Sakume's Unofficial Homeroom

~Welcome to One and All~

What's that? You say you don't like to write? Don't want to learn? There's the back button on your browser. Push it.

Table of Contents:

I. Introduction
II. So You Want to Write
III. Colors and Body Language
IV. Ideas and Research
V. Character
VI. Plot and Story
VII: POV and Conflict
VIII: Dialogue and Setting
VIV: Archetypes



Introduction

Now, your first question upon reading this has a good chance of being one of the following: Who are you? Can you even make a teaching thread like this and not get lynched? You're not on the council... what are you doing? Regrettably, this is true. I am not a member of the council, though many times during the past years I have thought on it and wanted to be. However, I am not going to be teaching as they teach. If you came in here and wanted to sign up with one of your characters in hope of me performing some miracle and making you a good writer with so many lessons and a graduation of sorts, you are sadly mistaken. Let's make sure you understand something. You're not perfect. I'm not perfect. Not by a long shot. I don't expect anyone to be. All we can do is get better, and that's where I want to help.

You're probably still asking, "If you don't want to help me using one of my characters, what are you doing?" My writing class is different. I don't even want people to sign up for it. You may ask, "But you HAVE characters... how come you don't want to teach like Zorolo, Powershot, or Safer?" I never said I didn't want to teach in the Dome like these guys, but since that's not an option, I think I'll try this instead. Through my lessons, you will be lectured only by me and my cohort, Jaden. I'll let you in on a secret, Jaden is an unnofficial character of mine. Don't worry, you don't really need to know anything about him, he's just there for my enjoyment. There are no in character lessons here, at least not yet. I don't have the time right now to go through and look at your points you can correct yourself on. I will, however, give examples of what is good or bad and brief application/exercises to help you destroy writer's block and grow in your talent.

Most of my lecture material will come from my own experience as a writer, a few of my teachers throughout my life, namely, books. If you like I can give you the specific titles, but I doubt you need to know that information. I will also glean from other authors whom I have heard speak through interviews or conferences I have attended.

I will post lessons here regularly and from time to time they will include different teachings about: plot, character, ideas, viewpoints, settings, and other such topics. Don't be fooled into thinking, "This thread is for new people who are just starting to craft their talents of writing. This is all basic stuff." It's not. Granted, some of it will start off simply, and put in layman's terms, "N00bish", but there will be some lessons and exercises more difficult than others.

As far as posts go, let's go through a few no-no's. (*this thread and its rules are backed by Aiko Power, since January 2009* --Aikies)

Bad posts:

-Flaming (deliberate insults or intent to start an arguement)
-Spam (One of these things, doesn't belong here...)
-Do-It-Yourself Questions (If you want to know what a word means, look it up. Don't be lazy. It's not tolerated here.)
-Sign me up! (I'm not taking students. Don't post wanting to be in my "class" or something.)

Now for a few "Yay!" posts.

Good posts:

-Compliments (Thank you's are always appreciated if something works for you or you learn something.)
-Suggestions (Non-derogatory suggestions are taken into consideration. Please be kind, but do tell me if you altered my method or think something could be improved, or if you'd like to see a subject or topic covered.)
-Help me Questions (If you have a question that needs my input or response that cannot be solved on your own, post it, but try to make it so I understand what you're talking about. Not a general "Why doesn't my plot look like that?" sort of question. Those are ignored. PM me if you have problems that must be solved that way so I can get more detail.)

Some of you might even go so far as to ask me about your plot/character/whatever in person. Contact me via AIM and I'd love to chat with you, but please ask more specific questions than, "What do you think?" or something along those lines. And yes, if you don't know me, I do roleplay here, would be happy to try something in-character through AIM or even through ZU if you like, if you want that practice. I know I need it.

~Good luck!

~So You Want To Write~

“Even a dead fish can float downstream.” – Anonymous

This quote will begin one of two things I will tell you before we start our first lecture. Although this saying for some of you is only making you tilt your heads, for others you might get a better grasp of what it means. You have to work for what you want. Persevere. Don't ever give up. Keep working, keep enduring, and you will reach a point where you look back and you will simply not believe the mountains you have climbed.

Besides believing and trying, you have to have fun. Writing for the sake of writing is boring. Enjoy it. Put your personality and life into your stories, thoughts, characters. If you're not enjoying it while you write it, no one reading it will.

Oh, and there is one more minor note. Do not listen to me. Nah, I'm only playing. Listen, and learn, but please, do not take me word for word. Some of the best writers are ruined because they learn to work with dot to dot pictures while learning their craft. If the clothes don't fit, don't wear them. Do not stretch and cram to fit a mold. That's not the point of writing. There are guidelines, yes, but there is no yellow brick road. Walk wherever you choose, make your own path, and you'll still get to Emerald City.

Stages of Writing

There are four basic stages of writing skills, especially when writing short stories then novels, which is what I'll be focusing on at least this lecture. If you don't want to write professionally, don't worry, not all lectures cover that aspect. Let's start with the beginning.

*Stage one*

During stage one, it's for you. It's also called the daydream stage. A good way to identify if you're in this stage is to determine why you're writing. If you write only to please yourself, but others aren't really interested in reading your work, you're in this stage. It's a good stage for most roleplayers, since their plots are short term, not novel-expandable. The characters are well-thought-out but random. There's usually no tension in these stories you jot. Doing this is a wonderful creative exercise, but not good enough if you want to go pro.


*Stage two*

Stage two is where it starts to get interesting if you're a writer, but hard. You are trying now to write ideas, instead of only daydreams and fantasies. You are attempting to do something most writers strive to do: connect to people. You have a reason for writing besides enjoyment. You want other people to enjoy your stories. You can't yet create a developed story, but you are trying and you are making progress.


*Stage three*

Stage three is just a long growing process. You're trying, and your stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Your characters might fail to think for themselves, or fit into a mold. Cliches are problems at this point. You might have a white room (not enough detail) or a psychedelic setting (too much detail). Your story will have direction, but no destination. Don't forget that you like tension. The only problems you may have in this stage are smaller errors, technical problems like weak characters or plots.


