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Tag: Characterization

December 2, 2015

How Much Characterization Can You Get Out Of 1 Word?

Having a character use this word is instant characterization. Off the top of my head, I can picture 3 entertaining uses: The Attempt To Be PC – Maybe it’s the Latin, but I picture a young, inexperienced person who was raised in the upper echelons. I imagine that he/she is put on the spot in some fancy cocktail party and after stumbling for a polite term, reverts to...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Humor & Wordplay/Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0
December 1, 2015

Characterization Through Dialogue

If you’re having trouble with characterization, you might want to check the dialogue. Even though real people don’t talk like book characters, dialogue is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to communicate what a character is like and where a character is from without going into a lot of detail. And the most important part of using dialogue for characterization...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 3
October 22, 2015

A Litmus Test for Characterization: Tom Hiddleston’s Fan Letter to Joss Whedon

Has anyone seen the fan letter to Joss Whedon from Tom Hiddleston about the script of The Avengers? To summarize, Hiddleston gushes a bit and thanks Whedon for writing him a character who has so many layers (“Tom Hiddleston’s fan letter to Joss Whedon is the most adorable thing ever”). Anyone who has spent time with actors will find this...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Theatre & Film Comments: 0
October 21, 2015

10 Puns From Films: From Serious To Silly

            EM: Hello, I’m Em T. Wytte, and I love puns.             ALL: Hi, Em. Puns don’t get the best rap nowadays (personally, I blame groaners for this); however, for all that it isn’t “cool” to like puns, they are everywhere. They’re in movies, they’re on tv, they’re in advertisements, they’re in memes, and they’re in books. They’re a huge...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Humor & Wordplay/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Theatre & Film Comment: 1
October 13, 2015

Personality Tests: An Exercise in Characterization

Want to test how well you know your character? Russ’s comment on Deathwalker 3.6 made me think of a great characterization exercise: Take a personality test from your character’s perspective. Answer the questions the way your character would and see whether the results agree with how you think of your character (or at least, if they agree as much as you...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Creative Process/General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 0
September 23, 2015

Don’t Forget the Everyday

When you’re focused on the big picture of the plot, it’s easy to forget that the character has a normal life that’s been put aside for this adventure – little things that have to happen every day for life to go on. When the author ignores everyday life completely, however, the story gets a bit surreal and less believable. I...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Creative Process/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 0
September 13, 2015

Pulling 3D Characters out of Stereotypes

In “Show – Don’t Tell,” I mentioned that explicit characterization relies on the reader’s personal experiences to fill in the blanks: for example, saying that Grandmother Theresa was a sweet old lady doesn’t actually tell the reader much about the character. Instead, this statement is depending on the reader to associate Grandmother Theresa with any sweet old ladies that reader has met...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comment: 1
July 29, 2015

But I Love That Scene!

Sometimes you’re writing or editing, and you realize that a scene you’ve written isn’t driving the plot or helping with characterization. It’s not building the setting. It’s not even comic relief. In fact, it’s not doing much of anything except slowing the story down (One might even call it a tangent.). So take that bit out. What’s the problem? Well,...
Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comment: 1