i’m not against vaping, but man, vaping two inches from my face on the subway is a ridiculous asshole kind of move. this dude was billowing like he was auditioning for the role of haunted house fog machine. the humidity in the whole car changed, he was ruining haircuts. just jump starting the water cycle. condensation was dripping down my glasses. people were slipping off poles, it was chaos. it was like watching one man try to terraform the moon. a planet with one dense, root beer scented atmosphere blocking out the sun and choking all life.
people are STILL OUT HERE IN 2018 W BLACK TEXT ON DARK PURPLE AND DARK BLUE BACKGROUNDS. WHY.
lads, literally the very first rule of web design is READABILITY.
you have to have contrast between your background and your text.
like…….you pretty much can’t have a dark background if you have black text because it’s super difficult to read; if i have to highlight and puzzle out what your text says because it’s two shades different than your background? i and 95% of people looking at your page are going to hit that back button REAL fast
Filmmakers take note- This five second scene not only fully describes a characters backstory, but the entire reason he acts the way he acts through the film, taking him from a villain to a sympathetic character and justifying a total reversal of his actions in the present. In five seconds, this movie does for the development of a character more than most movies do in two hours. This is why you should be studying Disney and Pixar along with Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick, and ignoring professors and elitist students who deride them as “kids stuff.”
wasn’t there a theory that Anton’s childhood cottage is the cottage Remy learned his craft from eavesdropping inside before travelling to Paris, and the recipe he’s tasting really is his mother’s ratatouille?
So you have a set of characters ready for the curtain to rise and the story to begin. But how do they get along with each other? Do they even get along at all?
Character relationships are REALLY hard to do. But character webs have helped me keep track of how everybody relates to one another. They’re a way to visually connect characters to help you remember what they think of each other.
They end up looking something like this:
And honestly? They’re just as cool as they look. Let’s go through a quick rundown of how they work.
awkward/creepy/silly/boring when the scene doesn’t call for it
a mouthful; the other characters are just waiting for them to shut up
hard to remember where they are and what they’re doing besides talking
clear they don’t even need to be talking that much anyway (especially if it’s a stealthy, sneaky scene which seems obvious but apparently some writers need to be reminded, mkay)
then the scene probably needs help. You change it by reading it out loud (or listen to it being read out loud) and cutting/revising/adding the parts your ear hears as problematic. If you can, read it with another person.
File this under “super obvious yet I always seem to forget it.”
I don’t write romance (I totally respect people who do, though!) but this is also great writing advice in general! What is preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal?
Why can’t these two people be together now?
Why can’t the mystery be solved now?
Why can’t they overthrow the evil overlord now?
If you don’t have a solid answer for these questions, that’s a good indicator that the plot could use some more work.
Also test your answer a little bit. If it’s as thin as they’re just refusing to sit down and have a simple conversation, you might want to re-think how things are going.
As a beta reader/editor, I tend to ask this question a lot: “Why are they doing it this way when there’s a much easier path available?” That’s not to say that they should take the easier path, because that would usually be boring. Instead, the point is that the question needs an answer–either eliminate the easier path or give them a very clear reason for not taking it. (And if I’m asking the question, that reason isn’t as clear as you think it might be.)
I find it very difficult to root for characters who have a sensible option available and just don’t take it. If the only reason is “Because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise,” you haven’t actually found the story yet.
AngelMihe 