Abandoning the Ordinary World Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Planned maintenance scheduled April 17/18, 2019 at 00:00UTC (8:00pm US/Eastern) Announcing our contest results! Tags of the week! April 15-21, 2019: Planning & TranslationKilling the protagonist - should it be done?Arch Hero and Arch Nemesis in one bookHow can I Switch Protagonists Between Books?How does the narrator address a character who has changed her name, but only some people call her this new name?How many pages should cover the Ordinary World of the Protagonist?“Calm” vs Adventurous Main ProtagonistHow to open a novel?Translating worldbuilding into an interesting openingFirst quarter friendsCreating or identifying secondary protagonists
Is it fair for a professor to grade us on the possession of past papers?
List *all* the tuples!
Bete Noir -- no dairy
What's the meaning of 間時肆拾貳 at a car parking sign
2001: A Space Odyssey's use of the song "Daisy Bell" (Bicycle Built for Two); life imitates art or vice-versa?
Why did the IBM 650 use bi-quinary?
Withdrew £2800, but only £2000 shows as withdrawn on online banking; what are my obligations?
Apollo command module space walk?
Generate an RGB colour grid
How discoverable are IPv6 addresses and AAAA names by potential attackers?
What does the "x" in "x86" represent?
String `!23` is replaced with `docker` in command line
How do pianists reach extremely loud dynamics?
What LEGO pieces have "real-world" functionality?
Sci-Fi book where patients in a coma ward all live in a subconscious world linked together
Storing hydrofluoric acid before the invention of plastics
Why do we bend a book to keep it straight?
Using audio cues to encourage good posture
Why light coming from distant stars is not discreet?
How do I keep my slimes from escaping their pens?
Extract all GPU name, model and GPU ram
Should I discuss the type of campaign with my players?
Why aren't air breathing engines used as small first stages
When a candle burns, why does the top of wick glow if bottom of flame is hottest?
Abandoning the Ordinary World
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Planned maintenance scheduled April 17/18, 2019 at 00:00UTC (8:00pm US/Eastern)
Announcing our contest results!
Tags of the week! April 15-21, 2019: Planning & TranslationKilling the protagonist - should it be done?Arch Hero and Arch Nemesis in one bookHow can I Switch Protagonists Between Books?How does the narrator address a character who has changed her name, but only some people call her this new name?How many pages should cover the Ordinary World of the Protagonist?“Calm” vs Adventurous Main ProtagonistHow to open a novel?Translating worldbuilding into an interesting openingFirst quarter friendsCreating or identifying secondary protagonists
As I understand it, when considering the Three-Act Structure, the first half of Act One prior to the Inciting Incident is used to show the reader the 'Ordinary World'.
In the story I am working on, I spend that first half of Act One to develop characters, and introduce the setting, showing the reader who the protagonist is... only to have that protagonist flee for his life and abandon his ordinary world for good.
My question is, is it good storytelling form to invite readers to invest in those characters and events, only to have them torn away?
characters openings 3-acts
add a comment |
As I understand it, when considering the Three-Act Structure, the first half of Act One prior to the Inciting Incident is used to show the reader the 'Ordinary World'.
In the story I am working on, I spend that first half of Act One to develop characters, and introduce the setting, showing the reader who the protagonist is... only to have that protagonist flee for his life and abandon his ordinary world for good.
My question is, is it good storytelling form to invite readers to invest in those characters and events, only to have them torn away?
characters openings 3-acts
1
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
1
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
add a comment |
As I understand it, when considering the Three-Act Structure, the first half of Act One prior to the Inciting Incident is used to show the reader the 'Ordinary World'.
In the story I am working on, I spend that first half of Act One to develop characters, and introduce the setting, showing the reader who the protagonist is... only to have that protagonist flee for his life and abandon his ordinary world for good.
My question is, is it good storytelling form to invite readers to invest in those characters and events, only to have them torn away?
characters openings 3-acts
As I understand it, when considering the Three-Act Structure, the first half of Act One prior to the Inciting Incident is used to show the reader the 'Ordinary World'.
In the story I am working on, I spend that first half of Act One to develop characters, and introduce the setting, showing the reader who the protagonist is... only to have that protagonist flee for his life and abandon his ordinary world for good.
My question is, is it good storytelling form to invite readers to invest in those characters and events, only to have them torn away?
characters openings 3-acts
characters openings 3-acts
edited 4 hours ago
Cyn
18.2k13984
18.2k13984
asked 5 hours ago
Arkenstein XIIArkenstein XII
2466
2466
1
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
1
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
1
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
1
1
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
1
1
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters or as something else --like an idea, a value, a representation of those characters.
I always fall back to Luke in Star Wars as an example. We meet his aunt and uncle in Act I. They die and we "never see them again."
But their deaths meant something--their deaths were the inciting incident to allow Luke to finally leave and join the rebellion. And, the characters were brought back in the prequels.