*Stage four*

Congratulations! You've made it to the professional level and you are now writing and getting paid for it! How cool is that? It takes a lot of time, so be patient, but once you're there, you've made it to Glinda and you saved Oz! But remember that just like the Wizard of Oz series, your adventure doesn't end once you get back to Kansas, it's only beginning.

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

Stage one is escaped by learning how to focus. Try not to take the hero's role, and if you do, you'll see the story is usually rigged so you are the winner. Not good. When you enter a period or conflict, a moment where you don't win, you can move on to stage two. Get real, wake up, write conflict. Write the flaw. Write well.

Here We Are!

Once you move past stage one, it's all uphill. Wait, that's not right. Anyway, it's about learning to show instead of tell. Learn to use your senses. Oh goody, our first exercise!

Exercise One:

Learn to see! Next time you're outside, I want you to find a detail. It doesn't matter what it is. The way a stem branches through a leaf (There's a tree pun), the way the concrete is cracked, the way the clouds move in the sky. Now once you find that detail, study it for a few moments. Try to describe it in your head. If you have a friend, try to tell them about it. Don't just say, "It was a white cloud that moved kinda fast." No, we want more than that. Tell me how fast it moved, what shape it was, how dark or bright it looked, things like that. If you have to, use a "brighter than a egg white" or "darker than a concrete grey" comparison. Specifics, remember.

Part two: Okay, do this again, but this time make sure what you find is alive somehow. It can still be a plant, yes. This time sit there and look at it. Watch it. Think on it and watch until you notice something you never noticed before. You'll be amazed at what you can see when you take the time. Detail will sell your description no matter what.

Return To Lecture

Okay, where were we? Oh yes. Seeing. Let's go back a tiny bit to the flaw. Flaw in your story/character is extremely important. Let's go over something that usually happens in romance stories. Jaden will help me with an excerpt good and bad. Let's start with bad:

"His legs were well-toned, but not like the men who constantly worked for it. His chest stuck out to her as very well-built, firm in every way with tight muscles lining it. His face was even better, with wet, shimmery hair like a dark night hanging over his shoulders. His lips were still studded with water droplets, evidencing he had just then gotten out of his shower."

This doesn't seem like bad writing, but it is. There's no real flaw. There's hints of it, but nothing seems to stick out. It may just be that it's not mentioned yet, but try to mention it before the perfectness or immediate attractiveness of your character. Let's rewrite this a little and make it better:

"His legs were well-toned, but not like the men who constantly worked for it. His chest stuck out to her as well-built, firm in every way with tight muscles underneath it. Several scars of different lengths and patterns zig-zagged over his very slightly tanned skin. His face was framed by wet, shimmery hair like a dark night hanging limply over his shoulders. His lips were still studded with water droplets, affirming he had just gotten out of the shower."

We made a few changes here. Scars added to the character, when given a reason to be there, make him slightly less attractive, and more believable. In the earlier bad post, the woman looking at him seems immediately attracted to him in some ways. This is bad when worded as it is in that paragraph. It is not normal to focus on "an even better face" in this situation. The fact that it is ambiguously mentioned in the second paragraph is much more appealing and also lets you keep the fact they fall in love (if they do) temporarily a secret from your audience. Which is always a good thing.

Exercise Two

Learn to Hear! No, I'm not calling you deaf. As long as you won't be a stumbling block here, get somewhere where people move a lot. A hallway, a room in your house, the subway. Close your eyes and listen. Hear the conversations going on around you. Listen for a tone of voice and the air around the voices. Is it tense? Soft? Fast? Slow? You can figure out a lot by simply listening.

Part two: Now try to hear echoes. Background noise in a room. Is there air conditioning? A fan? Even the sounds of your own breathing. Remember to keep your eyes closed! Try the wind in the leaves.

Return to Lecture

We've got time for one last small piece of lecture. Memory. Memory is vitally important. It's the background you'll need to understand what a character is going through and what they're feeling. If you ever have an instance that seems bad or good, important to you somehow, remember it. Remember it, remember it, remember it. Then you'll use it again later.

In our next lesson, we'll distribute a few helpful lists for reference and suggestions to help writing. I'm looking forward to it!

~Dismissed!

~Colors, Body Language, and Disturbing the Peace~

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

Intimidating, isn't it? I found this quote rather impacting for me and so I decided to post it for all for you. Put your heart in what you write, remember. Then you connect, move to stage two. Anyway, here's a small helpful list for you all. It has to do with an important part of writing- body language. Sometimes the way a character moves describes as much as if they spoke. If you see a person avoiding eye contact with you, it usually doesn't mean they love you. I now give you the ultimate list of body language cues and what they indicate.

Body Language Cues to Emotion

Defensive/Aggressive/Angry/Enraged
tense jaw/mouth
compressed mouth/lips
biting bottom lip
sneer
guttural throat sounds
loud speech/yell/scream
jutted chin
clenched jaw
frown
wrinkled nose
flared nostrils
widened eyes
protruding eyeballs
dilated pupils
hands on hips/away from body
body displayed broadside
squared shoulders
shrug shoulders
body held erect/stand tall
head jerks
tick in cheek/eye/corner of mouth
head brought forward
clenched fists
drumming/tapping fingers
palms down, beating gesture/flailing hands/arms
red face/neck/ears
hitting something with fists
stiff walking

