Ooh, A Ninja editor. - Edit 1
Before modification by Dannymac at 03/12/2012 02:47:40 PM
And I didn't even post the story itself!
My style isn't an excuse for what I have, so much as the cause. My characters don't act out of character because I don't plot them out beforehand... I figure out who they are as I follow what they see and do. It's like sketching. I know from the get go the basic functions of their character, but learn the fine details as I go. And it works. Characterization has never been a problem for me, it was always what I was told I did best in my various writing classes, by my various editors, etc.
The problem more lies with plotting. Much like a documentary film crew, I just follow them around, waiting for something to happen, and often nothing does. In those cases, I get my 300 words written and head out to something else. Other times, I find something interesting, but in the meantime I have four hours of walking around in the rain footage that needs to be edited, and I have to remind myself that just because the tone of their thoughts was fun to write doesn't make it interesting to read.
On the contrary, over the years of my writing I have found that character development done this way is far more effective than pre-scripted reactions. For instance, if I were to remove the natural fear reaction he had to the carnage, as you previously suggested, I'd be returning him to a static state. That's not a character, it's a cardboard cutout. Everyone has their breaking point. My character just found his.
Pre-scripting leads to chemistry-less characters. Like Twilight, where Edward and Bella have zero chemistry, but end up together because the Author thinks they should. I go in without the preconceptions, and so nothing like that happens. Sure, that also means that sometimes nothing happens. Those stories never leave my documents folder.
I wasn't just going to leave his fear unexplained. The reasons are out there, I just don't know them yet. He'll pursue the case, fight through the fear (an alien experience for him) and then discover why precisely he is so afraid... likely right before going insane. (It has become a Cthulhu Mythos story, after all.)
Whatever you end up doing, good luck.
Thanks! Odds are, it will just be another writing exercise for me. If, by chance, it turns out well, who knows? Plenty of venues for publishing mythos stuff. We'll see.
My style isn't an excuse for what I have, so much as the cause. My characters don't act out of character because I don't plot them out beforehand... I figure out who they are as I follow what they see and do. It's like sketching. I know from the get go the basic functions of their character, but learn the fine details as I go. And it works. Characterization has never been a problem for me, it was always what I was told I did best in my various writing classes, by my various editors, etc.
The problem more lies with plotting. Much like a documentary film crew, I just follow them around, waiting for something to happen, and often nothing does. In those cases, I get my 300 words written and head out to something else. Other times, I find something interesting, but in the meantime I have four hours of walking around in the rain footage that needs to be edited, and I have to remind myself that just because the tone of their thoughts was fun to write doesn't make it interesting to read.
Don't usually see that one much outside of Deviantart or FF.net 
If it's impossible for your characters to act out of character, that means they don't HAVE a character. This not only makes it difficult for your readers to care about a bunch of interchangeable nobodies but removes the potential for character development over the course of the story. Your story will end up being purely events-driven, severely limiting your potential for storytelling as well as your readers' emotional investment.
If it's impossible for your characters to act out of character, that means they don't HAVE a character. This not only makes it difficult for your readers to care about a bunch of interchangeable nobodies but removes the potential for character development over the course of the story. Your story will end up being purely events-driven, severely limiting your potential for storytelling as well as your readers' emotional investment.
On the contrary, over the years of my writing I have found that character development done this way is far more effective than pre-scripted reactions. For instance, if I were to remove the natural fear reaction he had to the carnage, as you previously suggested, I'd be returning him to a static state. That's not a character, it's a cardboard cutout. Everyone has their breaking point. My character just found his.
Pre-scripting leads to chemistry-less characters. Like Twilight, where Edward and Bella have zero chemistry, but end up together because the Author thinks they should. I go in without the preconceptions, and so nothing like that happens. Sure, that also means that sometimes nothing happens. Those stories never leave my documents folder.
If you really like the idea of your main character being shaken up by this particular case, why not come up with an in-character reason for it? What is it about this case that has him so upset/terrified? Maybe he doesn't even know and has to figure it out over the course of the story...and how to get over it so he can do his job. If you explore explore the why behind his actions, you could have a nice little personal story being told alongside the main events-driven story, or even influencing it. Instead of being someone who just reacts to outside events, your main character now has a stake in them, and we're rooting for him.
I wasn't just going to leave his fear unexplained. The reasons are out there, I just don't know them yet. He'll pursue the case, fight through the fear (an alien experience for him) and then discover why precisely he is so afraid... likely right before going insane. (It has become a Cthulhu Mythos story, after all.)
Whatever you end up doing, good luck.
Thanks! Odds are, it will just be another writing exercise for me. If, by chance, it turns out well, who knows? Plenty of venues for publishing mythos stuff. We'll see.