There are many ways to give the reader some reason to feel their investment in characters was not wasted. It sounds as though your main character is ditching life and going for something else. I'd suggest playing with any of the following:
Have the MC refer to those jerks he never wants to see again, throughout the narrative. This way, the reader feels like he is still getting some value out of learning those characters.
Have the MC grow and change... and then halfway through the story throw one of those early characters back into the story... and flummox the MC. Make him question himself; his growth, etc. Because this person from his past has a big psychological impact on him.
Continue the pattern. Just embrace your choice. I'm certain a story can be written where the main character keeps ditching life and people--and eventually the reader catches on and knows that the people in this 'episode' are just the latest iteration of what the MC will abandon.
Don't name the people at the outset. Consider:
James spent every afternoon with his mother. She'd insisted on it--and he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
That's very different from:
James spent every afternoon with his mother, Mary Todd. She'd begged him to do so--said he kept her from falling into the dark night of her own despair, her burden so heavy, the deaths of her babes. It was too much for her to carry, she said, and so he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
Any of these ideas might get you started thinking along new lines. In aggregate. they suggest that the thing to keep in mind is what you are telegraphing to the reader.
Anything is fair game, but play nice unless you want people to turn up their noses.
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "166"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f44651%2fabandoning-the-ordinary-world%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters or as something else --like an idea, a value, a representation of those characters.
I always fall back to Luke in Star Wars as an example. We meet his aunt and uncle in Act I. They die and we "never see them again."
But their deaths meant something--their deaths were the inciting incident to allow Luke to finally leave and join the rebellion. And, the characters were brought back in the prequels.
There are many ways to give the reader some reason to feel their investment in characters was not wasted. It sounds as though your main character is ditching life and going for something else. I'd suggest playing with any of the following:
Have the MC refer to those jerks he never wants to see again, throughout the narrative. This way, the reader feels like he is still getting some value out of learning those characters.
Have the MC grow and change... and then halfway through the story throw one of those early characters back into the story... and flummox the MC. Make him question himself; his growth, etc. Because this person from his past has a big psychological impact on him.
Continue the pattern. Just embrace your choice. I'm certain a story can be written where the main character keeps ditching life and people--and eventually the reader catches on and knows that the people in this 'episode' are just the latest iteration of what the MC will abandon.
Don't name the people at the outset. Consider:
James spent every afternoon with his mother. She'd insisted on it--and he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
That's very different from:
James spent every afternoon with his mother, Mary Todd. She'd begged him to do so--said he kept her from falling into the dark night of her own despair, her burden so heavy, the deaths of her babes. It was too much for her to carry, she said, and so he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
Any of these ideas might get you started thinking along new lines. In aggregate. they suggest that the thing to keep in mind is what you are telegraphing to the reader.
Anything is fair game, but play nice unless you want people to turn up their noses.
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
add a comment |
My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters or as something else --like an idea, a value, a representation of those characters.
I always fall back to Luke in Star Wars as an example. We meet his aunt and uncle in Act I. They die and we "never see them again."
But their deaths meant something--their deaths were the inciting incident to allow Luke to finally leave and join the rebellion. And, the characters were brought back in the prequels.
There are many ways to give the reader some reason to feel their investment in characters was not wasted. It sounds as though your main character is ditching life and going for something else. I'd suggest playing with any of the following:
Have the MC refer to those jerks he never wants to see again, throughout the narrative. This way, the reader feels like he is still getting some value out of learning those characters.
Have the MC grow and change... and then halfway through the story throw one of those early characters back into the story... and flummox the MC. Make him question himself; his growth, etc. Because this person from his past has a big psychological impact on him.
Continue the pattern. Just embrace your choice. I'm certain a story can be written where the main character keeps ditching life and people--and eventually the reader catches on and knows that the people in this 'episode' are just the latest iteration of what the MC will abandon.
Don't name the people at the outset. Consider:
James spent every afternoon with his mother. She'd insisted on it--and he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
That's very different from:
James spent every afternoon with his mother, Mary Todd. She'd begged him to do so--said he kept her from falling into the dark night of her own despair, her burden so heavy, the deaths of her babes. It was too much for her to carry, she said, and so he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
Any of these ideas might get you started thinking along new lines. In aggregate. they suggest that the thing to keep in mind is what you are telegraphing to the reader.
Anything is fair game, but play nice unless you want people to turn up their noses.
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
add a comment |
My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters or as something else --like an idea, a value, a representation of those characters.
I always fall back to Luke in Star Wars as an example. We meet his aunt and uncle in Act I. They die and we "never see them again."
But their deaths meant something--their deaths were the inciting incident to allow Luke to finally leave and join the rebellion. And, the characters were brought back in the prequels.
There are many ways to give the reader some reason to feel their investment in characters was not wasted. It sounds as though your main character is ditching life and going for something else. I'd suggest playing with any of the following:
Have the MC refer to those jerks he never wants to see again, throughout the narrative. This way, the reader feels like he is still getting some value out of learning those characters.
