The wonderfully zany and multi-talented author
Tristan Bancks said I had to write a blog post about my character or he’d never speak to me again. I mean, he invited me to be part of a character blog hop. You can meet his character
Tom Weekly here.
Since it’s quite a long time before you’ll the character who’s taken over my life and computer right now, I’m going to introduce Nim. Even if you’ve met her, you might find out something new.
1) What is your character’s name?
Nim Rusoe.
2) Is Nim based on you?
Of course she is! She’s brave, adventurous, resourceful. A bit hot-tempered too, but I had to make some things up.
But Alex Rover, the agorophobic adventure writer is based on me too. Maybe I should say that Nim is based on how I’d have liked to be when I was her age. In fact, when I was writing the first book, Nim's Island, Nim didn't come to life until I remembered how I'd felt when I was 9 year and wrote a story about a little girl who runs away from an orphanage to live on an island. I wasn't a particularly brave or capable kid, so I created a character who could be all the things I wished I was. Thirty years later, that character and her story grew into Nim.
3) How old is Nim?
 |
| Abigail Breslin as Nim |
I never wanted Nim to have a specific age. When I wrote the first book I wanted her to be whatever age the reader wanted her to be – and because she didn’t go to school or have human friends, it was easy to do that. But when you see a movie you know how old the actor is, so in the movie Nim’s Island, Nim was 11, as the actress Abigail Breslin was at the time. In Nim at Sea she was between 11 and 12, but in the film of that book, Return to Nim’s Island, Bindi Irwin was 14, so Nim was too. In Rescue on Nim’s Island, I think she’s close to 13 – but she’ll be older in the film. |
Bindi Irwin as Nim
|
4) What should we know about Nim?
She’s really just a normal kid whose life has made her become braver and more self-reliant than she might have been if her parents had worked in the city and sent her to school. But after meeting other kids in Nim at Sea and Return to Nim’s Island, she does want to have human, kid friends as well as her animal friends. She has to learn to do that in Rescue on Nim’s Island (as well as discovering fossils, blowing up caves, etc.) Learning to get along with the other kids and figuring out what’s going on is the hardest thing she’s had to learn!
5) What are Nim’s personal goals?
I don’t know if Nim would say, ‘saving the planet’, but in some ways that is her aim. She certainly wants to save her island and all the species on it.
And she wants the horrible twins Tiffany & Tristan to like her. (Sorry, Tristan!) And for Edmund to really like her.
And for Selkie and Fred to stay happy and healthy forever.
And I think she has a secret wish about her dad and Alex Rover…
6) Where can we find out more about the books?
Just click the links below. Nim's Island is the first, and Rescue on Nim's Island is the newest - it just came out last year.
And now I'm going to nominate
Sheryl Gwyther and
Kathryn Appel to introduce their characters. Check their blogs next week or so and see if they've taken up the challenge!
 |
| Bindi Irwin as Nim, from Return to Nim's Island movie poster |
I know that tying in a film to a book sequel sounds like the writer’s equivalent of a first world problem, but in fact we always need to be aware of how much we are, or want to be, swayed by other people’s comments and interpretations, from editors to illustrators, cover artists and even readers. I didn’t actually plan Nim as an eco-warrior, but the way that she and Jack live means that she’s interpreted as one. It seems so logical to me now that I have to remind myself it simply evolved naturally, as it probably would have if she were real.
My only physical description of Nim in any of the books is ‘her hair is wild and her eyes are bright.’ But of course I have my own vision of her: a wiry, dark haired, almost elfin girl, and I kept that through the first two books, even though I enjoyed imagining how Kerry Millard might illustrate something.
 |
Kerry Millard's interpretation of Nim
|
 |
| Wendy Orr, Abigail Breslin, Kerry Millard |
Then the films came, and there were real people, in flesh and blood, both the people I met off camera, and the way they were portrayed on screen and covers. By the time I started Rescue on Nim’s Island, I’d had 5 years of seeing Abigail Breslin being so completely Nim that it was difficult to return to my own vision.