Anxious/Impatient/Nervous/Tense/Fearful
clear throat
swallow
gulp
jaw drop/open mouth
dry mouth
wet lips with tongue/touch lips with finger
catch in throat
raspy voice unable to speak
male – bobbing/jumping Adam’s apple
perspire (palms/face/neck/armpits) = cold sweat
pale skin
lean/angle away from what’s making person anxious
make oneself smaller to reduce exposure to danger
tense lips, neck, shoulder muscles
arms folded across lower chest/upper abdomen
neutral facial expression = do not approach
no eye contact
rapid eye blink
protruding eyeballs
wide eyes
tick in cheek/eye/corner of mouth
dilated pupils
flared nostrils
frown
crying
increased breathing rate/rapid heartbeat
tremble, especially lips
chattering of teeth
hair bristling
clenched fists
drumming/tapping fingers
palms down, beating gesture/flailing hands/arms
scratching/rubbing/pinching/holding parts of body

Arrogant/Disdainful
rearing back
mocking bow of head or upper torso
lift chin
look down nose
jut chin
lift one eyebrow
tilt head back
narrowed eyes
compressed lips/mouth
lip raised/curled in sneer
hands on hips
look down one’s nose
flared nostrils
loud voice
yawn

Confident/Brave
square shoulders
full body display
stand erect/tall
hands on hips
swagger when walking

Confused/Puzzled/Uncertain
frown
slack jaw
pout
pursed lips
wet lips with tongue/touch lips with finger
tongue clenched between lips
suck thumb
mouth turned downward
clenched jaw
clear throat
lowered eyelids
elbow raised with hand behind head
scratch head
tug on ear
tap cheek with finger
rub back of neck with one hand
Wrinkled nose
scratching/rubbing/pinching/holding parts of body
hug waist with arms
shrug shoulders
raspy/thready voice

Curious
head cocked to one side
wrinkled nose/brow
pursed lips
raised brow
wide eyes
finger touch to cheek/jaw

Defeated
slumped/hunched shoulders
vacant expression
toneless voice

Disagree/Disgusted/Abhorrent/Revulsion
distance from object
turn or face away/shift body away
turning one’s back
lean back
fold arms across upper chest/lower abdomen
cut off hand gesture
sneer
roll eyes
narrowed eyes
no eye contact
frown
wrinkled nose
flared nostrils
backward head jerks
head shake
protrusion of tongue
guttural throat sounds
pursed lips
thin lips
tongue pressed between lips
clenched jaw

Disbelief/Skeptical/Suspicious
arch eyebrow
narrowed eyes
compressed lips/Down-turned mouth
head shake
clenched jaw
shoulder shrug

Embarrassed
clear throat
swallow
gulp
wet lips with tongue
male: bobbling or jumping Adam’s apple
flushed skin
hot/tingling skin
lack of eye contact
breathiness

Happy/Humor/Pleasure
smile
animated eyes/expression
tears in eyes/crying/sobbing
tightening of the throat/inability to speak
quivering chin
dilated pupils
eaise/lift eyebrows to widen eyes
facial flush
laugh (can be silent)
hugging upper abdomen/lower chest sigh

Humble/Deferential/Non-aggressive/Submissive
bowed head
head tilted to one side
Lowered chin
down-turned eyes
no direct eye contact
tight-lipped
silent
slumped/hunched shoulders
shrug shoulders
turn body inward to make smaller
open palms
arms next to side
pout
low voice

Friendly/Love/Infatuated
close proximity to object of affection (address or aim at, lean toward, intrude into personal space)
block intrusion by third person by laying arm across back of chair, crossing feet, standing in such a way as to block view of the rest of the room
man - leaning back with pelvis thrust forward, legs apart, hands hook in pockets with fingers pointing down to genitals = I'm available; I'm sexually dangerous
women cross arms around men they don’t like and use open arm position around men they do like. Crossed arms for a woman can also signal that she's closed in and wants to be let out.
head tilted to one side
head/hair toss
shoulder shrug
stand up straighter, more alert
pull in stomach
skin blush or pale
change in body smell
draw attention to lips (i.e. wet with tongue, pout)
touch own body
stroke or push hair away from face
adjust clothing
hand on hip to expose wrist and/or palm
increased heart rate
hug/snuggle/nuzzle
nose rub
playful bite
tongue touches lip
kiss
bat eyelids
flirting glance
narrowed eyes
deliberate eye contact/holding gaze
eyes roam over other person's face, linger on throat, breasts/chest, body in deliberate signal of interest
dilated pupils
caress with fingertips or lips
tickle
hold hands
stroke other person's palm with thumb
lingering touch
extend or reach out with arms/hands
man - place open hand at the small of woman's back while walking = you're mine/I'm in command
female: sway hips when walking\male: saunter
thigh contact
facial flush
gaze down coyly
sigh
smile
breathiness
husky voice
throaty voice
giggle
flattering comments

Lying/Deceptive
gazing down/lack of eye contact
sweaty palms/head/neck/armpits
raising upward on/lifting toes
scratching/rubbing/pinching/holding parts of body
dilated pupils
rapid eye blink
pretending excitement to convince
lips pressed together
darting tongue
clear throat
false smile
reticence/withdrawal from contact
shoulder shrug
touching forehead/jaw with hand
facial flushing, especially around eyes
deliberate control of body energy = fewer movements, stiffness of demeanor
wheedling tone of voice

Sad/Depressed/Grief/Pain
tears standing in eyes/crying/sobbing
narrowed eyes
closed eyes
tightening of the throat
inability to speak
repeated swallowing
quivering chin
pout
compressed/down-turned mouth or lips
chew lip
flared nostrils
wrinkled nose/ brow
forward bowing of body, turning in on oneself
arms folded across lower chest/upper abdomen
lethargy
clenched fist
stiffness of body
hand over heart
slumped posture/drooping shoulders
gazing downward
sigh
wavering voice
toneless voice

Surprise
brows arched upward
open mouth
parted lips
grimace
wide eyes
fixated stare
rapid eye blink
startle reflex
sudden intake of breath
drawing back of body
head jerked/thrown back
exclamation

Note about crying: women cry 5X more than men and their tears are more copious. Crying spell lasts only 1-2 minutes. Tears seem to relieve stress so, after a crying jag, there is relief.

