creativestalkerrs - Tumblr blog

creativestalkerrs · 1 year

Text

american psycho: in the lens of a queer woman and the relevancy today

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s book reviews.

TW: talks of violence, homophobia, racism, mental health issue, sexism, SA, (all is to a less extreme then in the book), slight spoilers to American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.

what american psycho means in my own world view and why i think it’s relevant today: a book review.

At face value, American Psycho, written by Bret Easton Ellis, and eventually adapted into a film, directed by Mary Harron and starring a young Christian Bale, might just appear to be a serial killer slasher with barely any meaning to it, however, there is much more to go into than just that. It’s a satire on the materialistic lifestyles of the upper class and a commentary on a capitalistic society. Ideas of homophobia, misogyny (including violence against women), racism, and these types of men being awful. The conversation about both the book and the movie have been mostly of men (from what I have seen) and I wanted to give my thoughts on the story through the lens of a queer woman and how it has more impact in today's society than we might see.

American Psycho is from the perspective of a charismatic investment banker, Patrick Bateman who lives a life of wealth in Manhattan. Every day is the same for our character, watches the same television programs, goes to work, listens to his music, kills a few people, goes to lunch with the same group of people, and gets drinks at a new restaurant. The same thing, over and over again. And yes, I said killing people is in this routine, often women. Ellis paints a picture of someone who is stuck in the same routine, that no matter how handsome or wealthy you are, it often feels the same, that murder, or for Batemen at least, is the only thing that makes him feel anything, that he’ll somehow have an impact in this world for the crimes he commits, to have someone, anyone truly cares.

In the video essay created by the content creator, Moon and his video titled “American Psycho: A Warning For Men”, although it focuses on the movie but still holds true with the novel, he states that an important reason why American Psycho taps in the mind of men all around the world is that with today’s world where conveniences and pleasures are at your fingertips, men often feel bored and numb as even the things that brought them happiness no longer satisfy them. This remains true in the story as we see Patrick Bateman, who is wealthy and has modern-day pleasures, become bored and numb to these parts that the only thing to satisfy him is bloodlust. More men in today’s society deal with mental health issues, especially depression and there is no doubt about it that Patrick Bateman is a visual representation of what most men might feel because, in the conversation of mental health, men can often be ignored.

Moon goes on and states how due to this factor, men feel like they lack purpose. I found this interesting in the realm of American Psycho as Patrick Bateman has expressed how he ‘wants to fit in’ and how much people mistake him for others, that he doesn’t have a purpose, and by the crimes he has committed, whether he did them or not, it’s a cry for help but it’s mostly a cry for someone to fucking care about who he is, that someone takes notice of him.

Thus the character of, Detective Donald Kimball. The character and his connection with Bateman I found to be important. He is one of the first people to take an interest in Patrick and his potential crimes and we can see in his monolog on how Patrick feels about this, that he is willing to help Kimball with the disappearance of Paul Owen (Paul Allen in the 2000’s adaption). Despite him being cool and calm, Kimball does notice him to be nervous and Batemen states that “the air seems fake, recycled,” (page 271) This particular chapter shows how Kimball takes interest in him and because of that, we see the mask that Bateman has put on to crack.

How does this connect to the lens of a queer woman and why does it matter now? I already touched on why it’s relevant today, on how the mental health of men has increased, and how Patrick Bateman is a visual representation of how all these men might feel, despite them ignoring the commentary and the satire that Ellis has stated, they believe that the story of American Psycho is for them. It’s not. In fact, I could argue that it’s for no one but as a reference point of how men can and have been, how mental health and lack of purpose is the true enemy in all this. Not women, not LGBT people, not minorities but their own self. Within a capitalistic society, as more people have more convince in the palm of their hand, the more the mask slip.

As a queer woman, I see the treatment of both women and gay people in the novel, using slurs in casual conversation and degrading women and stripping them down to only objects. Viewing WLW relationships as a sexual fantasy solely for men's enjoyment and we see the violence of these women at the end. Now although this was set in the late 1980s, it still holds up today as the sexualization of lesbians and bi women is still an issue we see today, as a threat to women and overall LGBTQ people. This type of language in the book is a byproduct of Bateman’s colleagues and surroundings, what he talks about, and what he views, due to the fact there are no personal connections between him and the people around him, including the relationships that are supposed to be personal. The only way to connect with these people is to “fit in”.

Now, although we see in the book and even in the movie of Patrick talking about social justice, these are just words he says, as he’ll continuously use slurs, treat people, mostly homeless people like shit, sexually assault women, and of course, kill people, you often wonder why he says the things he does about social justice. Is it an act? If so is it for himself or the people around him? Especially when another scene with the same people he turns a hand and talks about how women are just to have sex with, that they don’t have personalities. It makes me, personally, question why Bateman does this.

Although I could go into every small detail and relate it back to today’s society, I won’t, as I believe that American Psycho can be such a universal story that anyone can have their own ideas on and I encourage people to read the novel and dissect their own ideas on it, how they see Ellis’ writing in their own lens. We can all agree, however, that capitalism can lead to the destruction of the mind and even a generation of not only men but the groups that are often targeted by Bateman’s crimes. That no matter how much you make, you will often feel purposeless and unnoticed in today’s society especially now that everything is becoming more and more instant.

The last thing I want to say is; don’t idolize Patrick Bateman.

A word from the author: Sorry I’ve been gone, new writing lessons and other writing content in the New Year. I have been reading a lot more and want to do mini essays like this. Hope you enjoy and I hope you have an awesome 2023!

