Well, here's the latest Five Minute Friday attempt at writing for five minutes--unedited, unvarnished. Today's topic is
Story
I have a story I've been working on for a number of years. I really like the plot. I really, really like the characters. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I like them a little too much. Maybe they're all in black hats and white hats.
Who is like that?
Have I ever known anyone who was, in every single circumstance, entirely noble and good? Of course not.
So why am I writing my characters that way? Why is my hero noble and perfect and . . .
Oh.
Perfect.
So, there's part of the problem. There is no problem, no inner conflict. The exterior conflict--the plot--is just window dressing for the real story: the inner conflict of the characters. That's the part that rocks the reader, the element that resonates, haunts, inspires.
And my hero, as much as I like him, doesn't do any of those things. He could. After all, he's come through so much in his personal life, none of which was his fault. Would he not have stumbled along the way? What would he have done?
What is his story?
Sigh.
Please excuse me. There's someone I need to get to know again. Warts and all.
End Story
So, there it is. Check out other musings on "story" over with Lisa-Jo Baker's Gypsy Mama.
Story
I have a story I've been working on for a number of years. I really like the plot. I really, really like the characters. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I like them a little too much. Maybe they're all in black hats and white hats.
Who is like that?
Have I ever known anyone who was, in every single circumstance, entirely noble and good? Of course not.
So why am I writing my characters that way? Why is my hero noble and perfect and . . .
Oh.
Perfect.
So, there's part of the problem. There is no problem, no inner conflict. The exterior conflict--the plot--is just window dressing for the real story: the inner conflict of the characters. That's the part that rocks the reader, the element that resonates, haunts, inspires.
And my hero, as much as I like him, doesn't do any of those things. He could. After all, he's come through so much in his personal life, none of which was his fault. Would he not have stumbled along the way? What would he have done?
What is his story?
Sigh.
Please excuse me. There's someone I need to get to know again. Warts and all.
End Story
So, there it is. Check out other musings on "story" over with Lisa-Jo Baker's Gypsy Mama.
Ohhhh. I am intrigued. I love the way authors are so familiar with their characters.
ReplyDeleteWay to go for separating yourself enough from your writing so that you might improve your story. That's a hard thing to do! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete