How Fiction Works Writing Meme -- Day Fourteen
12 - In literature, the well rounded author accompanies the fantastic with details of the mundane. Do you agree? What is an example of your own writing in which you combine the fantastic and mundane?
I definitely think so. Little details like, say, bits of downtime, or the texture of something, certain meals, etc. allow the reader to get fully immersed in the world that the author is creating, I think. In terms of my writing, I do try and include things like certain books characters are wearing, and (occasionally) what they're wearing, as well as dances and so on and so forth. I know in the first book of my planned Astrid Grayson series (original fiction), I've been trying to include more mundane details because sometimes...well, sometimes I really suck at those, I will admit. XD I guess that's what revision is for, but it doesn't really stop my inner editor from going all, "You forgot something, you forgot something, you forgot something!" like a broken record. Still, I am trying -- mostly in terms of taking notes when I'm out in my surroundings, as well as trying to be a bit more active in my surroundings, considering (and this is a tad embarrassing to admit) I can live in a world of fantasy a lot.
That and if I'm not careful, I might kind of end up with...well, this. Okay, probably not that bad per se, but still...in terms of grounding it in some degree of reality and such, I mostly focus on little gestures that characters do. For example, biting their lip or running their fingers through their hair (mostly to show some degree of strong emotion -- and yeah, I'll admit there's a bit of me in there considering that admittedly, I kind of do that in real life. XD I mostly try to make it match them, though, if that makes any sense). Not to mention certain scents of people -- it sort of tells a lot about where they've been and such. Mostly included the examples mentioned here in my Clone Wars rewrite, after Saw's death. And yeah, I know. It was originally some random sort of rebel, but I think someone close to the main characters makes it even more powerful than it already is. For the record, I tried to make Saw kind of go down swinging, because if nothing else, if a character dies, they might as well go down swinging, or in some sort of meaningful way, at least. And it has to have a purpose as well, at least in-story. Bringing it back to the matter of details, I think another reason why seemingly mundane details are important is that it adds a matter of humanity to it, which I think is important for pretty much all stories. It allows a certain amount of emotional depth, ranging from little gestures and likes and dislikes to things characters can't bring themselves to say and things like that. And I think stuff like that is pretty damn important. Even if you're writing about alien explorers on the planet Nod, or disembodied brains in jars having telepathic conversations with one another, the little details still count in the end.
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Rest of questions:
13 - Have you ever taken a small detail, such as a character rubbing their lips, and given it greater importance through narration? Why? Do you enjoy reading such details?
14 - Thisness and the written word: Do you ever use abstract descriptions in specifying little details? Given an object or interaction a sense of "thisness"? For example, "the clouds were glassy in the sky." Clouds cannot literally have a quality like glass, yet in this sentence they have been given a sense of "glassness" that gives the reader a more specific description of them, and somehow maintains an air of believability. Discuss why this is a believable description, though it is not actually possible.
End of Section Exercise: Write one sentence that includes detail. Is it a compelling sentence? Is it long? Short? What kind of details did you include? Record your thoughts at the end of the exercise.
Section IV - Character
Very few brushstrokes are needed to get a portrait walking, as it were... the reader can get as much from small short lived... characters as [they can] from large, round towering heroes and heroines. - James Wood
15 - How do you try to bring a character to life, or "get them in" as James Conrad says? Where do you start? Is how you begin different with fanfiction and original fiction? With original characters within fanfiction?
16 - James Wood writes that the inexperienced writer clings to the static - they describe a photograph, a person standing still, a snapshot of a moment rather than a dynamic moment itself. It is getting a character in action, in motion, that is the difficult part, he says. Do you find this to be true in your own writing? Do you agree with his assessment?
17 - We can tell a great deal about a character by how they talk and who they talk to. Are you aware of any changes you make from character to character in either narration or dialog? Show us an example. Is this something you choose, or do without fully realizing it? Do you do this at all? Why?
18 - How much time do you take to "get in" your character? In your opinion, is it possible to "get a character in" in one sentence? Is it different for original fiction and fanfiction?
19 - How much time must be spent on a character for them to be a character? Does a character have to be living, have a voice, or can it be a place, an era, a coffee cup? Do characters exist at all?
20 - An absence of characterization can be as powerful as characterization in knowing a character. Agree? Disagree? Any examples in your own writing?
21 - The Myth of the Solid Character - even "well rounded" or "fully fleshed" characters are less solid the longer we look at them, writes James Wood. Agree? Disagree? Is there always room for more? In canon? In fanfiction?
22 - Are the characters you create like you? If you write fanfiction, are there shades of yourself in the characters you choose to write about? Some people suggest that the mark of a great author is the creation of free and independent characters that are separate from the author. Can an author who writes characters similar to themselves still be a great author?
23 - Static and Dynamic Characters: By definition a static character possesses one key attribute and does not change, while a dynamic character is possessed of several characteristics and changes over a story. Is one superior to the other? Do these categories really exist, or all characters simply characters? What kind do you use most often?
24 - Does characterization change depending on who a character is seen by, much like how a child sees their father much differently than their mother does? What are examples of this in your own writing?
25 - Is there only one correct way to interpret or view a character? What makes a character 'out of character' ? Is everything created by the original author 'in character' ?
End of Section Exercise 1: Create an original character. Use one sentence to "get them in." Now use one paragraph. Do the same for a pre-existing character, and compare the two. What do you notice? Write your thoughts at the end of the exercise.
End of Section Exercise 2: Choose a pre-existing character that you do not like. Write a paragraph or two from their point of view. Is your writing shaded by your dislike of the character? Has writing from their point of view changed the way you view them? Write your thoughts at the end of the exercise.