78 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 1 year

Text

writing with adhd (a purely unscripted post)

this post is not formatted as most of my posts as i usually write all my lessons in a google doc, but here, it’s straight up unedited and on the blog. this is more of a chat between you and me and also all you adhd writers out there.

this isn’t really a lesson per-say, as more of a reason for why i haven’t posted much, as i always feel like i need a reason. i have adhd and also i am a college student so i rarely feel like i have time to sit down and write up a lesson or hell, write my own work. it’s frustrating because i love making lessons and sharing them, but sometimes my brain just freezes. luckily now that I have a long break i can post a few lessons as i have a few that i havent gotten around to post yet.

so... all my lovely learners out there, what is your biggest struggle went it comes to writing or any project you want to get done? i ask this because i feel like it’s important to talk about, if not to me, then to yourself, i’d like you to ask that question and follow it up on, what is your biggest motivator?

my struggle; my adhd and anxiety mixed with school and work

my motivator; the joy of storytelling and helping others... and because my adhd desperately needs an outlet to express all the jumble up ideas my brain makes for me.

anyways, i hope this gives some light on some things and i want to say, don’t be hard on yourself when it comes to your creativity. you’re doing just fine! xx

#adhd #anxeity #writing #screenwriting #writers block #creative writing #Writing tips #writing process #writing practice #writing prompt #song prompt #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfictions #angst #unscripted

5 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 1 year

Text

write vivid character description and personalities

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

writing good character descriptions to maximize your character, their personality and their story.

When creating strong characters that stand out, choosing traits for them not only advances your character but can help advance the overall story and plot. Your description of your character(s) is woven into the story itself.

Value of Your Characters: As we have discussed in previous lessons, values with your character are extremely important. Your character and plot are linked to each other, and thus the value as well.

When you write your story both your character and your consumer are going throw the narrative together. What are you, as the writer, teaching us about your character? You want to connect your consumer with your character despite the differences. So, look at their core traits and central human expressions and emotions. What are their envies, desires, disappointments, and loves?

Think about the emotional impact that your character can have. You want your consumer to feel for them, to have that emotional connection. They don’t need to have that connection right away, but at some point, it should connect. It’s up to you what you want to have to happen.

An overarching plot that your character goes through as well as the overarching impression you want your consumer to think about and relate to. How are we going to see everything about your character?

Think about: traits, the order you want to share these traits, and manifesting those traits into your plot.

Perspective: I won’t get too into depth about perspectives as I already did a lesson about perspectives and narratives, but what I will say is that you want to know what/whose perspective the story is in. This will give you more room to think about how you can tell your story and describe your characters. If it’s in the first person, how will the story be told if it’s in the third person?

Are we in the headspace of your characters? Do we truly know every detail about them? You must tell the story through some sort of lens.

Plot-Based Descriptions: As the story goes on both the plot and your character should move together. The two go hand in hand. If you don’t have a plot, you don’t have a character, and vice versa. You also want to make sure that your consumer feels as if they're in the story with your character.

When writing you want to weave your character descriptions into the plot as both are growing together. When you choose character traits, you want to think about how they will highlight and push your plot forward. Balance both negative and redeeming traits so your consumer will like, and care about your main character. Ask yourself, what traits do you want your consumer to know? What we learn about a character should change scene by scene.

Where is the character at the start of the story and where are they at the end? How do you get from point A to point B?

Asking yourself these types of questions can help get the ball rolling. You want to build with the character change. Balancing scenes where characters are showing off their strengths and scenes where they are showing off their weakness gives a look into their human nature. Explore scenes where they show off both and ask yourself, which one is more important to show off?

Direct and Indirect Descriptions:

Direct Characterization: The writer straight up tells the consumer about the character and doesn't really show anything or what the character is doing.

Indirect Characterization: This is where the character reveals who they are through the things they do. They show these traits through the actions they do in the story.

This can be shown by the words they say, the things do, and how your character sees the world around them.

Internal and External Traits: This is more connected to what's going on in your character's internal thoughts and how those thoughts can be expressed externally.

Internal Characteristics:

This can reveal;

Emotions

Thoughts

Goals

Dreams

What they want out of life

How they feel about things

Their emotions and mental responses to the things in their past.

How is their past haunting them?

How is their past helping them?

What are their goals in the future?

Their mood at that given moment.

Outer Characteristics:

This can show:

Appearance

How they sound

What their speech is like

The words they use

Behavior we see

Names

Their community and their stance n the world around them.

Best Practices: The best thing you can do for yourself in your writing is try and describe everything, not just what something or someone looks like or what they hear, but what they taste, talk about, touch and smell. Describing things in these terms can make your writing so much richer.

Make sure to research who your character is. Ask questions about them. Your goal is to make them feel real. Get real experiences and stories and dissect them for your character.

~Vocabulary~

Traits: a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.

Advances: move forward in a purposeful way.

Woven: include an element in (a story or pattern).

Human Expressions: of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind

Envies: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

Desires: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

Disappointments: sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

Loves: a strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person or something, as that arising from kinship or close friendship

Overarching: it affects or includes everything

Human Nature: the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.

383 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

dramatizing conflicting emotions and values

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

writing good emotions and value and writing how they can conflict with each other.

When it comes to dramatizing conflicting emotions and values, it’s all about how you manifest those emotions and values in your writing. How much emotional weight is in the values of your character(s) and how you can make your consumer invested in your characters' values?

Planning Internal Conflict: Three Questions:

What Two Values or Emotions are in Conflict?:

These are the two things that your character is choosing between, Emotions attached to the conflict. Emotions attached to that value.

Which Value is Going to Win?:

One value is going to take priority over the other. Give back and forth throughout the story. The realization of the story--the narrative.

How Does the Character Feel About This?:

There are emotions that are attached to their decisions.

Asking these types of questions can help build tension and conflict throughout your story and help you as a writer to flush out and understand these details that you might not really think about otherwise.

Expressing Emotional and Value Conflict: There is a number of ways to express value conflict with your writing, such as;

Action

Thoughts

Dialogue

Backstory

Emotions

It’s good to use all these items in your story rather than relying on just one.

Structural Ways to Show Internal Conflict: There are three primary ways to manifest your conflict throughout your narrative.

Show values conflicting in a series of scenes

Show values conflicting in a single scene

Tell the value conflict is happening through exposition--describing rather than showing

Creating Consistent, but Conflicted Characters: Not every character you write will be consistent with conflict they should act inconsistent as well. We talked about this more in our ‘Dramatizing Inner Conflict.’ lesson a few lessons ago. In that lesson, we talk about how in our everyday lives, we’re always negotiating and figuring things out in our own lives. So, we should write this in our own characters so our consumers relate to them.

