tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post6998971178272189322..comments2024-02-17T17:59:25.010+10:00Comments on Christian Writers Downunder: Characters not caricatures.Jeanette O'Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-45963030534804010442013-03-02T18:24:44.907+10:002013-03-02T18:24:44.907+10:00Yep, that happens to me too. Yep, that happens to me too. Penny Reevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673959533876970193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-42160237498536329932013-03-02T18:23:59.814+10:002013-03-02T18:23:59.814+10:00I'm also finding I'm drawn to characters i...I'm also finding I'm drawn to characters in fils that show lots of depth and side stories that aren't even featured in the main storyline.<br />In my own writing my characters need to be ones I care about. If I find myself not caring about a character I'll go as far as to ditch them or the entire story they were in. So I suppose I often view it from the other way around. :) Penny Reevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673959533876970193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-5396607742222225112013-03-02T14:26:30.369+10:002013-03-02T14:26:30.369+10:00I've just discarded a book because ecven thoug...I've just discarded a book because ecven though the theme and plot should have been good, I felt removed from the characters and didn't like any of them.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-69262791061353874682013-03-02T14:24:47.002+10:002013-03-02T14:24:47.002+10:00And of course Cary Grant is in that, so that's...And of course Cary Grant is in that, so that's a plus. Rear Window is another good one.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217918666756258037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-8512738326852229452013-02-28T13:48:36.064+10:002013-02-28T13:48:36.064+10:00Great post Lee.
I think all characters have to b...Great post Lee. <br /><br />I think all characters have to be realistic enough to be a believable being, and it is up to the writer to understand the character enough not to be found negligent in their writing. <br /><br />Through painting I quickly learned that if I am going to represent anything as real publically, there will be experts that pick out assumptions my your work. For example; horse people know horses and sailors know there rigging on a boat or ship. With a character you cannot create them to have personalities you don’t understand. <br /><br />Your question: What lengths would you go to so your characters become people? My answer would be researching everything about themKayleen West - Children Author/Illustratorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18102357041523253163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-29862321086986499122013-02-28T08:00:16.213+10:002013-02-28T08:00:16.213+10:00Hi Lee
Your comment about Hanging Rock made me re...Hi Lee<br /><br />Your comment about Hanging Rock made me remember that they did release the final chapter of the book after Joan Lindsey's death, but I'd never read it. Just found it this morning on the internet:<br /><br />http://www.robertomengoni.it/uploads/9/6/4/9/9649328/secret_hanging_rock.pdf<br /><br />After reading it, I'm glad it was left out of the original book. A very strange ending. I think it was better to leave it as a mystery.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />NolaNola Passmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08425394685430146759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-63342216909688084762013-02-27T23:40:13.347+10:002013-02-27T23:40:13.347+10:00Totally agree, Rita, it's what drives a person...Totally agree, Rita, it's what drives a person to do what they do, which is interesting. Sometimes it takes the fun out of watching a movie, othertimes it's riveting just to try and work out what makes a protag tick. :)<br /><br />These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-74927956610304620392013-02-27T23:38:09.615+10:002013-02-27T23:38:09.615+10:00I love people watching. Especially at shopping cen...I love people watching. Especially at shopping centres. Isn't it great how if you ask God to help you with your character, invariably He will send you someone who has a peculiar flaw, or quirk, that you can use?<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, Catherine. These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-23098991703516621732013-02-27T23:36:19.214+10:002013-02-27T23:36:19.214+10:00Whatever happened to the girls at Hanging Rock? I ...Whatever happened to the girls at Hanging Rock? I still ponder that one, even though it's years since I saw it...and it's fiction. Like you, the characterisation stayed with me. The same goes for Anne of Green Gables. <br /><br />Flaws are so important in characters. I think one of the most endearing characters I've read was in a romance novel. The heroine kept forgetting where she placed items, and the servants kept finding them and placing them in a chest for her. :)<br /><br />These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-89512895755993756102013-02-27T23:32:45.852+10:002013-02-27T23:32:45.852+10:00Thanks, Ian, I'm glad you love the quote. It&#...Thanks, Ian, I'm glad you love the quote. It's one of my favourites. Working the craft is so important, isn't it?These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-19440514871064760682013-02-27T23:31:41.641+10:002013-02-27T23:31:41.641+10:00I think one of my favourite movies from Hitchcock,...I think one of my favourite movies from Hitchcock, Anusha, is North by Northwest. I do agree that it's very hard to stay with a movie to the end when it doesn't grab you, or the characters don't feel real. :)These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-60365301670788772122013-02-27T23:29:18.201+10:002013-02-27T23:29:18.201+10:00I still enjoyed parts of the movie, The Debt, but ...I still enjoyed parts of the movie, The Debt, but I kept thinking 'surely spies wouldn't carry on like this.' Perhaps it was being bought up on James Bond, where he enthuses charm yet doesn't overact. Not sure.