensional painting, everything appears flat. You get the same effect with characters that only have one basic trait—bully, geek, mean girl, wimp, etc. To avoid flat characters, give them multiple traits of varying strengths.

I like the analogy of creating perspective in a painting. What’s in the foreground is mountains at sunsetmore intense and has greater detail. As should be the predominant trait of a character. With increased distance in a painting, objects become lighter and have less detail. Secondary and tertiary character traits should have less focus as well.

When Building a Better Character, reveal the traits over time as the character interacts with others and reacts to various situations.

2. Shake & stir: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Just as characters need a blend of traits to be believable, they must also display a variety of emotions. No one is perfect, and we wouldn’t like them if they were. Show their good side, so we like them, but don’t hold back on the bad and the ugly.

3. Peal back the layers

It’s human nature. The longer we savor an experience, the richer our enjoyment. This is why it’s important for characters to unfold and grow along with the plot.

Think of pealing back the layers of an onion. Each layer should reveal something unique and intimately real about the character. When we first meet someone, we get a superficial impression of who they are. It takes time, and a variety of experiences, before we get to know who they really are. It should be the same with our characters.

At a San Francisco South Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Agents Day conference, former literary agent, Mary Kole explained how to explore a character’s inner life through interiority. Interiority is a combination of the character’s internal dialog and point of view. To learn more, check out her book on Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers.

4. Pressure cook for change

diamond sitting on coalCharacter depth requires change over the course of the story. The Character Arc is a journey that forces the character to confront their frailties to become wiser and stronger.

All great stories are about transformation. To survive, the hero has to change by facing their greatest fear and overcoming it. Blake Snyder—in the popular story structure guide, Save the Cat!—called this The Dark Night of the Soul.

Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) puts characters through hell—literally and figuratively. This pressure has the same effect as the pressure that transforms a lump of coal into a diamond. It smooths off their rough edges and makes them shine.

You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are. ― Joss Whedon

The Covenant of the Character Arc ~ Raise the Stakes & Make it Count

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Story, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stories help us cope with the chaos of life. They show us how to navigate social situations and overcome adversity. A New York Times article, “Your Brain on Fiction”, by Annie Murphy Paul, discusses studies that prove this.

For a story to fulfill its function and satisfy the human spirit, there has to be change. The covenant of the (character) arc, as Blake Snyder so wisely described it, is the necessity for characters to change. The measure of change is a character’s arc. In the best stories, all characters arc except the bad guy. J.K. Rowling did an excellent job of this throughout the Harry Potter series.

Harry Potter

The Transformation Machine

Shake. Stir. Whip. Frappe. Do whatever it takes to force your characters to confront their frailties and become wiser, stronger, better. Blake Snyder, Mr. Save the Cat! referred to this process as the Transformation Machine.

All stories are about transformation. And seeing this as a good thing is the starting point of writing a successful story of any kind. ― Blake Snyder

In essence, the hero’s transformation mirrors the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. A type of death and rebirth are required to complete a satisfying character arc. Take Gracie Hart, the unrefined FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) in Miss Congeniality, who must become a polished beauty pageant contender in order to solve the crime and save the lives of her new friends.

Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock

Dishing out conflicts for characters isn’t always easy, but  it’s a must. To achieve a great ending—as described in Secret Ingredients of a Satisfying Ending—the characters have to change. A lot.

There are plenty of character arc graphs and charts. I understood the theory, but applying it evaded me until I read Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2) story points, or beats, that push the character arc include: Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, and Dark Night of the Soul. Tim Stout provides excellent descriptions for each of these beats here.

Make ‘Em Suffer Till They Shine

It’s simple. To survive, our hero has to change. Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) puts characters through hell—literally and figuratively. This pressure has an effect similar to that which transforms a lump of coal into a diamond. It files down the hero’s rough edges and makes him shine.

You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are.
― Joss Whedon

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Take it up a notch!

In chemistry, heat accelerates change. The same is true for stories. Here’s a few suggestions for turning up the heat and increasing the transformation process:

  • Make the Bad Guy badder—For the protagonist to be perceived as the hero he is, the Bad Guy has to be as bad as possible. The villain must be an equal match for the hero, but willing to do whatever it takes to win. Beating the villain has to seem impossible, so when the hero wins he shines brighter.
  • Increase internal conflicts—Fear, doubt, jealousy, shame, any and all emotional trauma. Bring it. The pressure makes the hero to face his inner demons, and forces him to realize that what he thinks he wants isn’t what he really needs. Dig Deep for a Story That Resonates shows how this can strengthen the story’s theme.
  • Increase external conflicts with friends and relatives—Betrayal, abandonment, rifts in trust, arguments, even death. Pile it on. These conflicts push the hero to his lowest, forcing him to find strength he didn’t know he had.
  • Throw in a force of nature—Wind, rain, earthquake, snakes, anything to make your character’s goal harder to accomplish. These obstacles can force the hero to overcome his flaws.
  • Blow something up—A couple of authors shared this advice at a conference. The event has to be organic to the story and plausible for the characters. The action must also come from a deep emotional need to force transformation. Extreme times call for extreme measures.

Enhance the Heat

Stories have flavor. And just like a great meal, flavor is enhanced when complimented by an opposite. To strengthen the impact of a transformative moment, pair it with its opposite.

Joss Whedon said it best…

Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.
― Joss Whedon