Show Posts
1
Writing Group / Re: Writing Prompts!
« on: December 19, 2010, 12:23:20 AM »
Like a few others, here's my first post ever! Be gentle... ;-)
Brandon's Challenge: Dialogue
Literature, the RTS Edition (817 words)
by Clifton Satterfield
“Bottom line, this is a terrible way to begin the story.”
“It...it was just a thought.”
“Well, it’s a bad one. No one like boardroom scenes; they’re boring.”
“A boardroom scene? But there’s no boardroom, it’s just people meeting in an alley.”
“Exactly! It’s a meeting. A meeting to discuss what the story is about. It’s completely unnecessary; a good story shouldn’t have to explain itself.”
“Okay...so what would you do?”
“Simple. Have your characters each receive written instructions. They’ll know what’s expected of them, and the audience will have to figure it out along the way.”
“Won’t that be confusing?”
“Only if you assume the audience isn’t intelligent. It’s always a good idea to think of your audience as being as competent as yourself….or me, in your case.”
“Okay...so we’ll have them get letters...maybe privately? That way they can be fiddling with them as the story plays out.”
“Now you’re thinking!”
“What if they don’t want to follow the directions?”
“Excuse me?”
“Maybe they’ll think they have a plan, and won’t want to do what we write.”
“This is your first evinxi, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“Believe me, they’ll be compelled to follow written instructions just as much as the ones we send through the modulators. It’s only the details they can change.”
“Okay. So what should we write?”
“Well, that really depends on the person. Take the child, for example. How do you suppose she might add to the story?”
“She might slow them down, I guess. Probably need more explanations and time before getting anywhere.”
“Think with more subtleness. What can children do very well?”
“Eat, defecate, cry, complain…”
“They cry and complain. Exactly. Now tell me, how does the sound of a crying child make you feel?”
“Anxious. Maybe a little depressed...oh! You want to use her to demoralize the group!”
“Yes. If we simply tell her to ‘be sad’ more often, we can bring out excellent conflicts amongst the others. After a few days of hearing a depressed child complain, the characters will be very strained; all the things they feel will start bubbling to the surface. Some may begin to doubt themselves, some may go mad, others may plan ways to….silence….the child.”
“You’re right….that’s very subtle. Devious, too.”
“Now you try. Tell me a way to use your elder male character.”
“Well, he’s the oldest of the group, so he’ll have gone through several stories already. He may not be quite as susceptible to our influences on morale.”
“Yes...it’s likely he’s already in a constant state of depression.”
“I’m thinking we should have him killed off early, then. Tossing in a murder so early in the story will add a bit of extra conflict; everyone will be trying to figure out who killed him.”
“That’s true, but unimaginative. You seem to be full of boring thoughts today. Again, try to be subtle. The whole point of these stories is to find out how the minutia of a character matters.”
“Let’s see, then. He’s an elderly man. Older people are slower, they seem wiser, they have experience, they…wait...they have a heritage to worry about. He’ll be the most selfish person there!”
“Doing well so far, keep it up!”
“If he’s selfish, he’ll want to survive the story in good condition.”
“And the best way to survive a story?”
“Eliminate the competition.”
“Right.”
“I’ll give his suspicion a boost then, make him think everyone is out for themselves.”
“Perfect. That way, we may even get a murder or two without direct influence. Think how exciting that would be to the audience! Not to mention how it would look on your resume.”
“What about the other characters?”
“Seeing as this is your first go at this, you shouldn’t try to manipulate too many factors. It’s probably best to put in a few broad strokes here. Be as simple as possible with the rest.”
“Let’s make the mother and father overprotective.”
“Excellent. A bit of whining from the little one should push their anxiety levels through the roof. Not to mention set the elder to worrying about the danger they might pose if anything untoward should happen to their young.”
“I feel like there should be an angry character. The woman, perhaps.”
“That works. It’s always a good idea to have some hate mixed into the story. It keeps the other characters on their toes. And for the last one? The young man?”
“It may seem a bit cliche, but I want him to think he’s the hero. I want him to try to save everyone.”
“Not really that cliche. I find it a good policy to have at least one character audiences can despise. Maybe this one will find a way to get them all to a happy ending.”