Something I want to add that I didn’t touch on much in that lesson, is how we (and our characters) do this in order to get to a comfortable situation with our own values. With this, there comes inconsistency of action--like in that lesson, we want to do this in a consistent way.

How Do You Write This? To make this answer short and sweet, basically how you write this is that you want to prepare your consumer by having a consistent value conflict.

Conflict Over Several Scenes Making Each Scene Unique: When writing your scenes, you want to have your value conflicts play out during the string of scenes, this is commonly used for writers.

Keep in mind that you don’t want the same value to win over and over again, sometimes it will be an extremely tricky situation for your character. If you make your character pick one value over another, you need to justify it. In fact, justify everything you write.

As the writer, you should want to believe what you put in your story. If you don’t then your consumers won’t.

Look at it this way; you can have your main character choose one value over the other many times but they reveal new information and tried to solve the problem that was made with the first scene. Have balance as well, because sometimes your character will [want or have] to pick the other value. If you have written your character to always choose one value over the other and then suddenly pick the other, explore why they might have done that.

Conflict Over Several Scenes: I like to imagine your character trying to balance their values and play them like ping pong. You don’t want your character to be shown completely balancing everything, as this might give conflict. Although you show them doing/enjoying both things, it might not be interesting for consumers. But do show how they care for both.

To fix this and to make it more interesting and with conflict, show scenes in which your character is missing both of those items.

Scenes where your character is missing out on situation one and scenes where they are missing out on situation two. This can still be simple but as a writer, you have to dig into why they feel the way they do. This can show us how your character truly feels in both situations. You want your consumer to feel that loss or it won't feel like a true and serious loss that has happened.

What’s at Stake? Your main character can act a bit evil in the situation. Maybe their angry, upset, happy, or even confused. There will most likely be lots of emotions with the conflict and situation, figure out what all these can be.

There are several steps of emotions that you want to take your consumer throw. You want these emotions to start building up. Emotions can be inconsistent with the conflict at hand this makes things more believable. However, keep in mind that consistent things are with the struggle of values.

Eventually, your character might feel like they have made the right choice causing both your character and consumer to feel rewarded.

Conflict in One Scene: When you want to focus on the conflict in just one scene, you want to make sure you have set up other emotions beforehand.

The value conflicts are there, your main character is still choosing situation one, but they might feel like it's the ‘wrong’ choice. In fact, they might react against it.

This can lead to a powerful moment because it’s happening one after another so you can really feel the emotions because of the conflict. However, it’s important not to overuse this one.

Value Conflict via Exposition: This is where you describe what is happening. Describe how your character is feeling. Always show and not tell, especially when it comes to conflict and emotions.

Conveying values at stakes and emotions that go with the main character through your narration. Show this through headspace or the 3rd person's voice.

~Vocabulary~

Dramatizing: exaggerate the seriousness or importance of (an incident or situation).

Manifest: display or show (a quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance; demonstrate.

Attached: joined, fastened, or connected to something.

Priority: the fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important.

Realization: an act of becoming fully aware of something as a fact.

Exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

Justify: show or prove to be right or reasonable.

Balance: keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.

Struggle: engage in conflict.

Rewarded: make a gift of something to (someone) in recognition of their services, efforts, or achievements.

Headspace: a person's state of mind or mindset.

35 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Note

As a writer (or even a reader yourself) what if your favorite trope you like to see and mess around with?

Thank you for asking! Oooh there is a few that I really like writing and reading, but ENEMIES TO LOVERS IS MY SHIT! I love it when (fanfiction especially) stories have this trope and the spice to it is just amazing. I love playing around w it to in my own writing as there is so much you can do with in my eyes. I also like Friends to Lovers as that is so cute (definitely not as spicy from what I’ve seen)

#fanfiction #writing prompt #dialogue prompt #writing #screenwriting #creative writing #fanfictions #song prompt #writing practice #fanfic #asks #ask #tropes #enemies to lovers #friends to lovers #writing resources

4 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

I need more friends to talk about Swan Song by Robert McCammon with. I haven’t read much lately but I’m at the second half of it 😈

#swan song #robert mccammon #robert r mccammon

2 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Note

why do you use "consumer" when referencing the reader? i noticed this in you lesson and though it was interesting.

This is a great question! Thank you for asking! I use the term 'consumer' instead of 'reader' as it's a wider term to use because storytelling comes in different forms than just reading words on a page. As a screenwriter myself, I often think of how people view my story on a screen, and therefore, the viewer is a consumer.

6 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

I love seeing these! Especially with your different characters! It’s great to see the different variety, personalities and voices of each character and how you wrote them. Great job❤️ (I’ll try and post more character interview prompts later this week, it’s been on my to-do list for a while)

From THIS character interview prompt by @creativestalkerrs if y'all wanna try it too ;)

1. Who or what challenges you?

Ind: Everything and everyone's a challenge to a Gryffindor. [Laughs] Rakepick was quite the challenge to me, both in regards to my magical capabilities and my morality. Barnaby's family is one damn challenge for our relationship. Friendship challenges my selfishness, therefore it challenges me.

Pho: I believe I am my biggest challenge to overcome, my own anger and fears. I don't see other people as challenges.

Asp: I think people see me as a challenge so my challenge is deconstructing people's idea of me. Does it make sense? Maybe I'm not good with good first impressions, I suppose.

Ach: Grief. It challenges me in the way it never ends, you'll probably miss the people you lose forever. And ignorant people often challenge my patience.

2. What makes you feel unsafe?

Ind: Not knowing. Ignorance is bliss, but I'm always shown enough to leave me uneasy but not enough that I understand. So I suppose it's more than knowing, it's understanding. It's a very Ravenclaw thing to say, isn't it? Makes me sound like my Ma.

Pho: People who don't listen and unpredictable people. [He reflects for a second and laughs] Sounds like my siblings. They're a danger to themselves and it makes me uneasy.

Asp: Being powerless.

Ach: My feelings. Is it a paradox? Maybe. But I mean in the way my feelings make me vulnerable, both for love and anger and whatever feelings exist in between and beyond.

3. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Ind: From previous experiences, I'd like to be a house cat. As person it's redundant, it'd still be me.

Pho: I've always wanted to be a tree. I guess it's not a very thrilling life, but it's a long fulfilling experience. I'd be a Baobab!

Asp: As a very annoying crow.

Ach: I'd like to be reborn as someone less effed up. Or like a cool sea creature, like a kelpie or a shark.

4. Were you voted “most likely” for anything in your class yearbook? (I'll make this into a 'what would you be')

Ind: Most likely to go insane. Or to die young...

Pho: To be a Veela. [Chuckles] I don't know... most likely to travel the world. I hope.

Asp: Most likely to be arrested. Or or most likely to become Minister for Magic. Not hat I want to be that, I just think people would assume I would. It's either sink or swim with me.

Ach: Most likely to become a pro quidditch player. A bit boring but people don't know much about me beyond that.

5. Do you think some people in certain situations might be more valuable than others?

Ind: Again with those words. Well, if you're talking about functionality, yes. I always trust Penny to help me with potions, but I don't turn to her when regarding creatures or duelling. As for the value of life, we're equally deserving.

Pho: Maybe. But it's such a difficult thing to measure... People who can keep themselves in control are quite reliable.

Asp: Yes, sure. We're all good at different things.

Ach: Certainly.

6. If you were to enter food-eating contest what would you want the food to be?

Ind: Sweet roasted nuts, especially cashews. It's making me salivate just thinking about it.

Pho: Flaky pastries. Though I'd probably lose, my stomach gets upset very easily, but I'd have fun.

Asp: Grapes. I could eat grapes all day long. All kinds of grape, with or without seeds, doesn't matter.

Ach: Chocolate.

7. What type of journalist would you be?

Ind: Sneaky and untrusting. I would be good, but I wouldn't be ethical [Smiles].

Pho: A good one. I think I'm a good writer. But then I'm a little too trusting... I'd be a better editor than journalist.

Asp: I've considered working for the Daily Prophet, but mostly cause I wish to kick Rita Skeeter out of there. That lying b-

Ach: If I liked talking to people more... Beyond that aspect, I certainly be great, I'm not one to shy away from conflict.

8. Have you ever rescued anyone or anything?

Ind: I've rescued a cat, my dear Mocha. Oh, and my stupid older brother, Jacob.

Pho: I often rescue my best friend from some pickles. I'm too nice, borderline naive, but he's worse and he lets people use him and his good will, so I often have to step in to keep his best interest. Ha, I'm sounding like my mom.

Asp: My cousin, Indigo, several times, she's a mess. And my fellow housemates. Are you even a Slytherin if you're not willing to lie for each other? Don't answer that. And my boyfriend, don't let that big head fool you, he's got a cherry pepper there instead of a brain.

Ach: Myself. In my heart I believe I rescued Indigo from... no, no, don't write that.

9. Do you blame someone or something for the way your life is turning out?

Ind: Jacob. Just kidding... kinda. Not everything is his fault, a lot of it is R- Forget it. I guess I have a curse in my blood and that isn't anybody else's fault.

Pho: Our ends are self made.

Asp: I'm always angry at the world and almost everyone in it, but my life is mine.

Ach: Yes. With names and surnames.

10. What wild animal deserves our protection?

Ind: They don't have to deserve it being protected. Especially considering we would probably be protecting them from ourselves, amongst themselves they're in harmony and when the harmony on its own breaks so far, a new ecosystem has been created. Sorry, for the rambling, my boyfriend's a magizoologist.

Pho: Deserve is a weird word... I guess I'm biased towards birds, if I had to choose, they're important pollinators.

Asp: [Shrugs] Mosquitos certainly don't. And those freaky acromantulas.

Ach: All of them. Animals lack consciousness like humans have, they're not cruel or just, they're on instinct, what would they do to deserve protection or not? Unless you're being disgustingly utilitarian.

7 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

the first ten pages

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

notes are taken from Kevin Kawa’s Skillshare class ‘The First Ten Pages,”

writing your first ten pages of your screenplay and making them the most important pages to write.

This lesson is more about the format of screenwriting and screenplays. The first ten pages are by far the most important to your script and should have extra care put into them. The reason why the first ten pages are crucial to your script is for time.

If you send a script, agents, producers, and even casual consumers want to be hooked on your ten pages so they want to read the rest of your story. Rejection is a huge part of the film industry, so you want to pull them in.

Executives Read Because:

Marketability: Is this going to grab the attention of viewers?

Castability: Would people want to audition for this project?

Genre: What type of story is this? How can it be made?

Budget: How much would this cost to produce?

Often, executives don’t need to read the whole script to know of its for them or not. The first ten pages can make or break it.

Five Major Rules: We’ll go into detail for each rule and how you can reveal them in your first 10 pages, but the five rules include;

Establish your genre

Introduce the main character(s) and possibly other major characters

Clarify the world and the status quo

Indicate the theme or the message

Set up the dramatic situation

Establish Genre: Genre is the easiest to reveal, however, it’s also overlooked. You want a good understanding of film genre and sub-genre to help meet your consumer's expectations. There are seven major film genres that you find in film and that being;

Seven Major Genres:

Action and Adventure

Comedy

Drama

Horror

Mystery and Suspense

Romance

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Before even writing, you want to know what genre your story and or screenplay is. When you do know what genre you’ll be writing in, make sure it is stated and clear. Know the convention of the genre you choose both visually as well as the story elements.

Explore your genre and play around with it. If you love your genre, it can make everything else so much easier to write. Write what you know and love, but don’t let it limit you. Play around with it!

Introduce Your Characters: The first character you want to think about introducing in your first ten pages is your protagonist. Although they don’t have to be the very first character that we see, we should see them within those first ten pages. While doing this think about introducing characters that are severe to the story--that are also important overall.

What is an Active Protagonist?: When creating your protagonist, you want to have a goal they have in your story. They should be able to work on that very goal. However, you also want to think of obstacles for them to overcome so they can finally obtain their goal and has the opportunity to do so.

