Character - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T11:23:13Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:121573?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A122338&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI've got a foot in both camps…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-16:537324:Comment:1243892008-02-16T11:34:29.263ZStuart MacBridehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Macbride
I've got a foot in both camps. As I write mostly series novels I'm lumbered with a central core of characters before I begin. But all the other characters will come from what's needed by the story.<br />
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And that was the same with the only standalone I've done. It was very much a case of the idea dictating the kind of characters that were going to be needed. I often find that they're so closely intertwined that it's difficult to tell which came first.
I've got a foot in both camps. As I write mostly series novels I'm lumbered with a central core of characters before I begin. But all the other characters will come from what's needed by the story.<br />
<br />
And that was the same with the only standalone I've done. It was very much a case of the idea dictating the kind of characters that were going to be needed. I often find that they're so closely intertwined that it's difficult to tell which came first. My main characters are born w…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-12:537324:Comment:1237482008-02-12T21:25:44.379ZNL Gasserthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/NLGassert
My main characters are born with problems. They show up on my doorstep with their baggage, and I’ll do my best to make everything fit into a nice, clever plot. I’m all about character before plot, but one can't really exist without the other.<br />
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Secondary characters come about far more deliberately. I think about my plot and what I need, then create the best (or worst) people for the job.
My main characters are born with problems. They show up on my doorstep with their baggage, and I’ll do my best to make everything fit into a nice, clever plot. I’m all about character before plot, but one can't really exist without the other.<br />
<br />
Secondary characters come about far more deliberately. I think about my plot and what I need, then create the best (or worst) people for the job. I start with characters. I im…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-10:537324:Comment:1234242008-02-10T21:03:56.995ZMari Sloanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Mari
I start with characters. I imagine their lives, how they connect with each other, then I change their comfortable existences and push them to their extremes. They react differently, with anger, frustration, or acceptance and then they start handling their crisis situations. Some bulldoze their way through--detemined to impose their will on others. Some take the way of least resistence and are extremely creative in finding the easy solution. Some just continue to exist. No matter what they do,…
I start with characters. I imagine their lives, how they connect with each other, then I change their comfortable existences and push them to their extremes. They react differently, with anger, frustration, or acceptance and then they start handling their crisis situations. Some bulldoze their way through--detemined to impose their will on others. Some take the way of least resistence and are extremely creative in finding the easy solution. Some just continue to exist. No matter what they do, it always impacts the others and creates a good story. ooh I just told him that. did…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-05:537324:Comment:1226622008-02-05T20:36:08.583Zcarole gillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PhyllisDietrichson
ooh I just told him that. didn't see your reply! rats.
ooh I just told him that. didn't see your reply! rats. do what I do--record everythi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-05:537324:Comment:1226592008-02-05T20:34:15.745Zcarole gillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PhyllisDietrichson
do what I do--record everything and flash past them!<br />
having said that, I watch very little tv.