Note about Eye Movement: Glance to the right = looking into the future and searching for words. Glance to the left = searching the past to make sure words are correct.

Exercise One

Now let's try out your ability to recognize body languge and creativity at the same time. Again find a place where people relax and sit for a while, maybe a cafeteria or a park or bus stop. Now watch those people and the way they move. What do you think it means? What does it mean according to the chart? When you finish analyzing that, find another person, or the same one, and create a life for them in your mind. Ask them who they are, what they do, how old they are, and where they're going. It can be fictional or real. If you want to make it fun, introduce yourself and ask them a few of the questions you hypothesized about in your mind moments ago.

Back To The Lecture

Colors

You ever try to think of a color other than blue, green, or red, but can't find one that suits you? Here's a list. Sorry for the length, but most of the main colors are there somewhere.

White
Alabaster
Blanc
Bone
cloud
cream
eggshell
fog
frost
ghost
ice
ivory
milk
oyster
pearl
porcelain
smoke
snow
whey

Gray
aluminum
ash
chrome
clay
columbine
dawn
dishwater
dove
fog
gunpowder
hoary
ice
iron
jasmine
lead
limestone
mercury
platinum
quicksilver
silver
slate
smoke
steel
pewter
nickel
mouse

Yellow
banana
butter
buttercup
butterscotch
canary
chartreuse
citron
cornsilk
flame
gold
goldenrod
lamplight
lemon
mustard
nankeen
ochre
primrose
saffron
sand
straw
sulphur
sun
topaz
tumeric
coral
honey
champagne
curry
egg yolk

Orange
amber
carrot
copper
apricot
flame
ibis
jacinthe
lava
peach
persimmon
rust
salmon
sunset
tangerine

Red
burgundy
blush
merlot
apple
cardinal
cherry
cinnabar
claret
crimson
currant
brick
garnet
lava
pink
puce
raspberry
rose
ruby
russet
rust
strawberry
terracotta
titian
tomato
umber
vermillion
wine
carnelian
cerise

Green
apple
celadon
celery
chartreuse
corbeau
cucumber
eau-de-nil
emerald
fern
forest
grass
hazel
ivy
leaf
lime
mint
moss
olive
pea
pistachio
sea
viridian
sage
lichen
jade

Purple
eggplant
fuchsia
grape
heliotrope
hyacinth
lavender
lilac
magenta
maroon
mauve
orchid
plum
puce
sage
violet
wine
burgundy
amethyst

Blue
aqua
aquamarine
azure
berry
cerulean
cobalt
cornflower
cyan
delft
hyacinth
indigo
lapis
larkspur
navy
peacock
periwinkle
powder
royal
sapphire
sky
teal
turquoise
ultramarine
wedgewood
harebell

Brown
almond
amber
beige
bisque
butterscotch
bronze
chocolate
cinnamon
clay
cocoa
coffee
ecru
ginger
khaki
leather
mahogany
maple
nutmeg
oak
ochre
pinecone
rust
sand
sepia
sorrel
suede
tan
taupe
tawny
umber
walnut
wheat
whiskey
fawn
topaz
mocha
dirt
chestnut

Black
asphalt
ebony
jet
licorice
midnight
obsidian
onyx
pitch
raven
sable
shadow
soot
coal
tar
pepper

Well there you are. There are the variations for color. Two more notes before we end for today. First note: Do you ever notice how important writing is? Writing is the foundation for the world. Think about it and you'll see how much writing influences and gives direction to the way life works.

Second note: Music tends to help a lot of people get inspired for writing. For me personally, music is essential to good writing. Try Pandora.com if you need a certain mood.

~Dismissed!

~Ideas Take Thinking… Duh.~

The wastebasket is a writer's best friend. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Let’s talk about ideas. Obviously before you start writing a story, you need what? An idea. So… you’re probably asking me now (no, we’re not looking for “the brain” answer here)… where do I get ideas? There are so many ways to get ideas. Let’s start the different methods I use and know of.

Word Cloud-

This is actually pretty helpful. With a word in the middle, make a web around it for thought bubbles and fill them with ideas or linking words. It will look like a snowflake or a circle with a dot in the middle. Then try to link the words together to make a story, at least one of the outer with the inner.

Headline perusal-

Basically use headlines to get ideas. Switch the words around, the meanings around, or create another scenario than what is told.

AM channel surf-

You can hear a lot from talkshows on the radio. Keep your mind open.

Besides these, ideas really come from one source- you. Manipulate them and you’ll come up with some good ones. This brings me to another certain subject that needs to be discussed. Every time you start a thread with your character here, you should ask why, question the aspect of your characters.

-Why are they doing this?
-Why did they go into that room?
-Why are they friends with this person?
-Is this relationship realistic?
-Is my setting one where the characters can realistically express themselves?

Always ask why.

Resarch
Start from what you already know, and then build from there. Research, observe, and study. You can get information anywhere, from friends, businesses, experts, internet, just don’t depend on Wikipedia. Oh please oh please, do not info dump. This is a period in your story where you simply squish all the info you learned into a short paragraph. Organize your research because if you don’t, it will be God-awful and boring. This may sound like a lot of hoopla and you may have periods where you have a lot of information you could fit in, but it would be boring. Well… good news! You’re a fictional writer. You can fake information. It’s called creative interpretation.

This was a short lesson, I know, but that’s making up for the next one, which is going to be split into two parts since it’s so long. We started discussing character today, but next lesson we’ll begin to talk about those little voices in your head with more detail.

~Dismissed!

~Character~

For this lecture, we’ll start with mostly material from a speaker I listened to at a writer’s conference. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s not as stiff as it sounds. I’m going to give you four basic rules here when it comes to writing, which I should have given from the start.

1. Nobody knows nothin’. This basically goes to say, if something I tell you doesn’t work for you, please don’t use it. These are only what works for me; this whole homeroom is centered on me and my opinions and thoughts. Do not take it to heart. It’s your style of writing you have to find.

