Author Archives: Melanie Anne Phillips

Character Interests (Likes and Dislikes)

“Snakes… Why did it have to be snakes….???”

What a character likes and dislikes takes the curse of its larger than life stature. Whether you are writing a novel, play, screenplay, or teleplay, your characters loom in the hearts and minds of the audience. No one can relate to a loom. To humanize your characters and bring them down to size, give them feelings rather than just points of view.

You work in an office. Everyone does their job. The place runs like clockwork. Who ARE these people?! Until you know if they love football but hate sushi, you don’t really know them all. Who CARES what their purposes are; what do they take in their coffee, or tea, or do they not touch either but guzzle cola and pistachios.

Red. Does it do anything for them? What about wall paper patterns with thousands of little ducks? The things your characters like and don’t like set them apart from the crowd. And letting yourself go a little bit off the wall can bring forth attractions and repulsions that can suggest settings for a whole scene, sequence, or even the whole story itself.

Work yourself into the words. If you have pet likes and dislikes, this is the place to spout off about them. Assign them to your characters and you can get back at all those hated things, and express all those yearnings for the loved ones.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Character Skills and Occupations

Nothing can flatten a character faster than to give it only the skills it needs to get through the story. There are plumbers who play piano and scientists who hold seances. Football players knit, and actors paint. A character with talents other than those central to the plot is a more interesting character.

But there is a huge difference between Vocation and Avocation. The work a character does for a living (or for charity, for the church, for the heck of it): this is an occupation too. An occupation, after all, is simply what keeps your character occupied.

Think about all each character does; all it might do that isn’t central to the story. Then load it up with any reasonable number of skills and occupations that can shed light on its makeup and depth on its nature.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Character Affiliations and Beliefs

Characters do not live by structure alone. Background information and personal attributes are needed to turn these avatars of dramatic purpose into living, breathing, human beings (or whatever).

For example:

Mark Twain once said, “I could never join a club that would have the likes of me as a member.” To what kind of clubs does this character belong? What is its faith, creed, or manifesto? Is it a card-carrying member of…, a supporter of…, the founder of…? And just because it is a member, associate, or sympathizer doesn’t mean it believes any of it. One may be judged by one’s friends, and where there’s smoke there’s fire, but also where there’s smoke there’s smoke, and you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Try to separate your characters’ affiliations from their beliefs. They may go hand in hand, or they may be quite divergent, born of convenience, necessity, family ties, or any of the other oddities that make for strange bedfellows.

No character is an island. What you work out here will create bridges to other individuals.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

A Character’s Physical Traits

Characters do not live by structure alone. Background information and personal attributes are needed to turn these avatars of dramatic purpose into living, breathing, human beings (or whatever). 

In addition, the physical qualities of your characters will have a tremendous impact on how your reader/audience receives them.

How does each character move, what does it do with its hands? Does it have a nervous tick? A lisp? A permanent grin? And what about its stature, its weight, the color of its hair (if any). Is it pretty, handsome, pretty handsome? All of these can apply to men or women equally well but with different effect.

Take a moment for each character and picture it in your mind. Write down all you see. Then put it in motion and see how it glides, stumbles, slumps, or bolts. Note its motions and note them well. What you work out here can turn a paper person into cool character.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Writing a Character Description

Your character description should be a thumbnail sketch of its personality and physical traits.

Note:

There are some mental and physical traits that are part of the dramatic structure of a story and others that are merely added to enhance audience interest. This is not a function of the trait itself, but of how it is employed.

For example, if a character speaks with an accent, it might just be an attribute from where he or she was born, or it might be an affectation of pretense. A character might simply have a big nose, or he might be Cyrano de Bergerac, in which case the size of his proboscis has a major function in the plot, triggering and driving forward key events.

Examples:

In Star Wars (Luke): A whiny farm boy, athletic, somewhat attractive, who dreams of excitement and glory. Now if he can only get out of his familial responsibilities and join the Rebellion.

In The Glass Menagerie (Laura): “A childhood illness has left (Laura) crippled, one leg slightly shorter than the other, and held in a brace….Stemming from this, Laura’s separation (from reality) increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection; too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf.”

