Focus character
July 26, 2008
If you’ve done any reading about story writing, you’ve probably noticed that there are quite a number of terms for types of characters. As stories can be constructed in many, many different ways, several terms are needed to describe a specific kind of character unique to a way of telling a tale. Sometimes when analyzing a story, a special term is needed to so a character can be understood within a certain context.
One such term you might run across is “focus character”. This is the character for who the readers most care, even when he’s not in the scene. It’s a term used in critiques and writers workshops, most notably the Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop.
Focus characters usually are the story’s main character, protagonist or hero. Luke Skywalker is the focus character in “Star Wars IV: A New Hope”. Hiro Protagonist is the focus character of Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash”. However, a focus character doesn’t always have to be the main character. In ensemble casts, such as “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, the viewer cares for Data, Riker, Worf and others just as much as they do Captain Picard, who usually is the story’s traditional hero. In many episodes, Picard is the not the main character at all.
Like most main characters and protagonists, focus characters possess three traits:
n They have distinct personalities - Luke Skywalker, for example, longs for adventure and meaningfulness in his life during “Star Wars IV”. In contrast, Princess Leia would like nothing more than peace and stability in her life while Obi Wan Kenobi already has a purpose and Han Solo has not desire for it.
n They further the story’s themes - “Star Wars IV” theme of gaining maturity (and hence success) through purpose and self-discipline is played out by Luke’s adventure.
n They interact with other focus characters in the story -Viewers also care about the fate of Princess Leia, Obi Wan, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2D2 and CP30 in “Star Wars IV”. Luke’s quest involves his cooperation with each of these characters.
You Do It
Have your focus character write a letter of introduction to the reader. What is the inner struggle that the character faces? What are his motivations in this struggle? Who are his allies in his cause? Be sure to give him a distinct personality and to make him likeable.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
character, hero, main character, protagonist
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Man vs. man
July 14, 2008
When developing your story, you’ll want your characters to face a number of challenges or conflicts. One of the most basic of them is man vs. man. In this conflict, the main characters find his goals jeopardized by another individual: a stormtrooper shooting at them, a Klingon arguing with them in a space station cantina, a lowly human turning our astronauts in to the sadistic ape overlords.
At its basest, man vs. man conflict is just two people taking on one another, with our hero usually winning. At its best, this conflict can symbolically test competing ideas and ethical solutions. A character represents one approach to a problem while the other represents an alternative path. All too often, these representations are reduced to simplistic views of good and evil. But by showing each characters’ motivations and needs, the story’s theme gains depth while the dramatic tension soars.
A good example of man vs. man conflict is “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The story clearly revolves around two people: Khan and Admiral Kirk. The motivations of each are given: Khan wants revenge upon Kirk for marooning him on a planet that then underwent an ecological disaster and that killed his wife. Kirk feels a responsibility to protect the civilized world from Kahn, a disposed dictator and product of genetic engineering who he had defeated several years before. They play an extensive game of cat and mouse with one another in an effort to win. In the end, Kirk wins because his motivations are not based on revenge but doing what his right by others.
You Do It
Write a 250-word piece in which your main character, to achieve his goal, must overcome another character. Make clear that each has worthy motivations in wanting to defeat the other.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
character, conflict, man vs. man, plot, villain
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Hero
July 7, 2008
“Once again, we've saved civilization as we know it."
- James T. Kirk, “The Undiscovered Country”
Most main characters in science fiction stories also are traditional heroes, or larger than characters who serve as the tale’s protagonist. Obvious examples are Luke Skywalker, Captain Kirk and Indiana Jones. Such characters become “mythic”, especially after several stories describing their adventures.
The advantage of using such characters as that they are good fun. Not surprisingly, the memorable heroes mentioned above all appear in motion pictures, which typically serves as escapism rather than high art.
But you do your readers a disservice when your main character is the stereotypical hero. Such characters, after all, aren’t real. After awhile, you have to ask, “How many times can James T. Kirk save the galaxy?” In addition, heroes often are just clones of heroes who came long before them. Skywalker, Kirk and Jones all are strong, respected, admired, clever, brave, intelligent, natural leaders and usually can have any woman. So were Theseus, Horatio Hornblower and Robin Hood. Ultimately, heroes limit your plot. One notable way is that heroes typically collect “plot coupons” in each scene. In such a plot, the hero gains some knowledge or gizmo that ensures he can solve the problem by the story’s climax. The story really is just a clever game of how he’ll gather all of these coupons, for the story’s outcome never is in doubt.
A more rigorous character – and hence a more rigorous story – should involve placing an ordinary person in an extraordinary circumstance. Ordinary people possess flaws, and the extraordinary circumstance provides an opportunity for those characters to grow and develop.
Because some of the tales involving Skywalker and Kirk do show them overcoming their flaws (Skywalker learning to control his fear and anger; Kirk sacrificing the love of his life for the future), they probably are more memorable heroes than Indiana Jones, whose only real Achilles’ heel is a fear of snakes. In short, if you do stick with a hero character, don’t make him “too cool”. He needs to be vulnerable or he’ll be too superhuman and hence not very interesting. For example, a hero shouldn’t be fearless but instead someone who performs his duties - such as protecting or rescuing others - despite his fears (which is why Indiana Jones’ fear of snakes makes him so endearing).
You Do It Create a hero character that is rigorous. Begin by writing a list of all of his heroic qualities. Now write a list of his vulnerabilities that counter each of his heroic qualities. For example, perhaps he’s physically strong (a heroic quality) but is fearful of using his strength because he once physically hurt someone close to him (a vulnerability).