2. Everybody knows something. This means there’s no big difference between published and unpublished, besides money. You have something to contribute, contribute it! Do not think there’s a magical aura surrounding the published people. It’s all luck of the draw.

3. Do it. An Olympic ice skater falls too. You will fail. Motivation, eh? But you will, whether you like it or not. Keep doing it. Keep trying. You’ll get better. If you don’t, you won’t. That’s as simple as it is.

4. Entertain. You don’t have to be comedic, but write something someone will want to read. If you write comedy, you should laugh. If you write tragedy, you should cry. Give them a reason to flip to the next page. Make them want to read. Don’t try to write the next American novel. Write something for the current time. Classics are good, don’t get me wrong, but if you’re not trying to be philosophical, don’t be.

There are usually five flavors of characters, why they are unforgettable.

1. Odd or unique: The characters that have a strange quirk or identity, unusual. Think Smeagol/Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Make them different.

2. Relateable: The normal man, someone you can understand and say, “Hey, that’s me!” Think for this one, Rocky Balboa. He’s the average man, someone just like us. George Bailey, from It’s A Wonderful Life, completely a normal man trying to make his way in life.

3. Heroic: Beowulf. Superheroes would fall in this category. Someone willing to sacrifice for others. Ben-Hur, Atticus from To Kill A Mockingbird, Frodo, even Forest Gump.

4. Evil: Bad characters make a good book. Do you know how many people know Y So Serious? Because of the Joker. He’s unforgettable because of his evilness and odd personality. I wouldn’t say relateable.

5. Comedic: Funny characters are great. Again, Forest Gump. Characters that are just hilarious. It doesn’t necessarily happen through one-liners, just in a funny character.

Now mix these up. This is fun. Try making an evil-funny character or a heroic evil character if you can. Find ways to dimensionalize them.

So you ask, how do I do that? Ask a few questions about your character, especially: What is my character afraid of? Then create an emotional limp. Ask another question: What is his/her/its life goal? If you let it live, that is. Ask yourself what your character wants. Then, how does the character speak? How about What does he/she/it wear? You’re trying to say something with that. Think of body position, too. If I came up to you avoiding eye contact, you could tell I might not be happy or comfortable. The details make the portrait. I happen to have detail of body language a few lessons ago.

Give your character a want. They have to want something. I know I told you they need that before, but it’s so important. Make it a BIG want. The bigger the want, the better the story. Build the suspense, make his want impossible. For example, Jaden. If I made his want… to get a drink of water. That’s a want. But is it something someone would want to read about him getting closer to that water and finally... achieving a swallow? How about… Jaden wants to save his only child from terrorists? Better? How about if he needs to hijack a plane to do so? What if the FBI surrounds the plane he hijacks? Now you see what I'm talking about.

Exercise time!

You’re walking through the park. There’s a statue. Sitting on the head of the statue is a person in a toga. Create this character. I want you to ask that character ten questions in your imagination. Don’t make them, “What color is your hair?” and don't take the wimp's way out and simply ask “Why are you sitting on the statue?” Use your imagination and poke and prod. Write down the answers your imagination gives you as the character speaks back to you.

Done!

So, what did you get? Any interesting quirks or info? I hope so. Good exercise for finding out more abut a character. Hopefully it was fun. Two tiny things to keep in mind: Keep a sense of mystery about your character. For instance, you know things about Jaden, but would you know WHY his child was kidnapped? Or by WHO? Don’t say everything. Never let the audience know. Keep the reader reading.

~Dismissed!~

Sakume, I just wanted you to know you are doing a great job on these lessons, they are helpful and informative; I can tell you put a lot of work into them. Take your time coming back, but I just wanted you to know your work here is appreciated.

Thank you, Puck. I enjoy compliments. :3

~Plot~

“Put down that cookie and write, damn it!” –Me.

Now plot, I seem to be particularly good at, according to many people whom have spoken to me about it. So if any help is needed in this area I seem to be a good candidate to offer opinions. To start off, let’s give it (plot) a few definitions.

Some people call plot the story. Story/Plot is essentially the same thing, but we’ll call it simply plot just for the sake of avoiding confusion. A simple definition for it is “A, then B, then C.” It’s the planning of the story, the purpose being to take control of your story so your readers will feel led instead of wandering with a “what’s the point of this again?” sort of feeling. If used efficiently, plot can save you from a lot of writing and can save you from plot holes, which will be explained shortly. It can also help uninspired stories move forward.

There are a few errors you can have when doing plotting. You can withhold too much information, which only frustrates the reader, or you can be too subtle. You want to let your reader in on the secrets relatively soon, at least enough information to keep them coming back for more. If you withhold too much, they’ll grow tired of trying to pry it from you.

*Helpful hint*

When you’re roleplaying, try and coax the other player along if you’re doing a plot oriented roleplay, especially a difficult/thicker one. Let them know, hopefully without blatant telling, what you want their character(s) to know/do. A good example of this is this rp Unsolved Murder: Mark’s Manor . This roleplay was built around a mystery which really depended upon one person, namely, Aiko and her character Tracey, to figure out. I can say from personal experience it was very time-consuming for me to get all the details of the murder on paper and then expect her to go through the grueling task of trying to figure them out for herself based only on the information I expected her to get from character profiles and the rp itself. She had to ask me several times over IM for hints and what she should do next, which is an example of bad, at least, overthought plotting. Especially when you expect someone else to figure out your plot line. Too little information given, too much expected.

The result of all this? Simple. As a writer, you will be forgetting to tell the story and instead have your readers drift off into disinterest while trying to muddle through it themselves.

Plot holes, because I said I’d explain them earlier, are simply faults or unexplained successes in your story. For instance, a puppy trying to cross the road. During the attempt, he makes friends with a human, but then you suddenly leave the human out and the puppy arrives safe. Good story, right? Well, at least for the puppy. What happened to the human? This is an example of a plot hole. Plot holes are more commonly found with complicated plots rather than simple. It can also come when you don’t remember what you had planned or try to make a new plot in the middle of your current one, straining to fit it in and still make sense of the old one. Try to avoid these by sticking with your original plot. I have a hard time with this, personally.

