I started a new short story yesterday and was fairly pleased with the first 300 or so words I put down. I know generally what the story's about and have a good early feel for the character. But this morning, just for fun, I decided to test the old adage "Don't say the first thing that comes to mind; say the second." In this case, we're talking about the second idea.
Actually it turned out to be the same character in a different setting rather than a completely different idea. In the first story my character is on the job working when he finds himself in an uncomfortable situation. In the second, my character is fulfilling a non-work related obligation (but his work definitely comes through clearly) when encountering the uncomfortable situation. But I found the character's fears were greatly escalated in the new setting. What I want to do is discover what's at the core of this character's fear in both settings, the thing that scares him most. And which setting/situation will best bring that out.
I also discovered that my main character is drastically different in the second situation. He's more confident (to a certain point), more self-centered, more haughty, yet more vulnerable. He's more interesting than the character in the first situation, but he's also (at least it seems that way right now) more prone to falling into stereotype. I'm not sure what it is about the different setting that's brought about this change in character, but I certainly didn't expect such drastic results. Interesting.
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A little help, please? Look over to the left at the "Now Reading" etc. section. Why does the word "The" cling to the top of the pictures and not the rest of the text? This is driving me crazy.
3 comments:
Don't say the first thing that comes to mind; say the second.
That's a great way to look at it. I think remembering that may help me as I try to extend the complications for characters and plot in my own writing. I don't know that he ever comes out and puts it so succinctly, but what you've said there is also one of the principles of Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel.
I've seen the Maass book, but haven't read it. Recommended?
Yes, but take it with a grain of salt. The advice is accurate, I think, about raising stakes and so forth, but in that its like so many other books. Where the Maass book helped me was in the exercises where he manufactured plots that would satisfy his own criteria as an agent, stopping as he went along to point out where the thing was going off the rails and what other character and story choices might improve the thing. A lot of the book is geared toward people who already have books published and are trying to "breakout." Not so useful for me there, but interesting.
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