 |
| Abigail Breslin as Nim |
It was only when I’d seen Bindi Irwin on location, portraying Nim differently but equally convincingly, that I could free myself up and remember my mantra that characters are however you interpret them: if they could both be Nim, my own vision could be too.
 |
| Bindi Irwin, Wendy Orr |
It took me a while to find my way with Rescue on Nim’s Island and that’s what I think is relevant to all of us. I had to really go back to basics instead of planning plots that I thought were terribly filmic, to which the film producer kept saying, ‘But that doesn’t really sound like you, or Nim.’
 |
| Geoff's Kelly interpretation of Nim |
I had to slow down, dream around it, and gradually discover the story in the usual organic way that I work. I reread the first books and got into the rhythm. Nim is a year older in each book, and I felt that she was growing naturally. She’s still herself. She’s more quick-tempered than either Abbie or Bindi are in real life, though slightly less pugnacious than the Nim of the second film. She’s the girl that was obviously born of some part of me, when I started writing her in 1998. Or maybe further back, when I wrote the prototype when I was 9. So if there’s a moral, I think it’s simply, let your characters grow and develop, but always be true to who they are at core.
*This is an edited excerpt of a talk I gave at the SCBWI meeting at Flinders on 6 September, 2014.
Yesterday (March 13), I presented at the SCSC Young Writers' Conference for 7-9th graders. I did the keynote opening program about "From Here to There by Way of the Zoo," subtitled, "Prairie-Dogging Your Way to a Story," using animal metaphors to talk about patterns of writing to completion, and how we can use odd things we find in everyday life to weave together a coherent whole story. I think it went well--at least the auditorium full of junior high students was attentive the whole time.
Somebody threw up, but otherwise it went smoothly. :) At leas I had fun. That should count for something, right?
Then I did three sessions on creating a character out of thin air, using an exercise I do in Creative Writing class. Each student makes up a story element (character, setting, problem, twist), puts it in the appropriate bucket, and then draws an element from each bucket. Weaving these different elements together is always the challenge, but can make for some delightful storylines. It was fun, and nearly every single student in each session had a great start on a story by the time they left the class.
I did meet a lot of wonderful young teens, many of whom are excellent writers!
Sara asked a question after my last post: "Do you find developing characters immediately is typically the most effective, or is it sometimes equally effective to develop setting and then think about the kinds of people who would inhabit that setting?"
My first response is a simple: Yes. For some, it will be easier to develop the characters and flesh out their world around them; others (like me) find it easier to consider the setting in tandem with the characters.
Think about some of the fictional people you've read along the way. Now, try to move them into a different setting. For example, if you think of any of Jane Austen's heroines, you may be able to transport Emma to the 21st century, to 13th-century Paris, or to America, but would she still be Emma? While many stories are universal, their settings are often intertwined with their characters.
 |
Characters or setting first? New York City, for example,
could play a major role in your character's life.
Credit | krishorvath81 @ Flickr |
To me, the setting an author chooses informs many other choices she may make and often may be what the author considers first. The way I write my fiction, I consider the setting at the same time as fleshing out other characters. And yes, I may even consider the setting first and think of who might inhabit the setting.
But I find it difficult to write characters without considering settings first. If you don't consider the setting first, aren't you considering only a portion of who your characters are? And vice versa? You would need to know the setting well to know who would want to inhabit such settings, right?
Setting can become an additional character--if you were to set your story in New York City or Denver, where would you do it? A single woman living in the Brooklyn sets up a different message and cadence--sometimes subtly and sometimes blatantly--than a single woman in Denver. (I've been both, so have patience with me while this becomes randomly autobiographical.) Just consider: modes of transportation, homes, and what each woman chooses to do on a free afternoon.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I might take a subway from my third-floor walk-up to spend a day in Central Park (or if I didn't feel like the subway, walk to Prospect Park). But as a single woman in Denver, I might go with friends to Elitch's Amusement Park or for a hike in the mountains. In either place, my home might include roommates. Particularly in a long piece of fiction, the setting can play a large and important role.