There is generally one main plot way. The hill. It looks like this.

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Surprise, surprise. You see it starts from the bottom with the incident. Then the rising action forming the climb up, the climax at the top, and finally the resolution. Plot points form changes in the story. The best use for these is the character going back to fix a mistake or hit a wall (difficulty) and try to get over it.

Plot structures are basically a mold into which your story is poured. They’re great help with stuck people. Genre specific usually. Sometimes you can get these from existing stories. For instance, many stories are formed from Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers from fighting families. Pride and Prejudice, the unlikely relationship. Borrowing from tales like these can be good, but don’t plagiarize.

It is important when roleplaying not to focus your plot around your single character. This not only seems selfish to a lot of roleplayers, but can seem tedious and make them feel unimportant, as if only there to advance your plot. I’ve had personal experience with this too. Don’t worry, sometimes you don’t even mean it and often your roleplayer friend will let you know they wish to be more included or give subtle hints. You’ll notice it most often when only interacting with a specific character or have the “roleplay with yourself” syndrome, writing paragraphs to no one in particular, only interaction between your characters.

Warning! When you roleplay with others without telling them about your plot, be prepared, unless you’re willing to godmod and possibly ask them to go back on what they did, to change and shift your plot. People don’t know what you’re planning unless you tell them and despite little pushes as you go along and expose the “gasp factor”. They might do something that changes everything, as simple as saying something or as big as killing off one of yours.

Exercise time!

For this exercise, think of a plot. It can be as simple or as complex as you like. You already know how, just give your character a difficulty they have to overcome. Everyone has problems or wants/needs. If your character doesn’t have any problems or you can’t think of a difficulty for them… I’ll put it bluntly. They probably aren’t a good character.

Done!

Okay. So there we have some brief spouting about plot. Hopefully you will be able to improve on your plot building ability after this lesson. Double lesson! I know I know, I said story is essentially the same as plot, but we’ll be covering the types of stories here.

~Story~

What is a story? Let’s see. Well, if you want to be specific it’s an account of imaginary or true events told for entertainment. Not straight narrative or listing of events. It is plot dependant. It makes the reader wait and hope for the outcome. It should be planned and is ending dependant.

Now for the story types.

1- Story of resolution.

This story has a believable character, an urgent and difficult problem, it attempts to resolve and fail, a crisis and last chance to win, and finally a successful resolution brought by character’s ability to resolve. The main character will win in this type of story.

2- Story of revelation.

The story is meant to misdirect/instruct. It is only there for the ultimate ending, and trick endings are usually inserted to mislead the ending.

3- Story of Decision.

This story has divided interests. It keeps the reader on edge, keeps the ending in doubt, and sacrifice is sometimes the only way to end.

4- Story of Explanation

Central to mysteries, the ending explains everything, and it can have a trick ending. The story ends every time with complete understanding.

5- Story of Solution

Most mysteries are also this. Mystery explained by events, novelty is key for puzzles, sometimes inevitable disaster looms, either solved, or averted in the end.

Just for kicks, here are some common faults to be found while writing stories as well as the treatments for them.

Symptom: Wandering plot
Diagnosis: Writing without direction
Treatment: Give character more motivation

Symptom: Confusing story; too many characters, too much happening
Diagnosis: Author decides whose story being told
Treatment: Reduce character load or plot points

Symptom: Story feels pointless
Diagnosis: Overplotted, forgetting about character
Treatment: Go back to character building

Symptom: Disappointing ending
Diagnosis: Author failed to misdirect or plan
Treatment: Return to opening or replot

Beginning Your Story

Stories begin with ideas, careful planning and trial and error. You will use a lot of paper, a lot of lead, and a lot of eraser. Keys to the beginning: Always assume there is a reader. Answer questions. Questions are a lovely place to start. Try these:

Who is the story about? What are they doing and why? What is the story about? Where does the story take place, when does it take place?

Draw the reader into your opening sequence. Main events should happen soon. Main characters introduced soon. Problems should be explained easily. Good openings will make it impossible to stop reading. It will establish the basis for the rest of the story. (This is what I’m working on in my own attempt at a novel, to get people psyched to read it and want to continue reading.) Okay. That’s enough of me rattling on. Next lesson we’ll discuss both POV or, point of view, and conflict.

~Dismissed!~

ilu <33


This has helped me once or twice. In fact, I think I'll use it right now.

~POV~

POV is actually quite a simple lesson. Sort of goes without saying you need a point of view in your story.

There are 3 concepts to understand in POV and they all start with simple questions.

1. Who is telling story?
2. Where is the camera of imagination?
3. What is the method of how the writer gives information?

Did you know there are over 10,000 points of view? That’s a lot of points. The following are a few things that the narrator generally needs to pay attention to, things that make up the POV.

Person- 1st, Narrator “I”

This is the kind of story that goes as if you are looking through the person’s shoes. Ex: I walked up to her. She looked at me and I didn’t know how to respond. I opened my mouth, and there it happened.

2nd, “You”

This is a unique person because it tells you what you do. It’s used heavily in the Choose your own adventure series or Goosebumps, if you know either of those. Ex: You walk up to her. She looks at you and you don’t know how to respond. You open your mouth, and there it happens. (Notice I used present tense instead of past. Past can be used, but it’s very awkward since you’d be looking at yourself in the past. Remember this is a big difference between tense and person.)

3rd, “He she it they”

This one is possibly the easiest for writers to understand since they’ll most likely use it the most often. This has you looking at the character and the environment around it/her/she all the time. You are in this case pretty all knowing, but that has to do with the level of omniscience which we’ll get to soon. Ex: He walked up to her. She looked at him and he didn’t know how to respond. He opened his mouth, and there it happened.