Have the MC grow and change... and then halfway through the story throw one of those early characters back into the story... and flummox the MC. Make him question himself; his growth, etc. Because this person from his past has a big psychological impact on him.
Continue the pattern. Just embrace your choice. I'm certain a story can be written where the main character keeps ditching life and people--and eventually the reader catches on and knows that the people in this 'episode' are just the latest iteration of what the MC will abandon.
Don't name the people at the outset. Consider:
James spent every afternoon with his mother. She'd insisted on it--and he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
That's very different from:
James spent every afternoon with his mother, Mary Todd. She'd begged him to do so--said he kept her from falling into the dark night of her own despair, her burden so heavy, the deaths of her babes. It was too much for her to carry, she said, and so he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
Any of these ideas might get you started thinking along new lines. In aggregate. they suggest that the thing to keep in mind is what you are telegraphing to the reader.
Anything is fair game, but play nice unless you want people to turn up their noses.
My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters or as something else --like an idea, a value, a representation of those characters.
I always fall back to Luke in Star Wars as an example. We meet his aunt and uncle in Act I. They die and we "never see them again."
But their deaths meant something--their deaths were the inciting incident to allow Luke to finally leave and join the rebellion. And, the characters were brought back in the prequels.
There are many ways to give the reader some reason to feel their investment in characters was not wasted. It sounds as though your main character is ditching life and going for something else. I'd suggest playing with any of the following:
Have the MC refer to those jerks he never wants to see again, throughout the narrative. This way, the reader feels like he is still getting some value out of learning those characters.
Have the MC grow and change... and then halfway through the story throw one of those early characters back into the story... and flummox the MC. Make him question himself; his growth, etc. Because this person from his past has a big psychological impact on him.
Continue the pattern. Just embrace your choice. I'm certain a story can be written where the main character keeps ditching life and people--and eventually the reader catches on and knows that the people in this 'episode' are just the latest iteration of what the MC will abandon.
Don't name the people at the outset. Consider:
James spent every afternoon with his mother. She'd insisted on it--and he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
That's very different from:
James spent every afternoon with his mother, Mary Todd. She'd begged him to do so--said he kept her from falling into the dark night of her own despair, her burden so heavy, the deaths of her babes. It was too much for her to carry, she said, and so he'd always acquiesced. Until the day he didn't.
Any of these ideas might get you started thinking along new lines. In aggregate. they suggest that the thing to keep in mind is what you are telegraphing to the reader.
Anything is fair game, but play nice unless you want people to turn up their noses.
edited 4 hours ago
answered 4 hours ago
DPTDPT
15.8k23287
15.8k23287
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
add a comment |
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
1
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
In this case, it is not so much that the protagonist chooses to 'ditch life' as you say, but rather is faced with a choice of flee or die. He chooses to leave, and the story then centres around his experience of learning to survive in the world outside.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII Then perhaps he regrets leaving those he loved, in the past. Having him reminisce about them, or having their wise words from his youth brought up in his thoughts and shaping his actions, can be a way to maintain those 'forgotten' characters. Obi-Wan, for example, was maintained as a force-ghost. You can maintain characters by having them impact the MC by virtue of their teachings. The MC's memories and decisions, as a result of those people in his past, show the importance of those people to the MC and therefore to the reader.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
1
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
Thanks for your replies, you've certainly given me something to think about! I wonder whether I've not given my protagonist strong enough relationships to the characters in question, in that they don't seem like good candidates for him to really care about going forward? The only character that really makes sense for him to reminisce on is his late father, who never appears onstage at any point since the story begins with the protagonist away from home (yet still within the world that he is familiar and comfortable with).
– Arkenstein XII
3 hours ago
1
1
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
@ArkensteinXII I don't know your personal goals, but if the opening scene starts with people the MC doesn't care about, readers will pick up on that and might find the MC unsympathetic as a result. I think it's harder to write a challenging scene, in which the relationships have depth and resonance, but in the end this is a better goal than a simple plot-driven 'get the MC to leave home' approach. FTR, I've battled this particular demon myself. Having said that, simple tweaks like "His father used to say that it was important to listen to people" go a long way toward showing character.
– DPT
3 hours ago
1
1
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
More broadly, @ArkensteinXII , you are free to make those 'extras' characters in their own right. Go ahead! Make them jerks. Or lovers. Or whatever you like--give them their due. I used to play two-bit unnamed parts in community theatre, and all of us extras were encouraged to come up with a fully fleshed story for our 'unimportant' characters. BECAUSE IT MATTERS. :)
– DPT
3 hours ago
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f44651%2fabandoning-the-ordinary-world%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
Do these characters show up again?
– DPT
4 hours ago
1
@DPT Not during this book, no. If I were to write book 2, some of them would show up there. Actually, one of the characters' influence is subtly present throughout, even though the protagonist is unaware of it.
– Arkenstein XII
4 hours ago