In one of my manuscripts, I set the action in Europe. Many of the scenes are interwoven with elements that I found there and, therefore, I definitely needed to develop the setting along with the characters. The surroundings become actors within the action and interacting with the characters, in my opinion.
These are a few examples, but hopefully they illustrate that the setting should definitely be a consideration.
Sara, I hope I've answered your question! I'd love to know: Do you consider setting before, during, or after you develop your characters? Also, if you have a question, please leave it in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer it.Elizabeth King Humphrey, who received her M.F.A. from UNC Wilmington, writes and edits in North Carolina. She wishes you a wonderful--and word-filled--2013.
Writing Fiction for Children – Character Believability and Conflict
Writing in general is a tough craft, although many may not think so. The writer has to take individual words and craft them together to create: interest, suspense, romance, humor, grief, fantasy, other worlds . . . the list goes on and on. And, it must be done with clarity.
While there is an abundance of information about writing and writing for children, it can easily become overwhelming, and even confusing. But, getting down to the nitty-gritty, there are two basic elements or rules to writing fiction for children you need to be aware of: creating believable characters and having conflict.
Writing Fiction for Children - Your Characters Need BelievabilityYour characters, especially your protagonist, need to create a bond or connection with the reader. In order to create that connection you will need to care about your characters. If you don’t, you’ll never get a reader to care. Make your characters believable and interesting.
In addition to this, you need to know your characters and remember their traits, physical characteristics, temperament, and so on. I’m sure there are instances, if you’re writing by the seat-of-your-pants rather than from an outline, where your character may do something you didn’t plan, but usually it’s a good idea to know what makes him tick.
Even the choices your protagonist makes will help define him, and create a deeper bond with the reader. Does he take the high road to reach his goals, or does he sneak in under the wire? Does he create options to choose from, or is he sweep along by the current of the story, grabbing at lifelines for survival? Are his choices a struggle?
You can keep track of your characters’ quirky telltale marks, expressions, behavior patterns, and physical features by noting them on a character sheet as they become unveiled.
You can also create a character interview for each character. The answers to the questions will help unveil each character’s personality, traits, history, family, and so on.
Writing Fiction for Children - Conflict is a mustA story’s conflict is like a detour or obstacle in the road from point A to point B. The protagonist must figure out a way over, around, under, or through it.
Conflict will drive your story forward and give the reader a reason to stay involved. Conflict is basically an obstacle between your protagonist and her wants or needs. It may be a crisis, a desire, a relationship, a move, or other. It can be caused by internal or external factors. Does overcoming one obstacle/conflict lead to another? Does she have help, or are others thwarting her efforts?
Along with this, there should be more than one conflict. In writing fiction for children, there may be two or three conflicts; as one is overcome another takes its place. A good rule is to think in threes: three characters, three problems, and three solutions.
This is only the beginning and most basic of the tips that new writers of children’s fiction should be aware of. There are many more that I’ll touch on in other articles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More Writing Articles:How to Write Tight: Self-Editing Tips to Make Your Manuscript Ready for Publication 6 Tips
Hi Everyone! Today I'm thrilled to welcome Madeline Freeman to the blog.
I thought it might be entertaining if we did an interview with one of the main characters from her new release, Awaking.
Author, Madeline Freeman decided to interview the character, MORGAN ABBEY.
If you haven't had a chance to read this novel yet, please add it to your list immediately. Madeline Freeman has generously agreed to giveaway a copy of her book, so I hope you all enjoy the interview! Be sure and check the bottom of the post for the details regarding the random giveaway. Who doesn't like free books? :-D
Awaking Synopsis:
Morgan Abbey’s life is about to change.
Just weeks before her senior year is set to begin, a mysterious stranger approaches Morgan with information that has far-reaching ramifications. First, the psychic ability she believes she has just been pretending to have since middle school might actually be real.
Second, her mother, who disappeared abruptly and completely almost a decade ago, might still be alive.