Create a protagonist that meets those key points and the story will actively unfold because of them and their action and not because something is happening to them. Make them an active part of your story instead of them standing outside of it.

You want your protagonist to be an unforgettable character.

Tips for the First Ten Pages:

When writing in your protagonist, you want your consumer to truly care about them, they hope that they obtain their goals but fear they might fall short of them.

When writing, depending on how you have written your main character, your consumer should feel empathetic or sympathetic for them. But keep in mind that not every character deserves this, at least not yet. An example of this is an anti-hero. But you still want to be a little empathetic to them and their plight while writing.

Know everything about your main character. Know internally and externally, know their wants and their needs. These details can help your consumer relate to them and their cause.

Your main character cannot exist without conflict. You need enough for them to overcome it.

Creative weakness for your character. Your consumer can fear that they might not reach their goal because of it

Even better if they might not know/are oblivious to their own weakness or identical about it.

NOTE: Weaknesses and flaws need to be evident within the first ten pages. Later on, you understand your ability to emotionally engage your consumer.

While writing your character at their weakest point, you want to poke at them. Force them to reveal things they would normally be unwilling to share. A truly good character can be able to shine.

When writing, don’t allow your main character to see the full breadth of the theme at the beginning it’ll be too easy for them.

All characters need to change and grow.

Clarify the World and the Status Quo: When you start writing the first ten pages, it needs to give the consumer a taste of the world they’re about to enter. Ask yourself what makes it special. You want to show, not tell. Include a taste of the rules of this world, even if you don’t include much of it.

Details help consumers get sucked into the world and help make them believe it's real. Show off your voice as a storyteller as well as your creativity and originality.

The first ten pages should give your consumer enough. It’s important to know where your characters fit in the world you have built and how they affect it. How the world affects them as they move towards their goals.

You want to set up your status quo in these first ten pages alongside the rules that may follow your world status quo will move along as your story progresses but your rules should never.

Ask Questions About Your World:

Where is my story set?

What time period is it?

What is the culture and demographic of the story?

You want your status quo to relate to your character(s), you want this in order for it to change and for the story to begin. Your world should be a living breathing entity.

Indicate the Theme: This is the root of your screenplay, it’s what you’re writing about and your reason. This is a launching point for your writing.

Common Themes:

Good vs. Evil

Love Conquers All

Triumph Over Adversity

Individual vs. Society

The Battle

Death is Part of Life

Revenge

Loss of Innocence

Person vs. Themselves

Person vs. Nature

This is more about how the story is told and not the actual theming behind it, but it drives the element.

3 Key Points:

Why do we want to tell this story?

Guiding factors and questions behind the theme.

Exploration of the characters is crucial to the theme.

In the script you’ll find a conflict within the character--theme and conflict are linked.

Screenwriters can show them through their characters in a number of ways.

The theme always springs from the characters' main goals.

NOTE: Each script had to be about something to tackle some great human struggle regardless of what genre it is

Set Up the Dramatic Situation: By the tenth page, your consumer should know what your story is truly about and where it will go from there. They should understand what the story's genre, world, character, and theme are.

On page ten, your main character's world should flip its head. There should be an inciting incident that unfolds (the main complication or problem) This should push your character out of the status quo.

An immediate source of conflict should make your protagonist want to take action. You want to make that transition from a want/need to a desire and soon satisfy that said desire.

NOTE: Inciting incidents should appear around the ten percent mark--around the 10th page.

Project Details: Here is some writing exercise to help you know and flush out your ten pages. Write one to three loglines before writing your ten pages, This gives a brief summary of what your screenplay is all about.

This can help with feedback and help you out with your screenplay. Loglines can help with the first ten pages when you do begin to write them. Also, make sure you give yourself feedback as well. This can help with your own project overall.

Loglines Should Get Across:

The Protagonist: use a description rather than a name, but using one is necessary.

The Goal of the Protagonist: a second act turning point, the status quo to goal.

The Antagonist or Obstacle: how are they stopping the protagonist?

Loglines should show those three pieces and they can show your theme as well.

Example: When [inciding incident] occurs a [your protatonist] must [objective] or else [the stake]

After writing your logline and understanding it, you should be able to continue writing your first ten pages.

Outlining Your Script: The biggest rule to any storytelling, but especially with screenwriting, is to never write without a plan. Depending on what kind of writer you are, have a system to help to outline as it can help the flow of your writing process.

Some writers will outline everything while some will just pinpoint the main scenes. Find a way to outline that works for you, but always plan ahead.

Make a habit of writing ideas down, whether that’s action or dialogue, even if you don’t end up using it, you might come back to it to further projects.

Using Dan Harmon’s story circle is a great way to visualize and get a general idea of what your overall story might look like.

Story Breakdown:

Act One, Sequence One: Status Quo and Inciting Incident (what we’re looking for in those ten pages)

Sequence Two: Predicament and Lock-in

Sequence Three: Obstacle and Raising the Stakes

Act Two, Sequence Four: First Culmination and the Mid-point.

Sequence Five: Subplot and Rasing Action

Sequence Six: Main Culmination and the end of Act Two

Act Three, Sequence Seven: New Tention and a Twist

Sequence Eight: The Resolution (the ending)

Five Major Plot Points:

Inciting Incident

Lock-in

First Culmination

Main Culmination

Third Act Twist

Outline either the eight sequences or just your five major plot points. Writing these things down will make the writing process so much easier.

Formatting Your Script: I don’t want to get too personal here, but I really dislike manually formatting in the screenplay format. For me, it takes away time that I can be used to actually write, however, it is important to know and understand how to format manually, especially if you don’t have a program to help with that aspect yet.

Font: Courier New

Size: 14

Songlines: Around 1.5 inches

Dialogue: 3 tabs

Names: 5 tabs

Indents Dialogue Around 5.5

Cuts/Fades Ins: On the Right Side

Programs like Final Draft are extremely helpful, but if you can’t afford Final Draft, here are some alternative screenwriting programs;

Beat (Mac IOS) - Free (I personally use this for my scripts)

Arc Studio - Free, Paid Plan (70-100 dollars a year)

Trelby (Windows) - Free

WriterDuet - Free (Only 3 Scripts), Paid Plan

Highland 2 (Mac IOS) - Free

There are other programs out there, find one that works best for you and your writing style.

