Brandon 2
KitaThings to know about Life to help you avoid staleness in writing.
December 13th 2007 12:57
1 Bad People are Pretty Cool. I don’t mean to defend the whole pimp, serial killer, drug dealer, pornographer scene. What I do mean is that when a Heroin dealer is hanging out at the pub with his mates, he isn’t wearing a scowl and a trench-coat and a scowl. He’s just an average everyday bloke enjoying a laugh and a cold one – and he just so happens to deal Heroin. I’m not telling you your bad guys can’t be bastards – just that they can’t be comic book cut outs. Don’t write about ‘Killers’ and ‘Dealers’. Write about interesting character who also ‘Kill’ or ‘Deal’.
2. Things that end up OK aren’t always complexly resolved. It really makes me cringe when you read about someone really badly offending their friend or relative, and never apologising or making amends. However, this is a good cringe – it means someone has captured the reality of unresolved-ness.
As writers we are always working towards resolution. It’s our job to make a wordy mess and clean it up. However it takes a great deal of restraint to permit ourselves to leave a few ends untied just enough to make our readers uncomfortable.
3. Heroes are flawed. We all thought Harry Potter was a whiny little bitch in number six, but that’s what makes him enduring – that he has fought his darker nature to become truly heroic. A perfect hero being heroic is like an able man walking across the room. A flawed hero is that man with no legs.
4 Good people do die. I know you feel bad about killing off your characters unless they deserve it. But unless your one of those authors who tries to express an omnipresent sense of Karma in your work, it’s well worth it to harden up, grit your teeth, and let the innocent blood flow. It’s emotional impact, and it’s deadly.
5 FUNNY STUFF HAPPENS! Yes little Mr Joseph Conrad of Adelaide you ARE a serious writer. But let’s face it – things happen that are funny in real life – it doesn’t have to be a comedy – but if you don’t give us the highs we don’t feel bad with the lows.
2. Things that end up OK aren’t always complexly resolved. It really makes me cringe when you read about someone really badly offending their friend or relative, and never apologising or making amends. However, this is a good cringe – it means someone has captured the reality of unresolved-ness.
As writers we are always working towards resolution. It’s our job to make a wordy mess and clean it up. However it takes a great deal of restraint to permit ourselves to leave a few ends untied just enough to make our readers uncomfortable.
3. Heroes are flawed. We all thought Harry Potter was a whiny little bitch in number six, but that’s what makes him enduring – that he has fought his darker nature to become truly heroic. A perfect hero being heroic is like an able man walking across the room. A flawed hero is that man with no legs.
4 Good people do die. I know you feel bad about killing off your characters unless they deserve it. But unless your one of those authors who tries to express an omnipresent sense of Karma in your work, it’s well worth it to harden up, grit your teeth, and let the innocent blood flow. It’s emotional impact, and it’s deadly.
5 FUNNY STUFF HAPPENS! Yes little Mr Joseph Conrad of Adelaide you ARE a serious writer. But let’s face it – things happen that are funny in real life – it doesn’t have to be a comedy – but if you don’t give us the highs we don’t feel bad with the lows.
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