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Fellow Pen-pushers and Pot-boilers,
In The Edge Of Glory - Part I, we learnt the substance, the intoxication and stimulate of Edge.
Now let's administrate it into our own writing, so be warned this Brainpick is full of exercises to do such. Please join in, use your own works of genius, you can even use your characters from your current WIP. You never know it might even help you with your current bout of Writers Block.
Creating Complicated, Edgy and Well-Rounded Characters.
The great characters from your favourite books are the ones that stay with you long after you have finished reading. Why?
Because these characters have power and longevity because they communicated and resonated with you in some way, and most of all they have depth. Let's be frank Shallow Characters are like superficial people: they tend to wear out their welcome rather quickly.
So, let's exercise our character-deepening skills. Shall we? And don't fear Litopia is here.
(Cheesy, I know LOL)
People may think they know themselves well, in fact they rarely do. Like everyone, you're aware of how you're likely to think and feel in circumstances that make-up your day-to-day life, but truth be told we don't know how we will react if something completely out of the ordinary happens.
For example:
The night before your suitcases are packed and they are waiting downstairs at the front door ready. The next morning you wake up early to get to the airport on time, abiding to the recommended guidelines of how soon you should be at the airport before your flight. You do all that, you check-in, go through security, you have a few hours spare you walk around the shops for a bit then decide to have something eat, maybe even with a cheeky glass of bubbly (I do, anyway). You pass the time, keeping an eye on the screen of inward and outward flights. An announcement is made, you look at the screen and your gate is boarding you head over, wait in line and finally board. All good, then your plane takes off and before you know it, your in the air and on your way to New Zealand.
(Runs like clockwork, all normal right.)
Then...
Suddenly the plane you are on crash-landed on a mountain top? You're one of the few survivors. What would you do to stay alive?
Such nightmarish crises are the stuff of fiction. Don't get me wrong, you don't need a situation as extreme as this one to test your characters out. However, every piece of fiction must give your characters a challenge or a choice, and much like in real-life, their responses reveal who they really are.'Great characters, like massive roots, grow deep when water is sparse and winds are strong.' - Charles Swindoll
So, enough talk, let's get to the action. Here are a list of exercises to help us to do such and please choose one, join in and share your work.
* A character's motivation is the engine of any story. If a character lacks motivation, the story will be as aimless as the character.
Try this exercise to help you understand the power of motivation:
1. Write a piece in which your character goes for an aimless walk.
2. Write a piece in which your character is walking to a meeting.
(Adapt the exercises to fit in with the time, society and status of the world of your novel.)
* Us, humans are known for being notorious when it comes to making assumptions about other people based on first impressions. And, as in reality we need to instigate that in fiction. Because our Characters need to be believable and a great way to do that is through money. Like ourselves and how the characters we have created handle money is often influenced by their childhoods, their parents' attitude to money, whether they were wealthy or poor, and so on.
Try this exercise to help explore your characters' attitude to money which will expose a psychological layer of theirs, to reveal hidden depth, edge.
(Remember to show not tell in these exercises)
1. Describe your character passing a beggar in the street, revealing what he/she does and the way they do it.
2. Describe your character having a row with someone over money.
So, have a go, I'm going too and I'll share my piece with you all shortly.
Kindest Regards,
Alix
Don't forget to check out the latest Craft Chat - They are doing a GREAT chat on 'Showing and Telling' at the moment.
In The Edge Of Glory - Part I, we learnt the substance, the intoxication and stimulate of Edge.
Now let's administrate it into our own writing, so be warned this Brainpick is full of exercises to do such. Please join in, use your own works of genius, you can even use your characters from your current WIP. You never know it might even help you with your current bout of Writers Block.
Creating Complicated, Edgy and Well-Rounded Characters.
Because these characters have power and longevity because they communicated and resonated with you in some way, and most of all they have depth. Let's be frank Shallow Characters are like superficial people: they tend to wear out their welcome rather quickly.
So, let's exercise our character-deepening skills. Shall we? And don't fear Litopia is here.
(Cheesy, I know LOL)People may think they know themselves well, in fact they rarely do. Like everyone, you're aware of how you're likely to think and feel in circumstances that make-up your day-to-day life, but truth be told we don't know how we will react if something completely out of the ordinary happens.
For example:
The night before your suitcases are packed and they are waiting downstairs at the front door ready. The next morning you wake up early to get to the airport on time, abiding to the recommended guidelines of how soon you should be at the airport before your flight. You do all that, you check-in, go through security, you have a few hours spare you walk around the shops for a bit then decide to have something eat, maybe even with a cheeky glass of bubbly (I do, anyway). You pass the time, keeping an eye on the screen of inward and outward flights. An announcement is made, you look at the screen and your gate is boarding you head over, wait in line and finally board. All good, then your plane takes off and before you know it, your in the air and on your way to New Zealand.
(Runs like clockwork, all normal right.)
Then...
Suddenly the plane you are on crash-landed on a mountain top? You're one of the few survivors. What would you do to stay alive?
Such nightmarish crises are the stuff of fiction. Don't get me wrong, you don't need a situation as extreme as this one to test your characters out. However, every piece of fiction must give your characters a challenge or a choice, and much like in real-life, their responses reveal who they really are.'Great characters, like massive roots, grow deep when water is sparse and winds are strong.' - Charles Swindoll
So, enough talk, let's get to the action. Here are a list of exercises to help us to do such and please choose one, join in and share your work.
* A character's motivation is the engine of any story. If a character lacks motivation, the story will be as aimless as the character.
Try this exercise to help you understand the power of motivation:
1. Write a piece in which your character goes for an aimless walk.
2. Write a piece in which your character is walking to a meeting.
(Adapt the exercises to fit in with the time, society and status of the world of your novel.)
* Us, humans are known for being notorious when it comes to making assumptions about other people based on first impressions. And, as in reality we need to instigate that in fiction. Because our Characters need to be believable and a great way to do that is through money. Like ourselves and how the characters we have created handle money is often influenced by their childhoods, their parents' attitude to money, whether they were wealthy or poor, and so on.
Try this exercise to help explore your characters' attitude to money which will expose a psychological layer of theirs, to reveal hidden depth, edge.
(Remember to show not tell in these exercises)
1. Describe your character passing a beggar in the street, revealing what he/she does and the way they do it.
2. Describe your character having a row with someone over money.
So, have a go, I'm going too and I'll share my piece with you all shortly.
Kindest Regards,
Alix
Don't forget to check out the latest Craft Chat - They are doing a GREAT chat on 'Showing and Telling' at the moment.
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