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Examples of Stories Concerned with Understanding

STORIES that have an Objective Story Concern of Understanding:

A Doll’s House: Nora makes certain that Mrs. Linde understands she is not a superficial creature, but a strong woman who used her intelligence and wit to save her husband’s life; Krogstad is concerned that Mrs. Linde understand the desperate lengths he had to go to in the past; Dr. Rank informs Nora when he sends one of his cards with a black cross upon it, she is to understand the process of death has begun for him; Torvald cannot understand what he considers is Nora’s betrayal; and so forth.

Candida: Marchbanks is concerned with Candida appreciating him, and knowing he understands her; he cannot understand how the object of his desire can love a windbag like Morell; Marchbanks understands Proserpine is in love with Morell:

“Marchbanks: Ah! I understand now.

Proserpine (reddening): What do you understand?

Marchbanks: Your secret. Tell me: is it really and truly possible for a woman to love him?” (Shaw, 1895, p. 518). Candida laughingly tells Morell that Marchbanks “understands you; he understands me; he understands Prossy; and you, darling, you understand nothing” (Shaw, 1895, p. 530).

I Love Lucy: Lucy must grasp the fact she is pregnant; Fred and Ethel understand they will be the godparents; Lucy tries to make Ricky understand he is a father; Ricky understands managing a club is problematic; and so forth.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Everyone is concerned with understanding the meaning of the spatial anomaly as well as Picard’s time-shifting. The past Enterprise crew is also concerned with understanding their new captain’s erratic orders.

The Sun Also Rises: An example of how the objective characters are concerned with “understanding” is illustrated in the minor character of the count: “I have been around a very great deal. . . . I have seen a lot, too. I have been in seven wars and four revolutions . . . it is because I have lived very much that now I can enjoy everything so well . . . . That is the secret. You must get to know the values” (59-60). Brett asks: “Doesn’t anything ever happen to your values?” The count replies: “No, not anymore” (61). Another example is illustrated by the character of Mike Campbell. He chooses not to learn about finances, because he understands what he can get away with by not doing so. He appreciates that his allowance will continue to come through, and that there will always be an “easy touch” wherever he goes. There is also a strong implication that he knows Brett will eventually be back: “She never has any money. . . .She gave it all to me when she left” (230).

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Ideas for Stories Concerned with Understanding

Understanding as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with understanding something.

For example, the meaning of life, the social behavior of a wild species, the evolution of a disease, an ancient hieroglyphic language.

Exploring the process of finding meaning of something will illustrate Understanding as an Objective Story Concern.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Example of a Story Concerned with the Present

STORIES that have an Objective Story Concern of The Present:

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Everyone is concerned with the Christmas season: The school children’s Christmas pageant; Christmas shopping; Christmas trees; Santa; and, most of all, Christmas presents. As Marge remarks in the Simpsons’ Christmas card, “The magic of the season has touched us all.”

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Ideas for Stories Concerned with the Present

The Present as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with the The Present; with the way things stand as of now.

For example, a kingdom is ruled by a boy king with no experience; a group of people locked inside an elevator; army generals fighting a war with heavy casualties take honest account of how their troops are outnumbered; a team of reporters caught in a foreign country that has just turned hostile to the U.S., etc.

Exploring the characters’ present status will illustrate it as an Objective Story Concern.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

Examples of Stories Concerned with “The Future”

STORIES that have an Objective Story Concern of The Future:

Boyz N The Hood: During his gentrification speech in Compton, Furious points out to Tre, Rick, and the others they must start thinking about their future; as parents, Furious and Reva are concerned for their son’s future; Brandi is concerned with her future college education; Rick is concerned about his future in college and football; Tre is concerned with his future in college and a future with Brandi; Brenda Baker is concerned for her son Rick’s future, and believes her son Doughboy’s future is hopeless.

Braveheart: Longshanks is concerned that if the French see that England cannot subjugate the entire island, there will be very little future for English interests and influence on the continent. William and his men are concerned that the Scots and their culture will have no future if they are ruled by England. The Scottish lords are concerned that if they support Wallace, Longshanks will take away all they have–even their very lives.

