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Monthly Archive: March, 2016

March 31, 2016

Character Reactions Are the Laugh Tracks of Books

Any TV show that’s filmed live has little signs that tell the audience when to applaud. Almost all TV shows use laugh tracks so that audience members know when to laugh, and movies have soundtracks that tell the audience when they should feel happy or sad or scared. What do books have? Books have words. (duh) They have words that shape the...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 0
March 30, 2016

Eccentricities vs. Character Building: The Fine Line Between Awesome & Creepy

If you want an old character to be awesome and enjoyable, you can give the character some personality quirks (eccentricities) that make the character unique, unexpected, and hilarious (see “2 Types of Kick-ass Old Characters That People Love“). So what do you do if you want to make the old person (or any character) creepy and horrifying? Easy. Give them...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting Comments: 2
March 29, 2016

2 Types of Kick-ass Old Characters That People Love

Has anyone else noticed how much people love old characters who kick butt and/or defy social norms? They tend to become favorite characters because they’re so unexpected – they break our concept of old people. As a rule, we expect older characters to be weak, confused, and either excessively grumpy or sweet. When they say shocking things or suddenly destroy someone...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Humor & Wordplay/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 0
March 25, 2016

5 Celebrities Reading Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky

Speaking of celebrities reading poetry and other literature on youtube, a lot of people seem to like to post themselves or celebrities reading Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” Why that poem in particular? I’m not sure. Perhaps, it’s because of the acting challenge. When so many words are made up, reading with meaning and feeling can be more difficult (how do you say...
Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Poetry/Videos Comment: 1
March 24, 2016

Celebrities Give New Life to Moby Dick

However you feel about classic literature and Moby Dick in particular, seeing Plymouth University and a group of people (celebrities included) putting hours of effort into it has to make you curious (or is it just me?). In this case, celebrities from all genres (actors and actresses, writers, directors, musicians, politicians, etc.) have joined together to record an audio book of Moby Dick by...
Categories General Thoughts & Updates Comments: 0