" Realism, it does not always tell the whole story."
/ A balance between General vs Particular needs to be made.
" Characters are (need to be) wierd (interesting)."
/ You never have a perfect character. They have a special ability, as well as, a weakness.
The flaws usually become the reason of happening or a case of conflict.
" Do something unexpectable."
/ Put them into the corner and make them suffer so they have to do something.
Be sure to make the choice surprising, unexpectable. Dramatize.
4 Points for Critique
1. What's going on?
/ Not the plot but the philosophical idea or theme.
2. What is working here?
/ Effective points
3. What can be improved?
/ What is not quite done right, why?
4. One last suggesion?
/ If there was one thing I would work on it would be-
"How am I self-contradictory?"
Breaking the rules.
Dissonance.
Research!
What is a Story?
Plot, props and character, change;
Characters and how they change.
Understanding and misunderstanding,
Connection;
Significance of events lead to series of connections.
Decisions; choice and consequence,
Satisfaction,
Which threads to pull up,
Suffering; who gets hurt?
Point of view
Story telling - tone, voice...
Narrator - 1st, 3rd, (2nd) / Reliable vs Unreliable
Narators are characters / Limited, omniscent
Conflict
Memory
Action;
In Medias Res: Begin in the middle of things (action)
What is your character going to do?
Problems and Issues
Ethical prescriptions, morals
Make readers think about this
Judgement
Ethics and power issues the complicity (good and bad, evil)
Feeling: No answer, confront yourself
Difference between Art and Ethics (complex)
Publicly, not easily as personally
" Fail better."
/ Relax. Find a story inside yourself and find the best way to tell it.
There are divers genres, ways to do it, try to have fun.
Learn how to tell a good story well, when to stop editing.
" Writing is not like jazz - revise."
" It is not a race. "
Write daily, take a certain amount of time everyday.
Emersion. Critique.
" Make concrete goals."
Schedule.
Carry a notebook. Adjust schdule. Put in the time. Play with it.
" Read the kind of stuff your writing."
/ Learning by imitating is a good way to learn about style and voice.
Read english everyday, get used to literary expressions.
" We find the story in the details."
" Give something to imagine."
Look out for using too much adjectives and adverbs.
" Cut the fat, they're only useful when they are surprises."
" Imply and Simplify; make them imagine what's not there."
" Names have special associations."
Flat and Rounded character
Flat characters are like supporting actors, descriptions are simpler.
Round characters are more complex, unique and associable.
Flat charactrers may be interesting but usually follow the formula.
"Show" don't tell.
Reveal slowly, in small ways and big ways.
Avoid letting the readers know so quickly.
" Find the moment."
If you choose a scene it should have something in it.
Use flash backs.
" Good writings are Fractals."
Like yeast the first scene should have the seeds.
Same thing with differences grow into something bigger.
" Foreign language is spice."
"What is the role of humor?"
Reading out loud and acting out works.
Spoon theory: metaphoric language. A way to tell dramatically.
Tension at the first scene. Form an inherent conflict. Possible conflict. Don't make it obvious.
Or a promise on what is going to change.
Having to guess is okay but help readers guess correctly.
" Testing the characters is about what you think human nature is about."
Bring the character into a painful and embarassing moment.
Purpose: to pull them ito the experience and show how we deal with it.
Characters may refuse to change, fail to deal with the question.
Try giving your characters one of the hardest question of your life.
" The most interesting character is a person with a problem surrounded with people with problems."
" Spin as many plates as you can."
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