Again, third person is the person usually used when writing a story and is the best place to start if you’re new or confused about person.

Tense- Past, present, future. Most stories again are written in past or present, depending on the style. Im roleplaying is generally done in either a traditional format, which is past tense and written as a story, or present tense script format.

Example of traditional or 3rd person/past format: Jaden walked up to her and put an arm on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Example of Script or present person format: Jaden: *Walks up to her and puts an arm on her shoulder* Hey, it’s okay.

Notice how the script saves a lot of writing, which is generally a good thing in IM roleplaying since people usually don’t’ want to get into great detail unless writing a post.

Level of omniscience- This is pretty important to know when roleplaying. Let’s discuss it further for a moment.

Omniscient: God- Narrator knows everything. When you are writing, you are God. You have power over everything and anything. *Warning!* When you are roleplaying and you feel you have enough power to take over another person’s character, this is called godmoding. Not a good thing at all . I emphasize this because people hate that, especially when unexpected. Their character is theirs and your character is yours. Try to keep it that way. This is not the same as giving their character a small push by using yours to suggest something or implicate that their character should take an action/say something.

For instance, say I wanted the other person (whose character is Katherine) to pull a switch. Do NOT write it out like this.

Jaden turned to her, panic filling his eyes. “Pull the switch!” Katherine ran up to the control panel and pulled the switch as she was told.

This is full-on control. Yes, pulling a switch is a small thing and you may say, “So what? I’m not making a big difference.” Actions are generally not a big deal to most people for you to godmod their character into doing. The big no-nos come with emotions and thoughts. Please keep in mind that there are exceptions to this if you feel you know the other roleplayer’s character enough to know what they would think/how they react and the person gives permission. However, let’s try to imply what you want the character to do…

Jaden turned to her, panic filling his eyes. “Pull the switch!” He could hear feet running in the direction of the control panel, but couldn’t tell whose they were. Was she going to pull it like he asked?

See how easy that is? Much more acceptable and also leaves the audience with a cliffhanger. Decisions made by the opposite party usually make good cliffhangers.

Very highly informed: Narrator has few limitations, knows most things, more informal.

Limited or informal: Narrator knows POV character, but nothing else. This is generally the way you will be roleplaying, that you only know your own character. In a book this can easily be different but usually you will still get to know the main character much better than any other.

Deep internal: Only what POV thinks or feels. Not what they will do. This is a surprise sort of omniscience since you never know what action the POV will take.

Reliability is fun to consider- Can you believe what the narrator is saying? Do they always tell the truth? Questionable? Or are they liars or self-deceived?

Formality is important to consider when roleplaying because it determines many times the sort of crowd you will accumulate as readers.- Stiff, loose, everything in-between. Narrative tone, really. Stiff writing would constitute of mostly truckloads of adjectives, metaphors and similes galore, very drawn-out writing style.

Reader identification- How do you want the reader to identify your story? How WILL they identify? Who do you want them to identify with? Do you even want them to identify with your character, or do you not give a crap and you just want to roleplay? Pretty important to consider.

Helpful hint: Stick with your point of view. Switching only confuses people. If you have a page break, remind the reader about the point of view. Try not to switch points of view with different characters as it can be confusing, but if you really want to do it, make sure you’re experienced enough to make it flow.

~Conflict~

There are lots of types of conflict. Conflict makes a story. Here are a few types.

Man vs Self- Butterfly Effect, The Secret Window
Man vs Man. –Fighting in general, Rocky, Cinderella Man.
Man vs Society. –I can’t think of an example, but it’s one of the stories where everyone thinks you’re wrong but you stand up for what you believe in anyway.
Man vs Nature/Environment. – Hatchet, Castaway, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson.
Man vs Supernatural – Fellowship of the Ring, Signs, War of the Worlds.
Man vs Machine/Technology- Terminator.

You have to make it hard on your character when you develop conflict. Give them a hard choice. “Daughter or wife, who will die?” Something like that. Always have a catch. Begin with a question. Then answer it later, only to ask another question. This makes story. Layer the conflict from universal, everyone understanding it, to deep, beyond reader expectation.

*Helpful hints to keep in mind*

*Never tell. Show.
*Numbers from 1-100 in text are written out. All numbers in dialogue are written out.
*Names should stay out of dialogue, unless the characters have just met.
*Beware of floating body parts. “Her arms wrapped around”… use pronouns, or name. “She wrapped her arms around.”
*Thought does not need to say who you think to. For instance. “Thought to herself or to himself” Unnecessary. Who else do you think to?
*Thoughts are always in italics.
*Sometimes you see “Straight through the front door”. Impossible.
*Words to cut from your writing include: down, just, up, back, began, over, out, that, obviously, had, in, all, also. From dialogue: Now, then, finally.

Exercise time!

I want you to take your weaknesses of your character, or If you don’t have one, make one up and put them in a conflict situation with that weakness. Remember, make it big. Then, once you have it, write it out in all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. :3

Done!


~Dismissed!~

Endings

Never-ending storrrryyyy! Ahahahahahahahahhaaaaaa… Sorry, got the song stuck in my head. How do you know your story is over? Well, there are several types of endings, you pick one, feel your story slow, and end it at a precise time.

Surprise Ending:

Ending reveals the secret of the whole story. For example: It was all a dream, the character is dead (Sixth Sense), We were always on earth (Planet of the Apes).

Wrap Up Ending:

Typical mystery ending, problem has been solved, nothing is left in doubt, murder is in jail or heading there soon. This is the general ending of most stories that pleases the reader who feels that justice must be served.

Warning Ending:

“What if” crisis avoided, but only for a little while… the End? Dun dun dunnn! War of the Worlds ends like this.

The Finally Ending:

The bomb is diffused, the goal has finally been achieved, most romantic novels have this ending.

The Anti Ending:

We’re back where we started. No lessons were learned, but ride was fun. The Villain won, but main character learned something.

