 Drama: November 13, 2012 Issue [#5350] |
  Drama
This week: Are Your Characters Opposites of You? Edited by: Joy  
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Writers aren't people exactly. Or, if they're any good, they're a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person. It's like actors, who try so pathetically not to look in mirrors. Who lean backward trying-only to see their faces in the reflecting chandeliers.
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Last Tycoon
You do have a leash, finally, as a writer. You're holding a dog. You let the dog run about. But you finally can pull him back. Finally, I'm in control. But the great excitement is to see what happens if you let the whole thing go. And the dog or the character really runs about, bites everyone in sight, jumps up trees, falls into lakes, gets wet, and you let that happen. That's the excitement of writing plays--to allow the thing to be free but still hold the final leash.
Harold Pinter - The Progressive, Mar. 2001
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. In this issue, we discuss creating characters whose outlooks are different from their writer's.
Note: In the editorial, I refer to third person singular as he, to also mean the female gender, because I don't like to use they or he/she. |
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Have you ever taken part in a debate where you had to defend a viewpoint or stance very different from your own way of looking at things? Most persuasive writing courses emphasize this idea by asking the students to write essays on opinions other than their own.
This defending the opposite outlook can work just as well in creating characters. Changing the perspective gives the writer the freedom to explore varied emotions and ways of being, even those unfamiliar to him. For example, if you are a calm person who doesn't feel rattled easily, how would you present a character with road rage who takes his rage to unbelievable heights? How would you justify his behavior?
Surely, it would be easy to portray characters like ourselves because we know ourselves inside out, or at least, we think we do. If we keep creating characters like ourselves all the time, the intimacy of focus will be there, but after a few similar stories, our work will come across as boring to our readers.
Here is an exercise most creative writing courses employ for character depiction.
 To create a character whose attitude and beliefs are much different from ours, we must first make a list of our own attitudes and beliefs.
The next step is to write down the opposites of those attitudes and opinions on a separate sheep.
The third step is to pick one attitude, a dominant emotion, or an opinion from each list and defend those, by comparing and contrasting, in an essay.
After the essay, the writer is now ready to begin to flesh out his character. One important aspect in character building lies in finding the core values or vices of the character that will make him behave accordingly in a consistent manner, especially when a character is the opposite of its writer.
On the other hand, since most people are self-contradictory and surprising, it would be a good idea to give this character an inconsistency, by finding paradoxes inside the character's outlook. For example, if your Mafia boss character sends other people to their maker without batting an eye, you may make him weep over some roadkill.
Another important question to ask the character and the writer himself is "How do you view yourself?" With this, don't be surprised if both the writer's and his character's answers are similar, as most people view themselves in a positive light.
Yet, memorable characters in great literature didn't have to be lovable, but they had to be interesting, such as Ahab in Moby Dick and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.
So, if you like challenges, challenge yourself by creating characters unlike you or different from people close to you. You'll be entertained greatly by your own writing.
Until next time... 
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Your Drama Newsletter Editors: NickiD89  kittiara Joy
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
 This Issue's Tip:
To make your readers feel empathy toward a character, focus on what makes that character vulnerable. This vulnerability could be physical or emotional.
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 Reading Recommendation: A book review worth your time
If you have a recommendation, a few words on a book or a product review, send it to me or to this newsletter. I'll highlight it here.
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Feedback for "Getting Ready for 2012 NaNoWriMo"
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StephBee 
"Great tips, Joy. I find the more I prepare for the NaNoWriMo, the easier the writing is when it's time to tackle it. Good luck this year!"
Thanks, Steph.
Good luck to you, too.
Nano is sure a challenge, but well worth the while, nevertheless,
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Jeff 
"Thanks for featuring the NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon in this week's newsletter! You did a great job of including practical and easy-to-follow advice for people looking to plan out their November writing frenzy. Great job!" 
Thank you, SoCal.
We'll see how Write-A-Thon fares for all of us.
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Quick-Quill 
"WOW What an AWESOME NL! you cut to the chase another NL that has me really working on the underlying problems of my MC for Nano! I have my pen & paper (blank because I am at a loss) but the formula is there. If I can find the connection between this NL and the Authors NL I should have a best seller!"
Thank you, Kindred.
I bet you'll have a bestseller or a very good novel, anyway.
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Submitted Item: "Five Minutes"
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True, all those possibilities...
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