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fandomhigh2009-07-15 12:32 am
cuff-me-once.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2009-07-15 12:32 am
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Creative Writing [Tuesday, 5th Period]
Rick had sent an email to meet in the computer lab this week, where he sat with his laptop, waiting for the class to arrive.
"Afternoon all," Rick greeted them, closing the lid of the computer as he stood up.
"Character," he began. "Some writers come up with their plots first, then create their characters to suit, but for me, it all begins with character. Over the years, I've found that if you have built strong, well-defined characters, if you know your characters well enough that you can say how they would react in a given situation, then once you introduce your prompt, your 'what if', then the plot is likely to write itself."
"Now there are a lot of resources that you can use when creating a character if you know how to look for them, for example, if you're stuck coming up with a name for a character, looking though a good baby-name book or website can give you ideas, although you should choose a name that suits your character rather than picking a name then trying to come up with a character that fits."
"Then there's your biographies and autobiographies of people who lived in the time and place your character comes from, historical accounts, etiquette books, these will all give you an idea of how your character would have been expected to act, and how people would be likely to react if they stepped outside of normal behaviour."
"Of course, you can always go the route of basing a character, in part or in full, on a real person. However despite the fact that can eliminate a lot of the basic legwork in creating a character, it opens up a lot of potential difficulties that just aren't there with purely fictional characters. Most countries have defamation laws, and there can be a very thin line between roman à clef and a libel suit. Trust me, you want to stay on this side of it. And that's only one way a person can react to discovering an obvious fictionalised version of themselves."
"But that's enough from me," Rick said. "Your job today is to work on creating your main characters for your stories, I want their names, their ages, their jobs, their backstory, what motivates them to do what they do, come up with a description of them, then find someone who best represents that mental image of your main character. You can brainstorm with each other if you're stuck. Then, at the end of the class, I want you to present your character to me and the rest of the class."
[OOC: OCD is up!]
[Class Roster|Previous Classes]
"Afternoon all," Rick greeted them, closing the lid of the computer as he stood up.
"Character," he began. "Some writers come up with their plots first, then create their characters to suit, but for me, it all begins with character. Over the years, I've found that if you have built strong, well-defined characters, if you know your characters well enough that you can say how they would react in a given situation, then once you introduce your prompt, your 'what if', then the plot is likely to write itself."
"Now there are a lot of resources that you can use when creating a character if you know how to look for them, for example, if you're stuck coming up with a name for a character, looking though a good baby-name book or website can give you ideas, although you should choose a name that suits your character rather than picking a name then trying to come up with a character that fits."
"Then there's your biographies and autobiographies of people who lived in the time and place your character comes from, historical accounts, etiquette books, these will all give you an idea of how your character would have been expected to act, and how people would be likely to react if they stepped outside of normal behaviour."
"Of course, you can always go the route of basing a character, in part or in full, on a real person. However despite the fact that can eliminate a lot of the basic legwork in creating a character, it opens up a lot of potential difficulties that just aren't there with purely fictional characters. Most countries have defamation laws, and there can be a very thin line between roman à clef and a libel suit. Trust me, you want to stay on this side of it. And that's only one way a person can react to discovering an obvious fictionalised version of themselves."
"But that's enough from me," Rick said. "Your job today is to work on creating your main characters for your stories, I want their names, their ages, their jobs, their backstory, what motivates them to do what they do, come up with a description of them, then find someone who best represents that mental image of your main character. You can brainstorm with each other if you're stuck. Then, at the end of the class, I want you to present your character to me and the rest of the class."
[OOC: OCD is up!]
[Class Roster|Previous Classes]
Re: Present your characters - CW [Week Two]