Dialogue

What is dialogue? Well, talking. It’s the best way to reveal character. Remember when you use punctuation, periods, commas, and question marks go inside quotation marks. Punctuation pertaining to the sentence itself goes outside quotation marks. Dialogue tags that break the line of dialogue should be set off with commas. Example: “Right here,” he said, “is where he died.”

Interior monologue or dialogue uses italics. Dialogue should sound like real speech. Most of the time He said or she said is good enough. You don’t have to be fancy. A good idea to get dialogue is simply from listening to others around you speak.

Setting

This kinda goes along with Dialogue. It’s the where/when frame of reference. Make sure you give a full surrounding of senses, sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Keep in mind the technology you want, the costume, the language, the knowledge. Be careful not to be overdetailed, as this gets tiresome and boring, yet not underdetailed or spoonfeeding.

*Writer’s Block*

There are a few components of writer’s block. This lesson is for you, HH.

1. Work Apprehension (Don’t feel like it)
2. Procrastination (Work best at last minute)
3. Dysphoria (Too depressed to write)
4. Impatience (Writing to show)
5. Perfectionism (Gotta be perfect)
6. Evaluation Anxiety (What will other people think?)
7. Rule resistance (May be creative)

What are the symptoms of writer’s block? How do you know you have it?
Blank screen/mind/stare. Immovable fingers. Writing to a blind alley. (In other words, you don’t know what you’re writing/what will happen to the character) Ender’s block, outline block, revisor’s block, criticism block, emotional block, as you can see there are a lot of different types of blocks, so saying writer’s block really doesn’t narrow it down. We’ve discussed briefly in an earlier lesson how to get rid of writer’s block, but since that was a while ago, I’ll list a few suggestions here.

1. Music. Music helps you be inspired a lot more than you think. Try listening to a new song or Pandora.com.
2. Sit down and type/write. Don’t really think about what you’re doing or try to form a plot, just write anything. It will help you break out.
3. Take a walk and a rest. Sometimes you need it more than you think. It helps relax your mind.

~Dismissed!~

I'd like to sticky this as a guide in the Characters and Resource forum. It's a very useful thread. :3 Would you agree to have this thread a sticky?

Sure, if you want to.

~Archetypes~

What is an archetype? A recurring relationship in your story. It helps create story through character. There are several roles. We’ll discuss them here each briefly. It’s best to decide what fits your character as it will help you play them. Although most characters generally fit into one of these categories, it is possible your character can be a mix of one or more. I still suggest you get a general idea of which your character fits into as it will help you decide where to move with them story-wise.

*Hero- I need a hero! Not always the main character, but typically he or she is. Willing to sacrifice themselves, time, freedom, or even life in some of the more dramatic times. Psychological function: Represents the search for identity. Search for answers.
Audience identification: Who you cry about if they’re about to be killed. They show growth or learning.
Action: Character acts at most important time. Sacrifice theme again. They’ll probably give up something big. If not life, maybe their dream, or love-life, something like that.

There are a few types of heros. Willing, like the gungho let’s go type, Unwilling, the forced to move like Patriot or Braveheart, Anti-hero, the criminal or outlaw, Group-oriented, who is part of a society, Loner or outsider hero, and Catalyst hero, who promotes change in others.

*Mentor- Wise old man/woman. They teach and protect heroes, are gift-givers, and usually show up early in a story. Obi-wan would be good here.
Psychological function: Guide hero on journey. There to teach him the way of the force, which path to take, who to trust and how to fight or act. Most often in stereotypes these are the old man or woman (often related to) the hero child who's parents are killed and the child grows up learning from this retired swordsman or guide or whoever the mentor is.
Dramatic function: Teaching. They are the conscience or the healer for the main hero. Pretty much save his/her butt on the journey.

*Threshold Guardian- The watcher/the guard. A force to overcome, outwit, bypassed and sometimes turned into allies. Often one of the people the main hero might defeat in battle when the person decides to join their journey as their friend. (My first thought here, don't think me weird, is the movie Big Fish, the giant, I forget his name, joins the main character after he's defeated. I suppose a more well-known example would be Princess Bride. Both Fezik and Indigo Montoya join Wesley after he defeats them both in battle. I assume I spelled them right, but if I didn't, you still hopefully know who I'm talking about there. If not, go see the movie, it's very good).
Psychological function: Ordinary obstacle in life, block off progress.
Dramatic function: Testing, pass test, shows character’s true nature.
Obstacles: Must be realistic and passable, must not be major struggle, but feel like one. This person or thing can use a gift, butusually not to full potential. Make guardian an ally possibly, maybe they learn to use it better with the help of the main hero?

*Herald Issues- Basically, this is the guy that shows up and says, "Hey, you, get your butt on this adventure, man! The reader is waiting for some action!" Think the wounded soldier who comes to the hero for help, the archangel sent to deliver a message, anything that starts the hero on their journey and out the door.
Psychological: Call for change.
Dramatic: Give motivation, alert hero change is coming, not a large part, but large role, show up early in story. Types: Letter, emissary. Darth Vader- his appearance announces something wrong. Note here that the herald is not always a bad guy. Mentor can also be the herald.

*Shapeshifter- Shifty and unstable character, typically opposite of hero. Fickle, two-faced, love interest; start as friend, become friend, jilted or jealous lover. Change mood often, change appearance, difficult to in down and figure out. Mislead the hero or keep them guessing. Can begin as a friend, change to an enemy or become an ally. Typically the backstabber or visa versa, the bad guy that ends up being the good guy. These are fun to have, especially if the writer is able to write them in so the reader can't tell until it's revealed. It's a good test of whether you can hide a character's personal intent well.
Psychological: Show two sides to every character. Ability to see the other side. Symbol of change.
Dramatic function: Brings doubt/suspense, helps audience consider motives.
Signs of: Character changes outfit.

This lesson was quite short, but it is nice to know about stuff like this and important, so I suggest you use it for your character guidelines.

~Dismissed!~