The Art of Character Development As authors, it is our Duty To create lovable, enticing Characters And do horrible, evil things to Them. This guide is designed to help people with writer's block, role-players of all levels, and people who are just interested in psychology and philosophy as it applies to fiction. Here you'll find tips, examples, suggestions, general information to aid in creating rounded fictional characters for your stories and/or RPGs, and perhaps even information useful for everyday life. There are many aspects of character development, and your character could be nearly as deep and complete as anyone you might know in real life. ♦ Being informed is a vital part of all storytelling. ♦ Learn the importance of Point of View and Background. ♦ Motivation and Alignment: "Good" VS "Evil", what drives your character. ♦ Flaws, Merits and Details: All the little (and major) quirks that make your character more interesting. ♦ Exercises and Inspiration: The tools, games, and tricks to help you find your voice.
Character Traits Meme by ~pichu4850 on deviantART No Plot? No Problem!: Five Secret Steps to Story Building September is officially the start of NaNo Prep! To celebrate, we’re excerpting what some might call the NaNoWriMo Bible: No Plot? No Problem! Once you have these steps down, you’ll be churning out books faster than Krispy Kreme churns out hot doughnuts. Construct the Cannon. Whether it’s true love, sweet revenge, or a cupcake-filled swimming pool, a character’s greatest desire is the cannon that propels her toward her destiny. Build the mountain. Create conflict, suspense, and heart-wrenching drama by stacking a mountain of setbacks (fears, weaknesses, villains, spider monkeys) in front of your protagonist. Light the fuse. Plot the problems. Think of the last comedy you saw. Meet him or her on the other side. At the beginning, your protagonist may be a sad and reclusive computer nerd, but after saving the world from a nuclear holocaust she becomes a confident warrior. Excerpted by Michael Adamson, with permission from Chronicle Books. Photo by Flickr user ~db~.
hero's journey "A Practical Guide to Joseph Cambell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Christopher Vogler © 1985 “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.” In the long run, one of the most influential books of the 20th century may turn out to be Joseph Campbell’s THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. The book and the ideas in it are having a major impact on writing and story-telling, but above all on movie-making. Filmmakers like John Boorman, George Miller, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Coppola owe their successes in part to the ageless patterns that Joseph Campbell identifies in the book. The ideas Campbell presents in this and other books are an excellent set of analytical tools. With them you can almost always determine what’s wrong with a story that’s floundering; and you can find a better solution almost any story problem by examining the pattern laid out in the book. There’s nothing new in the book.
Using Body Language Techniques > Using Body Language Message clusters | Core patterns | Parts-of-body language | Other notes | See also Body language is an important part of communication which can constitute 50% or more of what we are communicating. Message clusters Body language comes in clusters of signals and postures, depending on the internal emotions and mental states. Aggressive Body Language: Showing physical threat. Core patterns A number of core patterns in body language can be identified that include clusters of movements: Crossing, Expanding, Moving away, Moving forward, Opening, Preening, Repeating, Shaping, Striking and Touching Parts-of-the-body language You can send signals with individual parts of the body as well as in concert. Other notes Remember that body language varies greatly with people and especially with international cultures (so be very careful when applying Western understanding to Eastern non-verbal language). 5 Cs of Body Language: How to effectively understand body language.
Joseph Campbell’s "The Hero’s Journey" Ran across this post from the blog What’s In My Manvelope, hosted by John T. Trigonis whose About page reads: “Published poet, indie filmmaker, & freelance professor by day … & pretty much the same things by night.” In the post, Trigonis discusses writing and rewriting (six drafts) his current script project “A Beautiful Unlife.” He also discusses various screenwriting books he’s read and concludes this: Write from the soul of your story and you’ll never go wrong. And in terms of books, the only book every screenwriter needs to fully digest is one that’ll teach you nothing about screenwriting but everything about story (no, not Aristotle’s Poetics, although it comes in at a close second!) Then provides this lovely visual summary of The Hero’s Journey As longtime readers of this blog know, I’m a big fan of Joseph Campbell. Indeed it’s not just Star Wars: A New Hope which seems to hew closely to The Hero’s Journey. So how to sum up this post?
Three-act structure Three- act structure Plot Line Graph by Wendell Wellman The three-act structure is a model used in writing, including screenwriting, and in evaluating modern storytelling that divides a fictional narrative into three parts, often called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution. Structure[edit] The second act, also referred to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find him- or herself in ever worsening situations. Interpretations[edit] In Writing Drama, French writer and director Yves Lavandier shows a slightly different approach.[2] He maintains that every human action, whether fictitious or real, contains three logical parts: before the action, during the action, and after the action. SJ Murray, a documentary film maker, feature film writer, and professor at Baylor University, explores why the three act structure matters in her book, Three Act What? See also[edit] References[edit]
NaNo Prep: The Official NaNoWriMo Character Questionnaire Want more preparation exercises? Check out National Novel Writing Month’s Young Writers Program’s Novelist Workbooks, which our nonprofit provides free-of-charge to more than 2,000 educators and 8,000 young writers around the world! “Most people think that an intriguing plot is what makes a story good, but the truth is that exciting plots are made up of original and well-developed characters. Not only are characters with hidden depths and secrets more fun to read about, they’re also more fun to write about. It’s a great idea for you, the author, to try and get to know your characters before you begin writing. Name:Age:Height:Eye color:Physical appearance:Strange or unique physical attributes:Favorite clothing style/outfit:Where does he or she live? Photo courtesy of Artsy Fartsy Mama.
The tone of voice triangle Is humor part of your brand’s personality? Do you wonder if it should be? When humor fits with your brand’s online identity, it can be a powerful social media tool. In this article I’ll show you examples of three ways you can use humor to grab attention. Define Your Online Tone Humor is an excellent addition to your social media toolbox. If you want to use humor as a social media marketing tactic, you’ll find good examples later in this article, but first let’s talk about the importance of defining your online voice (or tone). Which two elements fit best with your brand’s voice? I first heard about the tone of voice triangle from Bruce Daisley. To define your social media personality, choose the two elements that best reflect your brand’s tone. As an example of how tone affects humor, let’s look at Bunsen Burger, a gourmet burger restaurant in Dublin. If we apply the tone of voice triangle to their business, Fun and Give Info are their strong points. #1: Have Fun With Your Fans Over to You
A 7-Step Guide to Big Picture Revision (With Bonus Checklists!) The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Author Wendy Mass guides you through big-picture revision… complete with handy questionnaires: Ah, revision. My favorite part of the writing process. You’ve already done the hard part. Insert page numbers and print it out, double-spaced. Take a deep breath and slowly dive in. Mark the places that make you laugh or cry. Now, go back through the manuscript again and write a list of all the scenes in each chapter and the pages they are on. You only need a few words of description for each section: Electricity goes out (21-24), ring bearer loses the ring (110-111), teacher goes to hospital after swallowing frog (83-86). Here come the highlighters! Do some of them only show up a few times? When you are done, anything that is left un-highlighted is your main plotline.