do what I do--record everything and flash past them!<br />
having said that, I watch very little tv. I think either way of startin…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-04:537324:Comment:1223382008-02-04T12:09:11.460Zhelen blackhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/helenblack
I think either way of starting is fine but then you're going to need both eventually.<br />
You can start with a great problem or premise but you're gonna need a fantastic character to keep me interested.<br />
Or you can give me a character I love - ballsy, argumentative, humane- but I'm gonna need them to get into a pretty tight spot at some point.<br />
I guess for series stuff the protagonist is going to be the starter. But they're still going to have to have one mother of a problem to solve to keep readers…
I think either way of starting is fine but then you're going to need both eventually.<br />
You can start with a great problem or premise but you're gonna need a fantastic character to keep me interested.<br />
Or you can give me a character I love - ballsy, argumentative, humane- but I'm gonna need them to get into a pretty tight spot at some point.<br />
I guess for series stuff the protagonist is going to be the starter. But they're still going to have to have one mother of a problem to solve to keep readers interested.<br />
HB x This is an interesting discus…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-01:537324:Comment:1217392008-02-01T04:10:16.533ZHarding Younghttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Harding
This is an interesting discussion. It seems to me you really do need it all - character, action and detail (environment). How you do it? Well, there are many ways that work. It's in the telling. Some writers are sparce. I read Ken Bruen and he probably uses less than 100 words a page... but man do I get a full sense of detail. Why? Probably because his characters live and breathe, and they drive action forward. They keep it all moving. Other writers, like, say, Michael Connelly or Peter…
This is an interesting discussion. It seems to me you really do need it all - character, action and detail (environment). How you do it? Well, there are many ways that work. It's in the telling. Some writers are sparce. I read Ken Bruen and he probably uses less than 100 words a page... but man do I get a full sense of detail. Why? Probably because his characters live and breathe, and they drive action forward. They keep it all moving. Other writers, like, say, Michael Connelly or Peter Robinson, use a great deal of description to layer their environments. For me, that works just as well because, again, characters are driving the action.<br />
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Anyway, I could write about this stuff all day, but a man just walked into my room with a gun!<br />
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Gotta go!<br />
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H- Have you watched any Japanese…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-01:537324:Comment:1217312008-02-01T03:04:39.251ZJohn Dishonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
Have you watched any Japanese dramas? Their characters are way more realistic than anything I've seen on American TV in a long time (I haven't seen The Wire, so I can't comment on that), and the Japanese format is that there is a set number of episodes (usually 10-12) so that you get a complete storyline. As a specific example, the drama Unfair has great characters and an interesting story. Also, a lot of Asian dramas are adaptations of novels or comic books.
Have you watched any Japanese dramas? Their characters are way more realistic than anything I've seen on American TV in a long time (I haven't seen The Wire, so I can't comment on that), and the Japanese format is that there is a set number of episodes (usually 10-12) so that you get a complete storyline. As a specific example, the drama Unfair has great characters and an interesting story. Also, a lot of Asian dramas are adaptations of novels or comic books. I like detail, my darn self,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-01:537324:Comment:1217252008-02-01T02:48:13.056ZDennis Leppanenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TheWarbler
I like detail, my darn self, John. In fact, I think you can keep that moving along & of interest to your reader. I don't like a lot of heavy pages stacked on top of each other, though. The detail has to improve the story.
I like detail, my darn self, John. In fact, I think you can keep that moving along & of interest to your reader. I don't like a lot of heavy pages stacked on top of each other, though. The detail has to improve the story. I think all that you said is…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-01-31:537324:Comment:1216892008-01-31T22:24:02.725ZJohn Dishonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
I think all that you said is true for a lot of people, but not for me. I think Raymond Chandler's advice is ill-founded. He saying just throw in some action if you're stuck, but to me, it's like Barry Bonds taking steroids and then breaking Hank Aaron's homerun record. It's fake, and everyone knows it. A good story will naturally progress. If the story is losing interest, then adding something to spice it up won't be enough to save the story. And Chandler's advice also runs on the notion that…
I think all that you said is true for a lot of people, but not for me. I think Raymond Chandler's advice is ill-founded. He saying just throw in some action if you're stuck, but to me, it's like Barry Bonds taking steroids and then breaking Hank Aaron's homerun record. It's fake, and everyone knows it. A good story will naturally progress. If the story is losing interest, then adding something to spice it up won't be enough to save the story. And Chandler's advice also runs on the notion that only action will keep a reader entertained. For some readers that's true, but not all of them. If the characters are real, if they feel alive to you, then you'd probably happily go along with them as they file their taxes.<br />
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I like detail, so keeping detail to a minimum is no good for me. Not writing the parts people don't read is a whole lot easier when you have good characters, because then you don't have to have a lot of action to keep the story moving along. Some of my favorite books are ones where not much actually happens. But as I said, not everyone is like that.