How Fiction Works Writing Meme -- Day Seventeen
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.
The stars were icy in the sky -- icy silver jewels, vigilant watchers who looked down towards Anakin and Padme, too numerous to count, and yet at the same time, Anakin almost wanted to be able to -- to count all those stars, all those beautiful, glistening individual stars that shone upon them, to point out constellations, to at least savor this one moment with Padme, almost as if fearing that one of them or both would die tomorrow -- a ludicrous worry by some, but to Anakin, if nothing else, it was a very likely reality. With Padme snuggled by his shoulder, Anakin Skywalker looked to the stars, not necessarily just in admiration -- but in a way, a fear of falling.
----
Jesus Christ, that went slightly over just a sentence. 0.0. I guess it doesn't help that I tend to ramble a lot. I guess I have the writer's equivalent of the Motor Mouth -- once I start typing, I can't stop. It's pretty rare, I think, when I just have a laconic sentence. That and I think I noticed that there's definitely a sort of poetry and abstractness in "icy silver jewels" -- it's kind of ironic that some would call it abstract, considering that in all honesty, it kind of gives you an image/impression of what the stars look like. And I seem to have also picked details that describe Anakin's state of mind -- a bit of a fear of falling. I've always been awed and slightly intimidated by stars -- just the knowledge, in a sense, that next to the cosmos I myself am tiny. At least, I feel tiny. It's an intimidating, frightening, and yet wonderful feeling, at least in a weird way, and I guess I sort of transposed that to Anakin, especially in regards to being frightened for Padme. If nothing else, I think I portrayed him in this way if only for the fact that fundamentally, Anakin is not the Crazy Jealous Guy that people mistake him as. He may have those tendencies, yes, but I think there's a difference between what someone is capable of and what they actually are. At heart, he's trying to hold onto people he cares about, which is one of many things that is his downfall, really. I'm kind of worried, admittedly, that the Clovis arc might Flanderize him into Mr. Crazy Jealous Guy -- I could be wrong, of course, but it's still a very clear and present worry. Then again, I guess I'm being a bit pessimistic here, so...yeah. I mostly captured a lot of details that kind of are centered, in a way, around the POV character's (in this case, Anakin's) emotional state. We kind of have special ways of seeing things when we're, say, under pressure, afraid, etc. It's not necessarily Empathic Environment as much as our perceptions kind of altering themselves, at least in a way.
I think I'm going to leave this link here for the poem that sort of inspired me. I think in terms of building a soundtrack for Anakin, Emilie Autumn has some pretty damn good songs for him, and poems, and I doubt the one I linked is any exception.
Rest of questions:
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.
The stars were icy in the sky -- icy silver jewels, vigilant watchers who looked down towards Anakin and Padme, too numerous to count, and yet at the same time, Anakin almost wanted to be able to -- to count all those stars, all those beautiful, glistening individual stars that shone upon them, to point out constellations, to at least savor this one moment with Padme, almost as if fearing that one of them or both would die tomorrow -- a ludicrous worry by some, but to Anakin, if nothing else, it was a very likely reality. With Padme snuggled by his shoulder, Anakin Skywalker looked to the stars, not necessarily just in admiration -- but in a way, a fear of falling.
----
Jesus Christ, that went slightly over just a sentence. 0.0. I guess it doesn't help that I tend to ramble a lot. I guess I have the writer's equivalent of the Motor Mouth -- once I start typing, I can't stop. It's pretty rare, I think, when I just have a laconic sentence. That and I think I noticed that there's definitely a sort of poetry and abstractness in "icy silver jewels" -- it's kind of ironic that some would call it abstract, considering that in all honesty, it kind of gives you an image/impression of what the stars look like. And I seem to have also picked details that describe Anakin's state of mind -- a bit of a fear of falling. I've always been awed and slightly intimidated by stars -- just the knowledge, in a sense, that next to the cosmos I myself am tiny. At least, I feel tiny. It's an intimidating, frightening, and yet wonderful feeling, at least in a weird way, and I guess I sort of transposed that to Anakin, especially in regards to being frightened for Padme. If nothing else, I think I portrayed him in this way if only for the fact that fundamentally, Anakin is not the Crazy Jealous Guy that people mistake him as. He may have those tendencies, yes, but I think there's a difference between what someone is capable of and what they actually are. At heart, he's trying to hold onto people he cares about, which is one of many things that is his downfall, really. I'm kind of worried, admittedly, that the Clovis arc might Flanderize him into Mr. Crazy Jealous Guy -- I could be wrong, of course, but it's still a very clear and present worry. Then again, I guess I'm being a bit pessimistic here, so...yeah. I mostly captured a lot of details that kind of are centered, in a way, around the POV character's (in this case, Anakin's) emotional state. We kind of have special ways of seeing things when we're, say, under pressure, afraid, etc. It's not necessarily Empathic Environment as much as our perceptions kind of altering themselves, at least in a way.
I think I'm going to leave this link here for the poem that sort of inspired me. I think in terms of building a soundtrack for Anakin, Emilie Autumn has some pretty damn good songs for him, and poems, and I doubt the one I linked is any exception.
Rest of questions:
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.