Hey Dokuga!

I just thought I'd share this link:

youtu.be/52raDbtNpa4

or you could search "Hayao Miyazaki - The Essence of Humanity" posted by Channel Criswell.

Hayao Miyazaki is the director responsible for Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Totoro, an a plethora of other great movies.

Anyways, the vid goes over great points of character development; especially points about relating to one's humanity and having that emotional/moral tie with the character. There isn't just a good/evil plot - it's always much more complex.

(On a side note, I find that throwing situations at characters and figuring out how they would react is the best way to discover their emotional state. I think an author's ability to empathize with their characters is testament to how relate-able their character can be.)

Dokuga members and authors have done so much to motivate me to become a better writer. Thank you Dokuga!

Cheers, watermarkit

Hayao Miyazaki films are fabulous, I agree, but his medium was visual not written.

He can take liberties, because we 'see' the character, rather than read about them. As for characters in the written word. I find concise description better than wordiness. If I can't get the gist of what you're trying to tell me in a paragraph or a single sentence I'm bored. I think too many of us struggle with brevity. We're overly descriptive rather than trying to constrain and control the amount we're telling the reader about a character. It's a difficult skill to develop.

The best written example I can think of from a published author is George R. R. Martin. He writes with a fluidity I've never seen in another professional author. Not a single word is wasted. He can also describe a single character entirely in two paragraphs. If you've read a Clash of Kings. You'll know the part I'm talking about when you're first introduced to Stannis Baratheon.

One word.

Wow.

If I could write concisely like that with a third of his skill in ten years I'll be happy.

As for character development. Well I think a mercurial character is easier to write about than a straight up hero-type. You can be sneaky and twist the plot around that character because they're devious and clever rather than being black and white honourable. It does make the plot twists on how to have that hero-type reacting to their scheming difficult though. And it gets even worse when your readers flat out 'hate' that devious character you're using to drive the story's plotline.

Personal experience.

I've had reviews that say 'I hate him so much right now'.

It doesn't put me off.

Not at all.

It just makes it more fun later on to pull a quote 'Snape Effect' on them when they'll never expect it.

Sometimes I really love writing.

~ Pyre