Post by Hal Berlin on Apr 19, 2010 3:08:00 GMT -5
Want an easy way to tell the difference between a capable writer and a novice? Look at the character intros.
Beginner relies on cliches or flaccid abstractions, compares the character to an famous actor ("like Meg Ryan, but a man"), details their physical attributes. Does anything but give us a sense of who this person is.
And that's what the capable writer does. Reveals, in a sentence or two, the essence of the character. It's easier to give examples than explain in the abstract. Here are five, taken from different sources.
"the kind of woman who spends a lot of time on her internet dating profiles, but rarely gets emailed"
"He’s 27, perpetually nervous, too smart for his own skull. The type of guy who always double-knots his shoelaces, just in case."
"The girl looks like Oxnard surfer skank, wearing an almost-nuthin’ bandana top. The guy is dark and ripped, the kind of rip you get from steroids or prison. Or steroids in prison."
"a sweet looking 19 year old whose lazy of any physically intimidating attributes masks a very complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye contact and sometimes it's hard to tell if he's talking to you or to himself"
"Molly Soames, Real 52, not Hollywood 52 --- is awake and has been. She has bobbed blonde hair and a face like Doris Day. At 52. She has aged the way perky and cute inevitably do: pretty for years then one day invisible"
(P.S: There are exceptions, of course. Writers who prefer to leave any description out, just focus on the action. But for the most part, go with the memorable description)
Beginner relies on cliches or flaccid abstractions, compares the character to an famous actor ("like Meg Ryan, but a man"), details their physical attributes. Does anything but give us a sense of who this person is.
And that's what the capable writer does. Reveals, in a sentence or two, the essence of the character. It's easier to give examples than explain in the abstract. Here are five, taken from different sources.
"the kind of woman who spends a lot of time on her internet dating profiles, but rarely gets emailed"
"He’s 27, perpetually nervous, too smart for his own skull. The type of guy who always double-knots his shoelaces, just in case."
"The girl looks like Oxnard surfer skank, wearing an almost-nuthin’ bandana top. The guy is dark and ripped, the kind of rip you get from steroids or prison. Or steroids in prison."
"a sweet looking 19 year old whose lazy of any physically intimidating attributes masks a very complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye contact and sometimes it's hard to tell if he's talking to you or to himself"
"Molly Soames, Real 52, not Hollywood 52 --- is awake and has been. She has bobbed blonde hair and a face like Doris Day. At 52. She has aged the way perky and cute inevitably do: pretty for years then one day invisible"
(P.S: There are exceptions, of course. Writers who prefer to leave any description out, just focus on the action. But for the most part, go with the memorable description)