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
character, main character, plot coupon, protagonist
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Elements of fiction
June 26, 2008
What is a story? An idea or a setting or a character alone do not make a story. A fictional story is all of those and more.
For the convenience of analysis and discussion, stories often are broken into parts. These parts typically are referred to as the five elements of fiction. They include:
n Plot - How the problem in the story is overcome, typically thought of as physical action
n Setting -Where and when this action occurs
n Character - Whoever attempts to solve the story’s problem as well as those who create the problem and those that appear incidentally
n Point of view -Perspective from which the story is narrated
n Theme - Purpose for which a story is told
It’s easy to think of the five elements of fiction as a matter of the 5 W’s and 1 H, or what, where, when who, why and how. Plot is what happens in the story. Setting is where and when the story happens. Character is who the story happens to. Point of view is how the story happens to be told. Theme is why the story happened to be told, or its message.
Each of these elements appears naturally in the story, whether you consciously intend them to or not. Consider the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Best of Both Worlds”. The plot is about stopping a Borg invasion of the Federation. The setting is the 24th century (various stardates are given) in various star systems and aboard the starship enterprise and the invading Borg cube. The characters are the Enterprise’s crew, particularly Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander Will Riker and Lt. Cmdr. Shelby. The point of view largely is from an outside perspective, as if we were aboard the Enterprise. The theme is that individuality and self-determination triumphs over collectivism.
Virtually all of the problems with poorly written stories are that they in some way muddle one or more of these elements. In addition, you may perfectly nail each of these five elements but still tell the story poorly because it lacks flair; such problems are a matter of style, which is a part of understanding the craft of writing though not an element of fiction itself.
You Do It
Read a SF story. Jot down its plot, setting, characters, point of view and theme. You may find yourself writing more than a page of notes. If so, you can see how intricate even a short story can be. It also shows you’re thinking deeply and thoroughly about the elements of fiction, which will be a good carryover into your own writing.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
character, plot, point of view, setting, style, theme
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Moral order
June 7, 2008
Every story has a theme. An aspect of that theme is your story’s “moral order” – the sense of what’s right and wrong based on how your characters are rewarded and punished for their actions.
The simple moral order of most science fiction television series and movies, for example, is that good is stronger than evil. But in well developed series, it’s more complicated than that. “Star Trek,” for example, defines “good” as a humanistic universe in which diversity and equality are paramount. The search for knowledge, rather than the accumulation of wealth, is the driving force of society. As alien societies are explored in the series, we gain a better sense of what makes up “good” in this humanistic vision.
Characters in stories usually display moral issues in a purer way than people do in the real world. Because the story is constructed, the choices are more clear cut. Limited word counts mean you can’t extensively go into the deep psychological background of your character, so the moral issues being faced often are presented as a simple choice between one or two options. Given this, many science fiction stories are allegorical.
When writing your story, consider these problems that can arise when you create a moral order:
nIt’s a good idea to be aware of what moral order is being portrayed so you don’t unintentionally tell a story that advocates ethics and viewpoints with which you don’t agree.
nThe moral order of your story must be logically consistent. What’s presented as “good” in one part of the story can’t later be a punishable offense (unless you’re trying to be satirical). If the ways of a Jedi are positive in one part of the story, then those moral values ought to continue to be presented as positive later in the piece.
One challenge facing every writer is creating a sense of “moral compatibility”. That is, readers ought to be identify with characters by sharing a core of moral values. For example, the character’s morals may be too removed from current cultural mores for most readers to ever agree with. This is a common problem in presenting historically accurate characters or when creating an alien or a far-future society. Another problem is that the character’s morals are “too common” – that is, they are so simplified that they become camp. This often is the problem with superheroes. A related concept to moral order is “moral affirmation”. This occurs when a reader decides to read certain types of books because those tomes exude a moral order that feels comfortable. Some readers, for example, prefer the right-wing moral order presented in military SF stories, such as Robert Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers”. Others prefer the comfortable universe created in television series and motion pictures, which in part explains the popularity of “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” novels.
You Do It
Make a list of at least five moral positions that you hold. Now develop a situation in which each of those moral positions are challenged. Why would this challenge fail (this is, why would it not overturn your moral position)? You now have some thematic ideas for stories. Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
allegory, character, theme
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Viewpoint character
June 6, 2008
Every story is told from someone’s perspective. This someone is known as the viewpoint character.
For example, in “The Matrix” movie series, the story is seen through the perspective of Neo, the tales’ hero. In the short story Thomas F. Monteleone’s “Present Perfect”, it’s the magazine editor William Rutherford. Usually the story’s hero is the viewpoint character. Sometimes this character is referred to as the “POV character”.
The viewpoint character does not have to be the story’s main character - or even a character in the story, however.
How do you decide who will be the viewpoint character? Ask yourself which character:
n Faces key decisions that must be shown in the story? - You must show how these choices are arrived at to move along your plot, so this character is a good choice to be the viewpoint character.
n Makes the best observer? - Sometimes the main character facing significant choices doesn’t have the ability to make the right decision; in such a story, your viewpoint character is showing how the main character made the wrong call.
n Serves as a surrogate for the author? - This character usually is the author living a fantasy. Making him the viewpoint character can result in a melodramatic story.
n Serves as a surrogate for reader? - Serves as a surrogate for reader? This character probably is the best viewpoint character as it is the one who readers can identify with.
One last note: Your viewpoint character, if a character in the story, needs to be at an event to tell about it. Having a key event told to the viewpoint character amounts to exposition, a major style issue. You Do It
Look back at the piece you wrote for the main character entry. Rewrite the piece from so it has a different viewpoint character. Which one of the pieces works best? Why?
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
character, narrator, point of view
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