“Really? You think it’s possible?”
“Of course not. It would be much too boring.”
Brandon's Challenge: Dialogue
Literature, the RTS Edition (817 words)
by Clifton Satterfield
“Bottom line, this is a terrible way to begin the story.”
“It...it was just a thought.”
“Well, it’s a bad one. No one like boardroom scenes; they’re boring.”
“A boardroom scene? But there’s no boardroom, it’s just people meeting in an alley.”
“Exactly! It’s a meeting. A meeting to discuss what the story is about. It’s completely unnecessary; a good story shouldn’t have to explain itself.”
“Okay...so what would you do?”
“Simple. Have your characters each receive written instructions. They’ll know what’s expected of them, and the audience will have to figure it out along the way.”
“Won’t that be confusing?”
“Only if you assume the audience isn’t intelligent. It’s always a good idea to think of your audience as being as competent as yourself….or me, in your case.”
“Okay...so we’ll have them get letters...maybe privately? That way they can be fiddling with them as the story plays out.”
“Now you’re thinking!”
“What if they don’t want to follow the directions?”
“Excuse me?”
“Maybe they’ll think they have a plan, and won’t want to do what we write.”
“This is your first evinxi, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“Believe me, they’ll be compelled to follow written instructions just as much as the ones we send through the modulators. It’s only the details they can change.”
“Okay. So what should we write?”
“Well, that really depends on the person. Take the child, for example. How do you suppose she might add to the story?”
“She might slow them down, I guess. Probably need more explanations and time before getting anywhere.”
“Think with more subtleness. What can children do very well?”
“Eat, defecate, cry, complain…”
“They cry and complain. Exactly. Now tell me, how does the sound of a crying child make you feel?”
“Anxious. Maybe a little depressed...oh! You want to use her to demoralize the group!”
“Yes. If we simply tell her to ‘be sad’ more often, we can bring out excellent conflicts amongst the others. After a few days of hearing a depressed child complain, the characters will be very strained; all the things they feel will start bubbling to the surface. Some may begin to doubt themselves, some may go mad, others may plan ways to….silence….the child.”
“You’re right….that’s very subtle. Devious, too.”
“Now you try. Tell me a way to use your elder male character.”
“Well, he’s the oldest of the group, so he’ll have gone through several stories already. He may not be quite as susceptible to our influences on morale.”
“Yes...it’s likely he’s already in a constant state of depression.”
“I’m thinking we should have him killed off early, then. Tossing in a murder so early in the story will add a bit of extra conflict; everyone will be trying to figure out who killed him.”
“That’s true, but unimaginative. You seem to be full of boring thoughts today. Again, try to be subtle. The whole point of these stories is to find out how the minutia of a character matters.”
“Let’s see, then. He’s an elderly man. Older people are slower, they seem wiser, they have experience, they…wait...they have a heritage to worry about. He’ll be the most selfish person there!”
“Doing well so far, keep it up!”
“If he’s selfish, he’ll want to survive the story in good condition.”
“And the best way to survive a story?”
“Eliminate the competition.”
“Right.”
“I’ll give his suspicion a boost then, make him think everyone is out for themselves.”
“Perfect. That way, we may even get a murder or two without direct influence. Think how exciting that would be to the audience! Not to mention how it would look on your resume.”
“What about the other characters?”
“Seeing as this is your first go at this, you shouldn’t try to manipulate too many factors. It’s probably best to put in a few broad strokes here. Be as simple as possible with the rest.”
“Let’s make the mother and father overprotective.”
“Excellent. A bit of whining from the little one should push their anxiety levels through the roof. Not to mention set the elder to worrying about the danger they might pose if anything untoward should happen to their young.”
“I feel like there should be an angry character. The woman, perhaps.”
“That works. It’s always a good idea to have some hate mixed into the story. It keeps the other characters on their toes. And for the last one? The young man?”
“It may seem a bit cliche, but I want him to think he’s the hero. I want him to try to save everyone.”
“Not really that cliche. I find it a good policy to have at least one character audiences can despise. Maybe this one will find a way to get them all to a happy ending.”
“Really? You think it’s possible?”
“Of course not. It would be much too boring.”