Good Writing Habits: Try things out and ask yourself what works and what doesn’t. Most writers have a driving reason to write. So ask yourself; what's your reason?

The best thing you can do is learn your craft, understanding how to write things you might be unsure about. Ask questions and ask for feedback. Being a part of writers' communities can be such a helpful tool as well.

Read other people's work, and see what works and what doesn't. Get inspired by others' work and try to channel that into your own writing.

You want to try and write regularly. Set goals for yourself and get those goals done.

Giving and Receiving Feedback: Feedback should never be overlooked especially from other screenwriters. Bad takeaways are always good to give a new perspective you might have seen beforehand.

Feedback isn’t meant as a personal attack.

Not every piece of feedback is valid in your situation. Pick and choose what make scents to you and your situation--but don’t disregard it. Not everyone will completely understand your story, genre, or them, however, if you notice many people not understanding, ask yourself what can be fixed and or changed.

As a writer, you put a lot of love into your work and feedback might not feel good but it’s important to always treat your consumers and comments with respect--they are usually wanting to help you and your story.

Lastly, respond to the feedback. Have a conversation about your work so you can improve it.

~Vocabulary~

Screenwriting: the activity or process of writing screenplays.

Screenplay: the script of a movie, including acting instructions and scene directions.

Crucial: of great importance.

Agent: a person who acts on behalf of another person or group.

Audition: an interview for a particular role or job as a singer, actor, dancer, or musician, consisting of a practical demonstration of the candidate's suitability and skill.

Produce: make (something) using creative or mental skills.

Genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Status Quo: the existing state of affairs, especially regarding social or political issues.

Indicate: suggest as a desirable or necessary course of action OR point out; show.

Theme: the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.

Convention: a way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area or activity.

Obstacles: a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.

Empathetic: showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Sympathetic: (of a person) attracting the liking of others.

Plight: a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.

Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social groups.

Demographic: relating to the structure of populations.

Entity: a thing with distinct and independent existence.

Element: a part or aspect of something abstract, especially one that is essential or characteristic.

Inciting Incident: the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative.

Immediate: nearest in time, relationship, or rank.

Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

Loglines: a brief summary of a television program, film, or book that states the central conflict of the story.

Outline: a general description or plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail.

Predicament: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.

Lock-in: an arrangement according to which a person or company is obliged to deal only with a specific company.

Culmination: the highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time.

Mid-point: a point somewhere in the middle.

Communities: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

Channel: emulate or seem to be inspired by.

Valid: (of an argument or point) having a sound basis in logic or fact; reasonable or cogent.

Disregard: pay no attention to; ignore.

34 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

story perspectives and narratives

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

understanding story perspectives and narratives and applying them in your own work.

When you first plan for your story, a thought you might have is who is telling the story--whose lens are we following? It’s important to have an idea of what perspective and narrative you’ll be writing in and understand the handful of perspectives there are before completely diving into your story.

What is a Perspective?: A perspective is how the characters are viewed and how the story is processed. You can use perspective in all types of narratives and points of view to let your consumer define the attitude and personality of your narrator, and how your narrator perceives what is going on.

Perspective and narrative (POVs) are different, but they are often compared to each other and help to find the voice of your story. A perspective of your story is different from how your story is told.

What is a Point of View/Narrative?: This focuses on the type of narration you use in the story. It focuses on the who factor of your story. There are three main points of view and a handful of sub-narratives that can be used

The First Person POV: How you identify the first person POV is the language using ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘we’ in the narrative. This narrative is from the perspective of your main characters (usually). They are telling the story to throw their eyes and it’s their voice that comes to throw. This point of view might be recounting the past as things play out.

Not all first-person narratives are in the protagonist's voice, but it is often the most common.

Types of First-Person Narratives:

The Protagonist: They are the main character in the story. The Protagonist shares the events shown in their eyes as it happens to them, they also give their thoughts and comments on these events.

A Secondary Character: This character might not have the events of the story be directly about them, but they can often relate and give their own experiences within the context of the events of the story. This character will usually have some type of familiar relationship with the protagonist.

The Observer: This narrator is a witness to the events and actions of your story, however, they are limited or has no direct participation regarding the events of the story. This type of narrator is closely related to a third person limited but they make the choice of using personal pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘myself,’ to add their own voice into the story.

The Unreliable Narrator: Some may believe that this type of narrator would be a part of a third-person narration but because this narrator cannot be trusted, it’s most likely told by another person. Their ideas of events are often skewed and incorrect.

The Second Person POV: This POV is not a very common one. This one can be very tricky to pull off as it uses language such as ‘you’, ‘your’, and ‘yourself’. The narrator of the story is you/the consumer. Although tricky, it can be pulled off. We can see this type of narration in reader insert fanfictions and even choosing your own adventure books as well.

The Third Person POV: This POV is very flexible than the first and second person POVs. Third person can give both the author and the consumer more of a global view of the events and actions of the story. But, keep in mind, that similarly to the first person, it can be limited to just following one person. The language used to identify this POV usually uses the character names, ‘she/him’ pronouns, ‘they’ pronouns, and others like it.

Types of Third-Person Narratives:

Third Person Limited: This narrator only follows one person throughout the story, only knowing one character's thoughts and feelings throughout the events of the story.

Third Person Multiple: This narrator can follow many characters throughout the events and actions of your story, switching between the character's individual storylines or even perspectives.

Third-Person Omniscient: They are the all-knowing narrator of your story. They know everything and everyone. They know everything about the world inside your story and how it works. Nothing is hidden from them or off limits. They are the all-knowing God, as you will.

Using Perspectives in Your Story: Now that we have an understanding of what perspectives are, what types of POVs can be explored, and their sub-narratives, now we ask ourselves; how do we put perspectives into our story? Our overall goal is to make a more realistic dynamic in your world-building and between the characters you’ve created.