Morgan finds herself drawn i
.jpeg?picon=893)
By: LuAnn Schindler,
on 2/20/2011
Blog:
WOW! Women on Writing Blog (The Muffin)
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
listening,
dialogue,
LuAnn Schindler,
realistic dialogue,
creating characters,
repetition,
tips for writers,
fictional characters,
repeated phrases,
precision in writing,
Add a tag
Whoa, that convo would never take place!
Ever read a novel and have that thought come to mind while perusing the dialogue? That situation happened to me this week. Twice, in fact. One incident involved a YA novel. As an educator, I hear enough teen talk to know what's real and what's phony as a $3 bill. The other time I was critiquing a short story. Everything flowed in the piece, except the dialogue. Nothing like stealing that "feel good" feeling from a great piece of literature. (Insert frown here.)
Writers need to keep dialogue real; otherwise, readers will tune out. What are the best ways to pump up the reality volume of what your characters are saying? These tips will help you fine tune your characters' messages:
- Listen and Learn Unless you isolate yourself from the outside world, conversations that you can learn from take place all the time. Call if eavesdropping, but if you just sit and listen to people talk, you'll learn to pick up speech patterns, key words, phrasing, and rhythm - all which will help you write a realistic scene. For example, I attended a comedy show last night and paid attention to the comedian riff with an audience member. The comedian used timing to his advantage, creating this natural conversation with the guy in the front row. As the dialogue continued, even the audience member seemed to pick up on the established rhythm the comedian employed. It was a perfect example of listening and learning how individuals talk and respond to each other. One of the best methods for improving dialogue technique may require popcorn. Watch a movie and discover how each character treats the dialogue. It's more than words. Dialogue also means you're creating a mood, setting up a reaction, and propelling a character into new situations.
- Precision Trumps Surplus Once you've mastered listening, put your skills to the test. Dialogue shouldn't provide full disclosure. Instead, writers need to discern which information should be offered through dialogue. Info overload makes dialogue sound stilted. What's the best advice? Precision. Precision. Precision. A character's dialogue should make a point. Otherwise, it sounds fake.
- The Rule of Three Repetition can be a writer's best tool to drive home a point. When writing stand up comedy, you give two examples and then bam! hit the audience with a twist the third time. It's the same "rule of three" idea with fiction. Writers employ a key word or phrase three times in a row to emphasize a point. Moderation is the key with the rule of three. Too much of a good thing makes dialogue sound phony.
- Speak Up Once you've completed a scene, read it aloud. Do the words match the intended tone and message? Or does the conversation sound bogus? Sometimes I'll record a scene as a .wav or MP3 file, play it back, and hear where changes are needed. If you're part of a critique group, read snippets of dialogue to group members and use their input to decide whether or not the words flow or if the conversation needs to be rewritten.
Perhaps Alfred Hitchcock summed up realistic dialogue when he said, "Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual term
When I interview a subject for writing an article, I prepare by writing a list of questions. I realize that I don't always come off as the sharpest knife in the drawer when I'm in the midst of interviewing. Why? Because I sometimes make the interview subject explain a basic concept to me. In fact, earlier this week, I had someone explain something I sat through a workshop about.
When the interviewee repeated himself, he spoke in a different manner. In a conversation and not a lecture mode, he presented the information differently to me. And it was in a mode more easily conveyed to my reader than his lecture.
I may already know a fact or concept, but I can't assume that all of my readers do. My interviewees can often convey that information best.
Fiction can work in the same way.
Think about what you know about your characters and how long they have been living in your head, in your notebooks and on your computer screen. You may know so much about them that you know how they would react to an event that never even appears in your work. (Or how the characters did react to an event that was then edited out.) Your characters may be second nature to you. But don't assume that your readers know everything about your characters. And who is the best person to convey information about the character?
How do you make sure your reader can keep pace with your characters and who they are? One basic technique is to interview your characters. Ask them some of the simple questions you may already know, but maybe no else one does. Take notes about their responses. Practice writing the responses in the tone and voice of the character.
Think about how your character sounds giving a lecture versus having a conversation with a friend. What about meeting someone new at a cocktail party versus a favorite lunch place? What questions are asked? What do you want to know about that character? What words would he/she use that differ from another character?