<br /><br />Give me a good science fiction, or Schwarzenegger film, and I don't care how larger than life or unrealistic the guns are! <br /><br />Thanks, Meredith. These thoughts lovingly crafted by mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04466128274858068056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-87044938270174644362013-02-27T19:24:34.023+10:002013-02-27T19:24:34.023+10:00That's so true, Lee, even a cold-blooded kille...That's so true, Lee, even a cold-blooded killer will cry over his dog dying. I'm finding myself studying protagonists on screen like I never did before simply to understand what makes them tick.<br /><br />As writers we do have to work had at it because we don't have great actors to bring a script to life by their brilliant interpretation. They can capture an emotion by a look, a gesture, or a certain tone of voice. Ah well, it keeps us on our writing toes.Rita Galiehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586506137798711397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-52287900082783737032013-02-27T17:25:33.690+10:002013-02-27T17:25:33.690+10:00What lengths? Well...quite far, really. I consider...What lengths? Well...quite far, really. I consider it a necessity to study books, movies, documentaries and people if possible in order to really understand the whole character of my 'living people'.<br /><br />But I find the best source to ensure they end up 'living' and 'real' - is God. Prayer is my best research tool. For only He truly knows the heart of any man. Catherine Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03947906623825971761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-2369170964577822292013-02-27T16:56:25.774+10:002013-02-27T16:56:25.774+10:00Which Alfred Hitchcock movie was that Anusha? We&...Which Alfred Hitchcock movie was that Anusha? We're big fans of just about everything he did between 1936 and 1959. The later movies didn't have the same feel.Nola Passmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08425394685430146759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-8680234099370942212013-02-27T16:55:13.254+10:002013-02-27T16:55:13.254+10:00Great post Lee. I know what you mean about "...Great post Lee. I know what you mean about "The Debt". Parts of it were good, but at another level it just didn't work for me either. I hadn't thought about the characterisation, but that was probably it.<br /><br />Although some fictional characters can be larger than life, I think it's important to be able to identify with them at some level. I've read some Christian novels where the Christians in the story were just too perfect and the baddies were just too evil. I think it's important to include a few flaws in the heroes/heroines, but still make them likable. And for the baddies, it doesn't hurt to have some glimpse into their past and what made them the way that they are so there can be some empathy for them even if we don't like them or condone what they do. If I don't care for the characters by about p. 60 of a novel, I don't feel very motivated to finish the story. Maybe that's why I still care about Anne of Green Gables, Atticus Finch, and the girls who went missing at Hanging Rock.<br /><br />Thanks Lee.Nola Passmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08425394685430146759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-57958726074995549082013-02-27T16:27:56.444+10:002013-02-27T16:27:56.444+10:00"Stories are the ultimate escape: the fiction..."Stories are the ultimate escape: the fictional world is the one in which you really want to live”<br /><br />Love that quote, Lee. Super post. It's a great challenge for we writers to pen "living people" & not characters...<br /><br />Great reminder to keep working the craft. Thanks LeeIan Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00192687613923596829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-85236026693260988272013-02-27T16:20:53.614+10:002013-02-27T16:20:53.614+10:00Interesting post Lee. I too do like characters I c...Interesting post Lee. I too do like characters I can identify with. We watched an old Alfred Hitchcock movie recently and I didn't enjoy the first part because the characters were all rather 'seedy' individuals. But as it went on - I did like some of them and by the time it ended I had enjoyed it.<br /><br />I do agree that making characters as real as possible makes perfect sense! :)Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-4417399942973161732013-02-27T15:52:47.001+10:002013-02-27T15:52:47.001+10:00I actually really enjoyed the movie 'The Debt&...I actually really enjoyed the movie 'The Debt' with Helen Mirren. But then perhaps I don't mind my characters being just a little bit larger than life. Some interesting points to ponder.Meredith Rescehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13119649437940781847noreply@blogger.com