A writing exercise that can be beneficial to use is to write one scene with different voices attached to it. Look into the eyes of each character you have written and express the same events from their perspective. You want to understand how all your characters think, feel, and believe about the scene you have written and what with their own set of experiences and backstories. Ask yourself; how does each character tell the story of the same events? How do they remember it? How do they feel about this? With this, play around with the point of view as well, because remember perspective and narrative are different but go together. Try out telling the story in the second person narration, or the first person narration throw the lens of an unreliable narrator. Trying things out with different characters expands your knowledge of perspectives and makes interesting narratives out of them.

~Vocabulary~

Perspective: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

Narrative: a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.

Attitude: a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.

Personality: the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

Voice: express (something) in words.

Witness: a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place.

Limited: restricted in size, amount, or extent; few, small, or short.

Participation: the action of taking part in something.

Pronouns: a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you ) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it, this ).

Skewed: make biased or distorted in a way that is regarded as inaccurate, unfair, or misleading.

Fanfictions: fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc.

Flexible: able to be easily modified to respond to altered circumstances or conditions.

Realistic: representing familiar things in a way that is accurate or true to life.

World-building: the process of developing a detailed and plausible fictional world for a novel or story, especially in science fiction, fantasy, and video games:

Beneficial: favorable or advantageous; resulting in good.

Scene: a sequence of continuous action in a play, movie, opera, or book. OR the place where an incident in real life or fiction occurs or occurred.

8 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

character analysis

hey guys! i’m working on a few projects and lessons right now, but i was thinking, what character or person would you like me to go into a deep drive of? this can be anyone!

i’d like to do some deep drives on characters and people so you can get an idea on how to write them. my asks are open so shoot away!

xox

3 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

rivals and rivalries

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

how to write a rival character and making a good rivalry.

When writing a good rivalry there s a few things you might want to keep in mind. Although there is a handful of rivalries that could be written and looked at, we will talk about the basic tools to create a well-rounded rivalry that serves both the plot and your character as well as keeping your consumer engaged with another element of your story.

The Foil Character: Although this topic will have its own lesson, later on, it’s important to get an understanding of a foil character and the relationship t had with a rivalry.

A foil character’s purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of your character. Having your FC be a rival to your main character can allow your consumer to see the qualities and flaws in your character and how they handle themselves in situations that arise as a result of the rivalry at hand.

The Mirror Character: Similarly to the foil character, a mirror character reflects your MC’s best and worst qualities. Having a mirror character as a rival can reflect on your character as a whole and the reasoning and details of the rival.

Overview: Writing a good rival can be tricky. We want a rival/rivalry to challenge and contrast your protagonist. You want your MC to be pushed and even bend their morals and get inside their heads, even revealing their own inner conflicts.

Look at your MC and the character they have as a rival and ask yourself what tone dose your rival your writing has. Is it serious, friendly, or somewhere in the middle? Or is it something completely different? Thinking about the tone and playing with it can see how the two characters interact with each other and even give reasons as to why they interact that way.

While writing it’s always important to not favor one character over the other, they should have an equal focus and shouldn’t be a vehicle to constantly make your MC look good.

Both characters don’t necessarily have to be opposite of each other but they should have something in common--maybe the reason why they have the rivalry in the first place.

You don’t need to worry too much about trying to make it ‘obvious’ that they are rivals. As long as the two bring out each other's qualities, and even flaws, your consumer can understand the dynamic the two have.

Your rival character might just be as important as your MC itself. Establish their relationship with your protagonist as naturally and as quickly as you can in your story.

Examples of Good Rivals:

Princess Carolyn vs. Vanessa Gekko (Bojack Horseman)

It is established that PC and Vanessa Gekko are business rivals, often comparing them and their clients. This is seen throwout the show, but at the end of it, they are seen being friendly and the two are talking about balancing work and motherhood, Vanessa states that she ‘never hated’ PC as PC made herself believe that the two did hate each other during their rivalry.

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz vs. Perry the Platypus (Phinease and Ferb)

It is obvious these two are rivals, as the two have a ‘Tom and Jerry’ type of relationship. Although they are rivals, they do not heavily influence each other and in a way, need one another. (These two are more on the nemesis level than anything)

A Quick List of Rival Tropes (from tvtropes.com)

Betty and Veronica: Two girls are rivals in being the main character's love interest.

Dartboard of Hate: Someone throws darts at a picture of someone they dislike.

Feuding Families: A rivalry between two whole families.

Working with the Ex: A couple who have broken up are forced into a position where they have to work together.

Personal Hate Before Common Goals: These characters now have similar mindsets, and could actually be allies, if it weren't because at least one of them hates the other too much.

Friendly Rivalry: Rivals who are chummy and only being competitive toward each other in good fun.

Better Partner Assertion: Romantic rivals argue their superiority to the person they're fighting over.

~Vocabulary~

Accentuate: make more noticeable or prominent.

Qualities: a distinctive attribute or characteristic possessed by someone or something.

Flaws: a fault or weakness in a person's character.

Reflect: think deeply or carefully about.

Challenge: a task or situation that tests someone's abilities.

Contrast: the action of calling attention to notable differences.

Tone: the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

Dynamic: expressing an action, activity, event, or process.

172 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

character’s internal conflict and dramatizing inner conflict in characters

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

(these two topics are from two different lessons, because they go hand in hand both lessons will be in the same post.)

how to write a character’s inner conflict and how to dramatize that for your story.

part one; character’s internal conflict

How do we choose character values that create interesting plots and conflicts in our stories? You want to be mindful that your characters and your plot are intertwined and connected with each other. Character values are one of the most important things to choose and think about when developing and creating your characters. It drives the character therefore it drives the plot.

Values: Values are often the center of the conflict. This is why we make difficult decisions in our own lives. If we didn’t have conflict, then we wouldn’t have to make those difficult decisions, and from a story perspective, it would fall flat.

Values Cause Conflict:

Our character doesn’t behave in accordance with their values, and they know it, but in content to disregard the discrepancy for a reason (based on a belief), and are not interested in rectifying the situation

Our character knows they are not behaving in accordance with their values, but they are trying to.

Our character doesn’t behave in accordance with a value, but they do not realize they are being hypocritical.