Get back to learning the basics about your characters so you can do a good job of introducing them to your readers. Remember that we (generally) don't learn everything about a person during that first "interview." The information is teased out while a friendly connection is strengthened. But remember that you don't need to be the sharpest knife in the drawer to learn more about someone. Just curious and full of questions.
Elizabeth King Humphrey (Twitter-handle @Eliz_Humphrey, is a writer and creativity coach spending way too much of her time asking questions.
By: Anne Greenawalt Writers know that creating strong, memorable characters is one of the most (if not the most) important part of writing a story. In a blog post earlier this month, I wrote about how to
create dynamic characters in five easy steps. And now, as promised, I am following-up with a character-creation writing exercise.
This is one of my favorite writing exercises and benefits writers of every age and writing level. I learned this exercise as an undergraduate. I have lead several creative writing workshops for students ranging in age from nine to 18 who also benefited from it. Adult writers have also told me they find this exercise useful, so I hope you will, too.
The Character ListFirst, consider the character you’d like to develop. Next, grab a piece of paper, or open a blank word document, and jot down an answer or description that matches each of the categories below. Feel free to add your own categories to this list.
· Character’s name and age
· Hair color and style
· Nose shape and size
· Most noticeable feature
· Type of clothing
· Body type
· Education
· Occupation
· Describe a scar or tattoo
· Describe character’s voice
· List a phrase your character often says
· Favorite food
· Least favorite food
· Favorite past time
· Worst nightmare
· Best childhood memory
· Most embarrassing moment
· Life goal
· Describe best friendDescribe worst enemy
The Character ScenarioNow, using this new information, you can write a short one-page story about your character. Here is the scenario – your character boards a plane going to _________ (insert location of your choice). As your character settles into her/his/it’s seat, her/his/it’s worst enemy sits in the seat beside her/him/it. What happens? If you get on a roll and want to write more than a page, that’s fine.
The exercise will help you see and hear your character, learn your character’s thoughts, see your character’s actions and how your character interacts with others. These are all key elements to creating a great character. It’s important for a writer to know her/his characters inside and out. You should know your characters’ birthdays, what their parents were like, how many times they have seen the Shrek movies. It’s useful for you, as the writer, to know this information even if it is not a part of your story or novel.
Other Character-Creation ExercisesStill need more help getting to know your characters? The character interview is another great method for developing your character. First, imagine you are your character. Next, have friends, family or writing group members interview you. You have to answer each of their questions from the perspective of your character.
Do you have any other character-creation exercises you find helpful? Please share! We’d love to hear them.
by: Anne Greenawalt
Everyone has a favorite character or characters from the books they read or the movies they watch. Who is yours? One of my favorite characters of all-time is Scout Finch because she is a courageous tomboy who tries to keep up with her older brother. The first time I read
To Kill a Mocking Bird in seventh grade, I matched that description – I liked Scout because she was kind of like me and I could relate to her.
On the other hand, one of my other all-time favorite characters is Maleficent from
Sleeping Beauty, and although I admire her character, I hope I don’t resemble her too much! Her darkness, power, ruthlessness and even her green skin has always intrigued me.
Have you ever wished to create a character that others will either love, or love to hate, for generations to come? Ever wondered how writers create these delectable characters? You can create dynamic, memorable characters by following these five easy steps.
Characterization Step #1: Appearance
What does your character look like?Does she have blue hair and pink eyes? Is he short with wispy hair and a mole the size of a baseball on his left cheek? Is it twelve feet tall with orange spikes and purple spots? Anything unusual you can add will make your character more memorable. Think of your favorite characters or other popular characters. For example: Pippi Longstocking’s bright red pigtails that stick straight out to the side.
Characterization Step #2: ActionsHow does your character act?Is she a ghost haunting her hometown? Is he a boxing star competing on national television? Maybe he is always shy and quiet unless someone is picking on his little sister. Or perhaps she’s loud and bubbly and never sits still unless she’s sleeping – and even then she often talks in her sleep. In Jerry Spinelli’s
Maniac Magee, my favorite book as a kid, Maniac is known for many of his actions such as untying the un-tyable knot.
