Tag: goal
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Of Idiosyncracies, Formidable Personalities and Specifics
Describing an experience or person as bad or terrible will not suffice in fiction writing. Writing that the foster parents in a novel are mean or horrible does not flesh out the unique idiosyncrasies of their formidable personalities. Let us turn to the context of the orphan in a less than ideal foster home.
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Showing Up…
Should the protagonist not appear, in court when summoned, the judge renders a default in favor of the opposing character, whether they be defendant or plaintiff. The character has failed to present and/or make her or his case for a story. And so has the author. All forward motion of plot ceases. No story exists,…
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The Journey and Its Calling…
Each story or novel presents the main character with not only an upset in daily activities, but also a quest. That quest presents itself not unlike a summons to court. The protagonist, in arriving at court, must plead her or his case. And yet the judge, the bailiff, the jurors, even the attorneys for both…
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Of Avataric Moments, Desire, and Change
Symbols link yearning and desire with the change and transformation required for the central character to achieve her or his goal. To the extent that you can attach a physical object to the goal your central character fights to attain, the more you solidify, in the mind of the reader, the experience of your protagonist…
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Who Am I: What Do I Really Want?
According to Jungian theory, the shadow aspect of one’s personality contains any, and everything that falls out of alignment, stands apart, from the ego ideal. The writer must examine the central character’s values, those held by her or his family, mother, father and culture, to gain a sense of how the Shadow archetype might manifest…
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Transformation: Making the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Just as all good stories contain aspects of redemption, and death, so too transformation forms the engine propelling the narrative. A major character or protagonist is like the Prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. God used Ezekiel to teach the Children of Israel how to suffer. Protagonists of our stories show readers, in much the…
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Archetypes and Story
Much like the gods and goddesses of Hinduism and Yoruban spirituality reflect the forces of the human mind and heart, archetypes display aspects and dimensions of character and personality. They show the various degrees of evolution of the human soul from birth to death.