Thursday, Feb 9, 2012

Last Chunks on Character

Character Arc - Transformational Arc - starts at State A (broken) and goes to State Z (fixed or enlightened in some way)

Dynamic - characters who change -
why are characters that change more interesting or appealing?
the effect of change is upon us every day - we totally get it when characters change
most change in stories is POSITIVE - learning and growing and winning
however, even a negative change might be something that we like -
maybe this is a surprise and that is appealing
That’s not me!
manageable change is comforting - movie troubles and chaos is a relief from normal troubles and chaos - book problems are nice problems -
VICARIOUS - you experience something through someone else’s experience

Static - characters that do not change
are often characters that are delusional or mistaken or stupid or comical
there is usually some purpose to this - not realistic, not as interesting or as deep, but there may be some effect that is brought about
static characters often teach us things - show us the result of not changing - they are often in bad situations or have terrible results in stories -
static characters are often STEREOTYPES, especially in short stories -
a label that certain groups of people may have applied to them and this label may be based upon some true element - Canadian live in igloos - this is based on our winters, which are not anything like the idea of our winters
easy shortcuts to make an impression or further some idea -

Protagonists are usually DYNAMIC and antagonists are usually STATIC
But, secondary characters are also often static

What is their role in a story?
What does the WISE MASTER do in a story? Yoda, Obi Wan, Morpheus, Gandalf, Dumbledore, etc
to teach, guide, direct, help and motivate the lead character through different actions - including once he/she dies, which is very common

GIRLFRIEND - to nag the lead character who is trying to be awesome and do something immature that he thinks is fun with his friends who are going to Las Vegas to have a
to stumble into a situation where the bad guy gets her and can call the lead guy and say I have your girlfriend
to say I miss you and can you take this risk to come here and take more risks doing this activity that you know better than to do

EX-BOYFRIEND -
MOM -
TEACHER -
GRANDMA -
NOSY NEIGHBOUR -
KID IN THE SMOKING AREA -

1. One of the jobs of these characters is PLOT CONTRIVANCE - some piece of machinery or creation to move the plot forward
to bring out something in the main character(s) - acting as a FOIL - to allow the main to show some element of character - eg the little creature that every Disney bad guy has (Iago, eels, etc) - this is KEY in many stories
to set the scene - this is also crucial, but maybe less so - ie school - what secondary characters who set the scene will be here? - nerds, stoners, jocks, etc
add texture and perhaps intensity - which can be the same thing - bad things have to happen to somebody... texture - dramas needs dramatic moments, and they can’t all be to the lead - sci fi needs sci fi stuff - robots, three-breasted women with antlers, etc
give comic relief - to relieve the audience of tension that can be created by too much dark business - eg The Porter in Macbeth

Character Analysis -
Could have:

Character sketch (those things to look for in lead)
Character description (obvious)
Secondary characters analysis - their roles and effectiveness
Compare and contrast Pro and Ant (agonist)
Interrelationships - character web - how does everybody relate to each other?
Character casting and profile - choose actors to play that role and cut out photos, etc
Character bio in POV - you add your interpretations (diary)

1. DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION - the writer makes direct statements about a character's personality and tells what the character is like.
The writer will write ABOUT the character, usually in a way that is omniscient, but we may also get another character’s POV – this could be simply that character’s bias, however – or, it may be a valid, and real perspective
“this character is like that”

INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION - the writer reveals information about a character and his personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him.

Setting -

A Writing Exercise:

You shall write a creative paragraph about a place you have been that creates an evocative memory.

Descriptive Language- Adjectives that paint a picture - utilizing all of the senses where possible - imagery
Not worry about sentence structure so much - loose descriptive lines
Think about really setting a scene - tone = mood = emotion = more powerful writing

You can improve this assignment with photos or music or a short bit of video, which is admittedly cheating - however, it works.