The Veronica Mars Lesson
I recently got hooked on "Veronica Mars" due to the prep-work I did for the summer's writing conference. This week I watched the last four episodes of season 1, riveted by how they'd resolved the various storylines, and the next day I had a most interesting revelation.
The Veronica Mars Lesson:
When you're writing a first draft, take everything away from your MC.
It seems a lot easier than filling out Character Profiles or doing backstory writing exercises. Just sketch in your character's life, and then see what happens when you take away
-- parent(s)
-- home
-- (siblings)
-- best friend
-- boy / girlfriend
-- money / parents' income
-- popularity
etc.
Applying this to Veronica Mars, you see how I'm right. At the start of the series she'd lost
-- her mom (abandoned Veronica and Keith)
-- her best friend (murdered)
-- boyfriend (broke up with her)
-- money (dad fired from sheriff job)
And then the few extras, like
-- virginity
-- popularity at school
Basically she had nothing to start with. But she's plucky, which is why you root for her.
And, incidentally, it's why you're riveted to the end of the season, because you want to see if she can gain anything back - does she get a second chance with her boyfriend, does her mom come home, does she solve the murder? It's okay if she ends up with nothing at the end too; the thrill for the viewer (reader) is her quest to get it all back.
Does this apply to all manuscripts? I don't know, but it seems like a good starting point.
The Veronica Mars Lesson:
When you're writing a first draft, take everything away from your MC.
It seems a lot easier than filling out Character Profiles or doing backstory writing exercises. Just sketch in your character's life, and then see what happens when you take away
-- parent(s)
-- home
-- (siblings)
-- best friend
-- boy / girlfriend
-- money / parents' income
-- popularity
etc.
Applying this to Veronica Mars, you see how I'm right. At the start of the series she'd lost
-- her mom (abandoned Veronica and Keith)
-- her best friend (murdered)
-- boyfriend (broke up with her)
-- money (dad fired from sheriff job)
And then the few extras, like
-- virginity
-- popularity at school
Basically she had nothing to start with. But she's plucky, which is why you root for her.
And, incidentally, it's why you're riveted to the end of the season, because you want to see if she can gain anything back - does she get a second chance with her boyfriend, does her mom come home, does she solve the murder? It's okay if she ends up with nothing at the end too; the thrill for the viewer (reader) is her quest to get it all back.
Does this apply to all manuscripts? I don't know, but it seems like a good starting point.