Characterization Step #3: Thoughts
What does your character think about?Does she brood all day about not being allowed to fly to the moon? Does he wish he was a superhero so he could save his city from evil? Tom the Builder in Ken Follett’s
Pillars of the Earth often thinks about how to feed his family at the beginning of the novel. In
The Glass Castle Jeannette worries about her parents.
Characterization Step #4: SpeechHow does your character speak?Does he have a lisp? Does she have a gravely, smoker’s voice? What types of things does your character say? Maybe he speaks with a British accent and calls everyone “mate.” Or perhaps she says, “You know?” at the end of every sentence. Holden Caulfield in
The Catcher in the Rye, for example, has a very distinctive, casual way of speaking.
Characterization Step #5: Interactions
How does your character interact with other characters?Does he always steal the younger kids’ lunch money? Are she and her twin sister finishing each other’s sentences one minute and stealing each other’s boyfriend the next? You should consider your character’s best friend and your character’s worst enemy. For example, knowing that Harry Potter’s best friend is Ron Weasley – a normal, harmless wizard-to-be, and his worst enemy is Voldemort – the most evil and feared wizard of all, tells a lot about Harry Potter’s character.
Conclusi
Current word count: 18,834
New words written: 572
Words til goal: 21,166 / 450 words a day til the end of September
This word count is actually for two days, as I didn’t get a chance to write here yesterday, and it’s lower than my goal. So I have some catching up to do this weekend.
But the good thing is, I did some research and discovered some great new things about one of my characters.
I always think it’s amazing when a character comes to life by itself with no effort on my part. All writers have experienced these moments, but it still amazes me how a character — who is supposedly just in our imagination — can tell US what they’re like without us having to invent a thing, as though instead of imagining, we’re merely tapping into another world where these characters already reside.
I’d been feeling as though I didn’t completely know one of my main characters, but for a few days, I’d been getting this image in my head of him getting out of bed and reaching for a cane — an 11 year old. I couldn’t shake this image. And I hadn’t written anything to suggest there was anything wrong with this character and it wasn’t part of the main story whatsoever, but for some reason, when he got out bed, he reached for a cane. Weird.
After much research over the last couple days, I figured out why he has a cane and, just like that, the whole character came alive. I now understand the “why” behind every action and decision he makes.
Knowing the “why,” what makes our characters move and think and talk the way they do, is essential for writers. Sometimes the “why” will be in the story, and sometimes it won’t. But knowing that “why” makes the character come alive for us, and his/her actions and choices will be all the more authentic and believable to a reader.
Now that I know my character’s ”why,” I’m having so much more fun writing his adventure. If only I didn’t need pesky sleep! 
How do your characters share who they are with you?
Write On!
Current word count: 18,262
Words written today: 267
Words til goal: 21,738 / 444 words a day til the end of September
No kick up the you-know-whats for me. I knuckled down and got back to the first draft I’ve been working on. My daily word goal has risen because of my break, but I really want to keep to that end-of-September finish, so I’m going to try to stick with this.
I realized that something was bugging me about the story. It’s being told in two POVs, and one of them isn’t introduced until chapter eight, which had been gnawing at me for a while because I knew it was too late in the story. I was forging ahead with the writing anyway. But I think that was holding me back. So I started to work on a new earlier chapter that will introduce this character.
I’m hoping it will also help me see him a little better. I feel as though I know the other POV character better than this one, so I need some work in that area. My first novel was all in one POV, but it’s a lot of fun seeing this story through two different sets of eyes.
In seminars, I’ve heard a lot about doing background information for your characters, even filling out questionaires on their favorite colors and foods. For me, I like to get to know my characters through the writing. They come out and tell me what to say. Their personalities, their passions, frustrations, etc., rise up as the story goes along. The challenge is remembering everything that comes out in the story and keeping true to that throughout.
How do you get to know your characters?
Write On!
