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Post by mscherer on Aug 13, 2010 10:08:20 GMT -5
A couple of things I heard this week became 'Ah-ha' moments.
1. You are what you fear. Heard this on Oprah of all places. Don't remember who said it or in what context, but this resonated with me as it pertains to developing characters. To paraphrase: Your character is what he/she fears most.
2. A psychiatrist on NPR stated that Reaction consists of thought, emotion, action. Again, useful for character development and writing Action/Description slugs.
When something happens to us we think about it (may only be micro-seconds, but we do think about it), then we get emotional (angry, happy, sad), then we take some sort of action (hit the wall with our fists, smile, cry).
In a screenplay something happens to your characters: ACTION. They think about it (show this on the page: Bob stops in his tracks. or Karen pauses. or Billy stares into space). Then your character shows emotion (Bob clenches his fists. or Karen breaks down in tears. or Billy curses. Finally, there is an action (Bob puches Karen. or Karen picks up a knife. or Billy runs away. This is the REACTION, which then cycles over and over again.
So, to diagram this and make it visual:
ACTION ---> [REACTION (thought--emotion--action)] ---> ACTION Repeat, rinse....
Just some random thoughts as I,
Keep Writing!
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