Happy July Fourth

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

Character Flaws -- How Much Do We Need Them?

How important are character flaws? I'm not going to sit here and say that there is no reason to give your characters flaws. I couldn't take myself seriously if I did that. But let's face it, some people are good people, and though they have unattractive characteristics and moments of imperfection, they don't come with a whole host of flaws.

While I get bored with the unreality of the inexplicably perfect character like other people do, I do believe that there are some people who are good, nice, and without obvious flaws and that these people aren't necessarily uninteresting. I've met one person who is nigh perfect, and he is anything but boring.

One reader pointed out my main guy as being a little too perfect. She said he should have some flaws to round him out. I thought about that. When I thought of him, he was just a nice guy. He's patient, loyal, and honest. And I'd like him to stay a nice guy. Otherwise there'd be no reason for him to have friends, let alone get the girl. (Yeah, I know, jerks get the girl a lot in the real world, but I'd like to think my MC has better sense that to fall in love with a jerk.)

As far as I'm concerned, he is "flawed" is some respects. He is incapable of going for what he really wants. He's secretly in love with the MC, but instead of doing something about it, he just decides to watch things play out while she could be falling for another guy. That kind of behavior annoys the heck out of me in people, so why shouldn't it be his annoying quality? I don't want him to drink to excess, speak with an annoyingly nasal voice, or have a debilitating allergy to peanuts. I like him the way he is.

Is it enough for characters to have only one or two imperfections? What's really rounding a character out, and what's just making them flawed for the sake of trying to round them out? Are some people just without discernible flaws and is that boring?

(For other thoughts on the subject, click here.)

Guy Stories and Chick Flicks

I don't watch a lot of TV, but one of the few shows I do watch is NCIS. In an older episode, a suspect compares his relationship to the movie Bounce. I'm not too familiar with Bounce, but from the summary used in the show and on IMDB, I can comfortably agree with the character Gibbs when he dubs the movie a chick flick. In Gibb's analysis, in a guy flick you kill the guy after setting him up to take the fall for your robbery, take all the money, and marry the dead guy's wife. (His version was somehow pithier, even though I cut out the references to the show's plot.)

That's when I had an epiphany. Hamlet is a guy flick, at least according to the show's definition. I mean, (spoiler alert!) Claudius kills his brother, steals the kingdom, and marries his now dead brother's wife. Not to mention some sword fighting and ghosts, neither of which have been known to chase guys away from a movie.

I had a good laugh over that. I know a lot of guys who need to be dragged kicking and screaming into Shakespeare (apparently, all theater is by nature feminine and emasculating) but apparently, Shakespeare was writing some quintessential guy flick stuff all along. Maybe it's the iambic pentameter that's scaring folks off.

I think such a principal could be applied to books as well. What necessarily makes something a guy book or a girl book? For every stereotypically masculine book I've ever heard of, I've met female readers. And for a lot of feminine stories, I've met guys who enjoy them. I think even in more gender-specific genres, there's a way to make room for the other gender and make it good for them,too.

Are there any other hidden guy flicks out there? Are there such things as guy books and girl books? Any success stories in bridging the gender gap?

Jumping In

Sometimes I've worried that I have trouble getting into the meat of my story quick enough. I fear that what I deem necessary information is really some form of intellectual stalling before I hand the reader the true business of the tale.

I recently started WIP2, which has been in outline for a while. I wrote the beginning as I'd imagined it and realized something. I'd just slammed right into the story. The first page begins with the last two minutes of what has apparently been one fight too many for my MC. Less than five pages in, she decides to run away, which is when the fun gets to start.

I'm not so sure how I feel about this. Did I jump in too quickly? Am I throwing something at the reader and expecting them to understand too much from the beginning? Or is it better to just get right down to business? I am uncertain.

For the moment, I'm charging in head first, and I think I'm going to see how that works out. Who knows, it might get interesting.

How much does an author need to do before jumping into the meat of the story? Is there some magic formula to determine how much back story should go in up front and how much can be left for reveals later?

For other thoughts on this topic, try here. :-)

WOW

Yesterday, I was working on Chapter 6 of WIP1 (God, I really need to name these) and as I rounded off a section I thought, 'Why is she sneaking off home? She could totally meet up with Admon along the way and that could be really interesting.'

So, instead of doing something with that thought, I stuck a post-it note in there for my alpha reader to ask what her thoughts would be for such a moment. Then, today whilst reading a post about writer's block, I thought 'You know, it's a pity you couldn't think of something to do with that one idea. Because that could really have gone somewhere neat.'

And then I had an epiphany. (Ooohhh, Hook moment. "'Lightning just struck my brain.' 'That must have hurt.'") All of a sudden, I knew what I could do with that. (I should probably write it down before I forget about it.)

Weird, huh? Has this ever happened to you?

God, I'm Sorry, I Love U of C (And Alpha Delta Phi)

Okay, this happened back in March, but I just found out about it now.

Apparently, the Westboro Baptist Church decided to protest Obama's stance on gay rights at University of Chicago. The frat boys of Alpha Delta Phi held a counter protest by dancing outside their house, which was along the protest route, to such songs as "I'm Coming Out" and "It's Raining Men." I love them.

For video footage, click here. :-)

Foil! It's Shiny.

When I watch a movie, I'm not always on the lookout for things like "Whoa, that's foreshadowing." But the other day, I was listening to music and thought "Whoa, that's a cool foil."

In the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (I'm talking Disney version today, because I'm in a minor Disney kick at the moment), Quasimodo is the lovable protagonist and Frollo is the cold hearted, corrupt villain. Generally, they're just complete opposites, but they don't spend the whole flick foiling each other. In fact, I didn't notice a foil until I listened to just two good songs that come back to back in the movie called "Heaven's Light" and "Hellfire." (For those unfamiliar with the movie -- I've known people familiar with the movie to deny the first song exists -- click here to listen.)

Both characters want Esmeralda. I'd call it love except Frollo's emotions seem to be circling lust and not getting much beyond that. Their desires foil each other during these scenes. Quasimodo says that loving Esmeralda is like experiencing heaven's light. Frollo says that Esmeralda has lit a fire in him that burns his flesh and is turning him to sin. While for the most part in the movie they are just protagonist and antagonist, in this moment they create an interesting contrast that heightens the emotions in respect to both characters.

This is possibly my favorite foil I've seen in a Disney movie.
(For interesting reading on foils, click here.)

Does you have a favorite literary or film foil? Do you use foils in your own work?