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 7/15/2009
Blog:
Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
universal story form,
creating characters,
Martha Alderson,
plot whisperer,
Blockbuster Plots for Writers,
traits of all great characters,
plot lines,
developing antagonists,
Add a tag
In the 60s, Curtis Mayfield sings of a new world order, a change of mind for the whole human race. Marie Elena Gaspari dances to it in the 90s. The old world order falling away.
Isn't that what the
Universal Story form is really all about? Okay, go ahead. Roll your eyes. But stick with me here.
The old world order (ordinary world) falls away at the 1/4 mark. The story launches into a new world order (exotic world of the antagonists / the Middle 1/2).
Antagonists from each of the
Five Standard Antagonists serve to trip up the protagonist on her way toward her life goals. The concept of all the other characters (because for the most part, all the characters are antagonists -- perhaps shapeshifting from ally to antagonist, but nearly all the characters challenge the protagonist in one way or the other).
Each of the characters hold up a mirror for the protagonist to better see herself. Yes, even the antagonists. Especially the antagonists.
I am a devout student of plot, the elements of great fiction, the Universal Story form, Character, Action, and Theme. I also am a devotee of physics / the study of energy. Forgive me when I interchange the two.
The energy of a story pretty much ebbs and flow like the energy of our lives. It takes until the Crisis (3/4 mark) before the protagonist comes to understand what the antagonists represent in her life. For us? Sometime, it takes until the very end of our lives before we finally understand what the antagonists in our own lives really represent to us and about ourselves.
In the end, the character and, in turn, we come to understand that the antagonists, be they someone else, society at large, nature, machines, time is nothing more than a reflection of us giving up our own individual power to what we perceive as an authority over our lives.
In real life, we can play the victim.
Not possible in stories. No matter how insecure the protagonist may act, or fearful, no matter how small they play their parts, how much power they relinquish, how poor, how weak, characters in a story never let themselves be victimized, at least not for long. Ever.
An interesting message.
The lesson, gift, elixir the protagonist is given in the depths of despair -- Crisis -- (thanks to the very antagonists who caused her the most grief) she eventually brings back to the ordinary world which ultimately, because of the character's transformation, also transforms and allows for a new world order to emerge.
The work of heroes and heroines in stories and... of common folk, like you and me...
SIMON SAYS
A weekly column from children’s author Simon Rose
Some writers get at least part of their inspiration from pictures, paintings or photographs. Photographs of people are easy enough find online and another good writing exercise is to take two people and imagine a situation were they might meet. They could be stuck in an elevator for ten minutes and have to strike up a conversation or a have minor car accident on a deserted road, then have to exchange insurance information. It could be anything, entirely based on whatever you think the characters might be like, from the impression you get from the photographs. Then to make it particularly interesting, you can have the two people discover that they have an unexpected connection, in which they learn they are long lost siblings, have the same type of dog, are both looking for the same treasure or whatever idea you come up with. If you handed the same pictures to two different writers, they would doubtless invent widely differing personalities for their imaginary person, but whatever you come up with will be unique to yourself.
Another idea is to set up an imaginary dinner party at your house. The guests could be celebrities, movie and TV actors, characters from books, comics, cartoons or movies. These could be characters you like, admire, find irritating, or even detest, it’s really up to you. What would they have in common, what might they talk about, agree on or argue about? You choose the guests based on the dynamics that might occur from having them all in the same place, at a truly fascinating imaginary party.
No Tags
Creating Believable Characters in Children's Books
by Robyn Opie
If you've read my previous articles on writing for children you'll be aware that I've defined children's books as books that feature a child as the main character and the target audience is children.
So, let's take a look at children as characters.
In picture books, no description of the characters is necessary. Picture books are
Another hot link to writing advice.
Do you have trouble with creating believable characters? Ian Bone has some excellent advice about creating characters, and even has some exercises for you to try. You can read Ian's paper here
Enjoy
.png.jpg?picon=4238)
.jpg?picon=694)
I write my stories with both interchangeably. I don't know the character without knowing the setting and vice versa and both change as they need.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland author of Sending You Sammy, Arm Farm and Brain Tales – Volume One