Archive for December, 2007
Characters Talking to Themselves
I like scenes where characters talk to themselves. Both as a member of the audience and as a creator. Here are a few reasons why:
- Foreshadowing
- Irony
- Attitude
- Inner Life
Foreshadowing
The character says something out loud to themselves that later comes true, or its opposite later comes true in a way the character couldn’t have anticipated. Which leads to…
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Overthinking Your Story
Working on screenplay versions of my stories is teaching me a lot about the weaknesses in my writing and creative processes. I almost regret trying to write a novel first.
Why?
Because in writing a novel, you’re encouraged towards higher word counts, excessive description, and more detail. Word count, description, and detail all steal thunder from the focus of the scene.
“What has to happen in this scene?”
Surely the answer is not, “We need to see the paint peeling from the walls?”
A scene should be simple. There should be a basic conflict in it between two or more characters, or a character vs. his or herself.
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Frames of Reference
Every story needs a frame of reference. You can write a story told from the perspective of an ant-like alien creature on a far away planet that resembles nothing like our own, but if you can’t find a frame of reference through the familiar, it will hard for people to engage your story.
So what if you do have an ant-like alien creature on a far away planet that doesn’t resemble anything we know?
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