Scarburg Meadhall Discussion Thread - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

littlemanpoet · 05-22-2008, 09:27 AM

Harreld will have a reply post in place by the end of tomorrow.

I've been thinking about a trick for writing that some comments here and there have brought to my mind. Our posts have a combination of actions, speech, and thoughts. What's interesting is how a character's thoughts are used by other posters.

For example, Lhuna commented that Harreld is not going to make this any easier for Ginna. Part of this is that Harreld has guessed wrong as to what's on Ginna's mind. Lhuna has been writing for Ginna such that she too is guessing wrong about what's on Harreld's mind. What's the upshot? A very interesting character interplay with lots of potential for conflict and misunderstanding, which is what drives interesting story.

I've seen where characters guess exactly right what is on the mind of another character, and it's usually too lucky or too easy, and actually serves to short-circuit good story opportunities. So next time you write a post for your character, think about what makes your character tick, so you can have an idea what wrong guesses he or she might make. I think you'll find it fun.

Just a by the way: healthy interactions in real life are based on precisely the opposite, that is, NOT assuming what the other person is thinking, but asking.

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05-22-2008, 09:27 AM	#9
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	Harreld will have a reply post in place by the end of tomorrow. I've been thinking about a trick for writing that some comments here and there have brought to my mind. Our posts have a combination of actions, speech, and thoughts. What's interesting is how a character's thoughts are used by other posters. For example, Lhuna commented that Harreld is not going to make this any easier for Ginna. Part of this is that Harreld has guessed wrong as to what's on Ginna's mind. Lhuna has been writing for Ginna such that she too is guessing wrong about what's on Harreld's mind. What's the upshot? A very interesting character interplay with lots of potential for conflict and misunderstanding, which is what drives interesting story. I've seen where characters guess exactly right what is on the mind of another character, and it's usually too lucky or too easy, and actually serves to short-circuit good story opportunities. So next time you write a post for your character, think about what makes your character tick, so you can have an idea what wrong guesses he or she might make. I think you'll find it fun. Just a by the way: healthy interactions in real life are based on precisely the opposite, that is, NOT assuming what the other person is thinking, but asking.