Our character had and is aware of conflicting values.

~Vocabulary~

Values: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.

Conflict: a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.

Accordance: conformity or agreement.

Discrepancy: a lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts.

Rectifying: put right; correct.

part two; dramatizing inner conflict in characters

Writing characters who want more than one this--things that are conflicting with each other can show how your character is when met with these wants and desires. Having these conflicts makes their character development and the stories fascinating to your consumer. The challenging bit is how to write a character who has conflicting wants and acts in a conflicting way and make that consistent.

Consistency and Inconsistency in your Character: When there is a value conflict, your character may act inconsistently throughout. If you look at your everyday life, we behave inconsistently all the time--it's in our DNA to act this way as we won't always make the same value choice every time.

There are so many many things that demand our attention and we have to negotiate with them.

Using this in our own lives can make your character and story more fascinating to your consumer as it feels rather real in some elements of choice. With this, we’re picking at your characters' headspace and knowing them as a person.

However, you want to do this in a way that is consistent; meaning, that the consistency at hand is the value conflict that is at stake. That’s the issue your character is struggling with.

Without consistency, you can make your character feel unreliable. This can make our consumers lose touch with your character and not have that relatability, Having this happen can pull the consumer out of your story.

How Do We Write This?

You want to prepare your consumer by having a consistent value conflict. You want to show the emotions and meaning that are attached to it. While being consistent with your value conflict, allow some inconsistently along in your story

~Vocabulary~

Consistent: acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate.

Inconsistently: in a way that does not stay the same throughout.

Negotiate: obtain or bring about by discussion.

Elements of Choice: one of the fundamental or irreducible components making up a whole.

Unreliable: not able to be relied upon.

Relatability: the quality of being able to easily form social or emotional connections.

352 notes · View notes

creativestalkerrs · 2 years

Text

subplots

I posted this on my Substack blog as well, subscribe to that for more content. Apart of creativestalkerr’s writing lessons.

types of subplots that can be used in your story and what they might mean for your story.

Subplots can be challenging to write in a story, however, they are also critical to a story as well. You want a subplot to be connected to your overall story rather than to fall flat and often be meaningless.

Because there is a wide range of plots, there is even a wider range of subplots that you can cook up.

Mirror Plot: When writing a ‘mirror plot’, this type of plot in few ways follows and ‘mirrors’ the main narrative. There is a pattern that you can identify with its similar concepts to the main plot. However, you don’t want to copy the entirety of the main plot, as it has differences to it.

Example: Character A and Character B have both fallen in love with two different people. Character A’s relationship is going amazing while Character B’s relationship is not.

Contrast Plot/Story Thread: In this type of subplot a secondary character will be met with similar situations and circumstances as the main character however our secondary character makes different decisions and often goes down a different path than our main character.

Example: A set of twins both lost their mother. Twin A has gone down a path of drugs and depression while Twin B has gone down a path of helping others and bettering themselves.

Complication: In this story thread, our secondary character will often make things worse for the main character. They often will make a consumer more invested as they see the main character untangle those obstacles.

Example: Character A needs to go to the bank. However, Character B has slashed its tiers. Not only their plans to go to the bank has been delayed, but Character A also has to fix the tiers as well.

Romance Threads: Romance subplots are common in storytelling. The story often can change in direction and or change the character's motive when they fall in love whether they wanted to or not. Romance can shift a story and add tension into a story. This tension is often positive, but can also be negative depending on how you tell the story and your characters.

Growth Threads: Almost every character should have an arc that they go through. The character has struggles and flaws. We see them threw the story grow as a character. This is an internal change a consumer wants to see with the story and how the growth of the characters affects the story.

Note: A subplot can reveal a character’s arc in the story and help reveal it as well. Some questions to keep in mind, might be; how does the main plot help the character grow and change? What can it say and tell us about our character? How do their relationships change as well? (I’ll be making a future lesson on character arcs.)

Character-Driving Threads: Consider a character's habits and or addictions they may have. If a character is written to have OCD, how does that affect the character and the story? How can you show that in your story? You want to explore these traits that your character has and how it affects the path in your plot.

Example: BoJack Horseman is a great character to look at. His addiction and depression drive him to make the decisions he has made.

Fear Threads: If your character is afraid of something/someone how does that look? How do we see them in their vulnerability? Why are they afraid and how do they overcome that fear?

Example: Character A has to find the missing treasure. The treasure is on an island and the only way to get to it is to sail on a boat across the sea. Character A is afraid of water. It is revealed that Character A’s parents have died from drowning.

Secondary-Character Conflict Thread: This can be looked at with a couple of your secondary characters and how they are in conflict with each other--not necessarily the main character. These characters can be on the same ‘side’ as the main character but the secondary characters will butt heads and may have a distaste for each other. You would want to up this conflict when the main tension has calmed down, this can keep your consumer interested and help your world-building.

Dream Thread: Not ambitions. This subplot is where a character had dreams that can reveal important information for our main plot or reveal something that our character might not know before. This can be used as a tool of reflection in the story as it allows us to pick at the mind of our characters and get into their heads.

Cause-and-Effect: This one is self-explanatory. This shows why something is the way that it is. X happened because of X.

Comedic Relief: This can be a great way to relieve tension in a story especially if your story is rather dark in nature. However, you want to be careful about how you connect this to your plot as it can be easy to just write it in with no meaning or connection (as well as all of the subplots we went over).

Example: Again, BoJack Horseman is a great example of how this is done, balancing both the dark elements of the show with the funny parts as well.

~Vocabulary~

Subplot: a subordinate (lower in rank or position) plot in a play, novel, or similar work.

Main Narrative: a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.

Main Character: a central character who acts as the audience surrogate.

Secondary Character: a character who has a significant role, and appears in multiple scenes, but who is not the main focus of the primary plot.

Motive: a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.

Tension: the state of being stretched tight OR applying a force to (something) which tends to stretch it.

Consumer: a person or thing that acts or uses something (in this context, a story)

Character Arc: a transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story.

~If you have any questions, feel free to message me or ask in my ask box! It’s good to be back~

120 notes · View notes