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mbarkerWriting Excuses 13.2: Writing Active Characters
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/01/14/13-2-writing-active-characters/
Key points: Active characters. Some characters seem to just observe events, are very passive. How can we move them to making decisions, be a part of events, be active? First, go and do things! Second, make sure your characters make plans and attempt to act on those plans. Not just reacting, but taking steps to move forward. Being an active character is not just external doing, but also internal choices and decisions. Desire! Make sure your characters want things. And make sure your readers feel those wants, those desires. Motivation! What do they want, what is their goal? Reluctant protagonists? How can they be interesting if they're not engaging the main plot? How do you transition them into engaging the main plot? Start with a personal goal, and let circumstances build a secondary motivation. Reluctant characters have a motivation that is more important to them than the main plot. The transition is when they start to recognize the importance of the main plot. Watch out for characters who are just waiting for the story to start, to jump into a riproaring adventure. Also, be aware that as a writer, you may think being an observer is natural. But… Make it more personal. Make sure the character has a desire. And make sure they have the ability to take action, that they have agency. When a character changes motivation, go through the stages of resistance, exploration. Use several catalyst points. Delve deeper into the character, and examine their why's. Why aren't they jumping in? Make sure they have small goals to accomplish along the way. In each scene, think about the principal action of the scene, and how the character intersects the plot threads. Make sure that they advance all the plot threads. Think about character motivation as architectural, and look for the keystones.
( Just do it! )
[Brandon] Amal, you have our homework.
[Amal] Yes. So, I write poetry. I love poems. A lot of people are scared of them, but you shouldn't be. What I would like to recommend as homework is that you find a poem written in first person, and write that poem in third person instead. Write it as if… Basically, extract that first-person character and write them as a character that you're observing.
[Mary] You had said to write a story around it…
[Amal] Write a story around it. Yeah. So if you take something like John Keats La Belle Dame sans Merci, "Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms," and then the knight starts responding. Right that is a scene you're actually observing, and give them motivations. Especially, because poems are ambiguous, sometimes difficult, so if you managed to decide a whole bunch of things that a poem leaves ambiguous instead and turn that into prose… I think that could be really neat.
[Brandon] Awesome. Well, this has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/01/14/13-2-writing-active-characters/
Key points: Active characters. Some characters seem to just observe events, are very passive. How can we move them to making decisions, be a part of events, be active? First, go and do things! Second, make sure your characters make plans and attempt to act on those plans. Not just reacting, but taking steps to move forward. Being an active character is not just external doing, but also internal choices and decisions. Desire! Make sure your characters want things. And make sure your readers feel those wants, those desires. Motivation! What do they want, what is their goal? Reluctant protagonists? How can they be interesting if they're not engaging the main plot? How do you transition them into engaging the main plot? Start with a personal goal, and let circumstances build a secondary motivation. Reluctant characters have a motivation that is more important to them than the main plot. The transition is when they start to recognize the importance of the main plot. Watch out for characters who are just waiting for the story to start, to jump into a riproaring adventure. Also, be aware that as a writer, you may think being an observer is natural. But… Make it more personal. Make sure the character has a desire. And make sure they have the ability to take action, that they have agency. When a character changes motivation, go through the stages of resistance, exploration. Use several catalyst points. Delve deeper into the character, and examine their why's. Why aren't they jumping in? Make sure they have small goals to accomplish along the way. In each scene, think about the principal action of the scene, and how the character intersects the plot threads. Make sure that they advance all the plot threads. Think about character motivation as architectural, and look for the keystones.
( Just do it! )
[Brandon] Amal, you have our homework.
[Amal] Yes. So, I write poetry. I love poems. A lot of people are scared of them, but you shouldn't be. What I would like to recommend as homework is that you find a poem written in first person, and write that poem in third person instead. Write it as if… Basically, extract that first-person character and write them as a character that you're observing.
[Mary] You had said to write a story around it…
[Amal] Write a story around it. Yeah. So if you take something like John Keats La Belle Dame sans Merci, "Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms," and then the knight starts responding. Right that is a scene you're actually observing, and give them motivations. Especially, because poems are ambiguous, sometimes difficult, so if you managed to decide a whole bunch of things that a poem leaves ambiguous instead and turn that into prose… I think that could be really neat.
[Brandon] Awesome. Well, this has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