I definitely think so. Little details like, say, bits of downtime, or the texture of something, certain meals, etc. allow the reader to get fully immersed in the world that the author is creating, I think. In terms of my writing, I do try and include things like certain books characters are wearing, and (occasionally) what they're wearing, as well as dances and so on and so forth. I know in the first book of my planned Astrid Grayson series (original fiction), I've been trying to include more mundane details because sometimes...well, sometimes I really suck at those, I will admit. XD I guess that's what revision is for, but it doesn't really stop my inner editor from going all, "You forgot something, you forgot something, you forgot something!" like a broken record. Still, I am trying -- mostly in terms of taking notes when I'm out in my surroundings, as well as trying to be a bit more active in my surroundings, considering (and this is a tad embarrassing to admit) I can live in a world of fantasy a lot.
That and if I'm not careful, I might kind of end up with...well, this. Okay, probably not that bad per se, but still...in terms of grounding it in some degree of reality and such, I mostly focus on little gestures that characters do. For example, biting their lip or running their fingers through their hair (mostly to show some degree of strong emotion -- and yeah, I'll admit there's a bit of me in there considering that admittedly, I kind of do that in real life. XD I mostly try to make it match them, though, if that makes any sense). Not to mention certain scents of people -- it sort of tells a lot about where they've been and such. Mostly included the examples mentioned here in my Clone Wars rewrite, after Saw's death. And yeah, I know. It was originally some random sort of rebel, but I think someone close to the main characters makes it even more powerful than it already is. For the record, I tried to make Saw kind of go down swinging, because if nothing else, if a character dies, they might as well go down swinging, or in some sort of meaningful way, at least. And it has to have a purpose as well, at least in-story. Bringing it back to the matter of details, I think another reason why seemingly mundane details are important is that it adds a matter of humanity to it, which I think is important for pretty much all stories. It allows a certain amount of emotional depth, ranging from little gestures and likes and dislikes to things characters can't bring themselves to say and things like that. And I think stuff like that is pretty damn important. Even if you're writing about alien explorers on the planet Nod, or disembodied brains in jars having telepathic conversations with one another, the little details still count in the end.
-----
Rest of questions:
13 - Have you ever taken a small detail, such as a character rubbing their lips, and given it greater importance through narration? Why? Do you enjoy reading such details?
14 - Thisness and the written word: Do you ever use abstract descriptions in specifying little details? Given an object or interaction a sense of "thisness"? For example, "the clouds were glassy in the sky." Clouds cannot literally have a quality like glass, yet in this sentence they have been given a sense of "glassness" that gives the reader a more specific description of them, and somehow maintains an air of believability. Discuss why this is a believable description, though it is not actually possible.
End of Section Exercise: Write one sentence that includes detail. Is it a compelling sentence? Is it long? Short? What kind of details did you include? Record your thoughts at the end of the exercise.
Section IV - Character
Very few brushstrokes are needed to get a portrait walking, as it were... the reader can get as much from small short lived... characters as [they can] from large, round towering heroes and heroines. - James Wood
15 - How do you try to bring a character to life, or "get them in" as James Conrad says? Where do you start? Is how you begin different with fanfiction and original fiction? With original characters within fanfiction?
16 - James Wood writes that the inexperienced writer clings to the static - they describe a photograph, a person standing still, a snapshot of a moment rather than a dynamic moment itself. It is getting a character in action, in motion, that is the difficult part, he says. Do you find this to be true in your own writing? Do you agree with his assessment?
17 - We can tell a great deal about a character by how they talk and who they talk to. Are you aware of any changes you make from character to character in either narration or dialog? Show us an example. Is this something you choose, or do without fully realizing it? Do you do this at all? Why?
18 - How much time do you take to "get in" your character? In your opinion, is it possible to "get a character in" in one sentence? Is it different for original fiction and fanfiction?
19 - How much time must be spent on a character for them to be a character? Does a character have to be living, have a voice, or can it be a place, an era, a coffee cup? Do characters exist at all?
20 - An absence of characterization can be as powerful as characterization in knowing a character. Agree? Disagree? Any examples in your own writing?
21 - The Myth of the Solid Character - even "well rounded" or "fully fleshed" characters are less solid the longer we look at them, writes James Wood. Agree? Disagree? Is there always room for more? In canon? In fanfiction?
22 - Are the characters you create like you? If you write fanfiction, are there shades of yourself in the characters you choose to write about? Some people suggest that the mark of a great author is the creation of free and independent characters that are separate from the author. Can an author who writes characters similar to themselves still be a great author?
23 - Static and Dynamic Characters: By definition a static character possesses one key attribute and does not change, while a dynamic character is possessed of several characteristics and changes over a story. Is one superior to the other? Do these categories really exist, or all characters simply characters? What kind do you use most often?
24 - Does characterization change depending on who a character is seen by, much like how a child sees their father much differently than their mother does? What are examples of this in your own writing?
25 - Is there only one correct way to interpret or view a character? What makes a character 'out of character' ? Is everything created by the original author 'in character' ?
End of Section Exercise 1: Create an original character. Use one sentence to "get them in." Now use one paragraph. Do the same for a pre-existing character, and compare the two. What do you notice? Write your thoughts at the end of the exercise.
End of Section Exercise 2: Choose a pre-existing character that you do not like. Write a paragraph or two from their point of view. Is your writing shaded by your dislike of the character? Has writing from their point of view changed the way you view them? Write your thoughts at the end of the exercise.