Charlotte’s Web: The doctor is able to reassure Mrs. Arable about Fern’s future; Wilbur does not want to die, “‘I want to stay alive, right here in my comfortable manure pile with all my friends'” (White, 1952, p. 51).

The old sheep points out to Templeton why he should be concerned about Wilbur, and consequently his own future:

“Wilbur’s leftover food is your chief source of supply, Templeton. You know that. Wilbur’s food is your food; therefore Wilbur’s destiny and your destiny are closely linked. If Wilbur is killed and his trough stands empty day after day, you’ll grow so thin we can look right through your stomach and see objects on the other side.” (White, 1952, p. 90-91)

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble is concerned with his future (or lack of it) if he cannot clear his name. Dr. Nichols is concerned with his future as a board member of the large pharmaceutical company. The police are concerned with the future safety of the public if the fugitive(s) remain at large. The large pharmaceutical company’s future will be greatly impacted by the success of its new product, RDU90.

The Glass Menagerie: The security of Laura’s future seems to be directly tied to the future well being of the family. SCENE ONE: Amanda is preoccupied with Laura’s future and Laura’s inability to take of herself — (Amanda to Laura) “Stay fresh and pretty! — It’s almost time for our gentlemen caller to start arriving.” Followed closely by AMANDA: “…Mother’s afraid I’m going to be an old maid.” When Amanda finds out Laura has stopped going to business school, she says to Laura, “So what are we going to do the rest of our lives? Stay home and watch the parades go by?….Is that the future that we’ve mapped out for ourselves?” SCENE TWO: AMANDA: “What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future?” Scene Four has Amanda asking Tom to look for a gentleman caller for Laura at his work; Scene Five has Tom inviting Jim to dinner; and Scenes Six and Seven the gentleman caller comes to dinner and makes a “call” on Laura.

The Graduate: The future can be summed up in one word. Plastics. Everyone has high hopes for Ben’s future. He clearly has a great future ahead of him, possibly as a partner in Dad’s firm, maybe even marrying Elaine. The future looks so bright. . . Which is why everyone is concerned that Ben appears to be wasting all of his time doing “God knows what,” instead of taking the bull by the horns and setting goals. Elaine is also concerned with her future, graduating from college, marriage (to Ben or Carl), her relationship with her parents if she continues to see Ben, etc.

Pride and Prejudice: The objective characters are concerned with their marriage prospects. This concern is illustrated by the Lucas family, after Mr. Collins asks for Charlotte’s hand:

Mr. Collins’ present circumstances [as heir to the Bennet estate] made it a most eligible match for their daughter . . . his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair. Lady Lucas began directly to calculate with more interest than the matter had ever excited before how many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live . . . .The younger girls formed hopes of coming out a year or two sooner than they might otherwise have done; and the boys were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid. (Austen 105-106)

Revenge of the Nerds: The purpose of the characters’ actions lie in trying to obtain a future state, from heading up the Greek Council, to graduating from college.

Sula: The black community of the Bottom wants a better future for itself, one way they think this can be attained is by sharing in the work of the New River Road; Helene, under the supervision of her grandmother, marries Wiley Wright and moves to Medallion to avoid a future of living with the stigma of her mother’s prostitution; Eva Peace is desperate enough to stick her leg in front of an oncoming train to collect insurance money that will provide for her family’s future.

The Verdict: The relatives want a settlement to secure the comatose woman’s care and for their own future financial security; the doctor’s are concerned with their future careers — or lack of– if they are found negligent; the church is concerned with the future of the hospital and its reputation; the attorney’s on both sides share each of their respective clients concerns for the future; the judge is concerned with being re-elected.

Washington Square: Catherine is concerned with a future as Morris’ wife; Dr. Sloper is concerned with Catherine marrying the right man; Morris is concerned with his financial future; Aunt Penniman is concerned with staying in Doctor Sloper’s good graces so that she may not be turned out in the future; and so forth.

Witness: The Amish are concerned with getting Rachel another husband within one year of her husband’s death; The Amish elders are worried about the resulting disruption if Book dies on them; Rachel fears for Samuel’s safety if Book is tracked down; Schaeffer and his men know their lives are over if Samuel lives to testify against them; Daniel wants a future married to Rachel; Book’s out to bring Schaeffer down.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software