wanda dyson

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Wanda Dyson May 20, 2006

Yes, you know her off Oprah, the co-author of "Why I Jumped".

I know Wanda and was in a great session with her last year, thought I'd share...

KEEP IT REAL

Characters are coming alive

Testimony characters?

Multidimensional characters. More than quirks and bad habits.

Character has to have a life that is changed.

Life changed by end of book.

Something will have changed in the character by the end.

Character that people can love

Character that people will hate

And a lot of characters in between

No cardboard characters anywhere in the book.

People are not who they appear to be…

A man murders someone after 25 years of marriage and the wife never saw it coming.

They can’t act the same with everyone in the book.

How will the sub character interact with the protagonist? Antagonist?

Best way to know the character is through conflict.

Conflict will build character and strength or expose weakness.

Characters are best scene through the eyes of the other characters. Daughter, son, boss, husband, wife, mother, lover, shopping partner.

Because Mary will call Janet to shop because Janet is fashion bug but not dependable.

Some of the characters will be the type that are brutally honest.

Characterization: personal profiles, height, weight, hair color

Character: Who they are behind the mask

2 books: Story – Robert McKee Getting into Character – Brandlynn Collins

Demention in a character is conflict and contradiction: ambitious or guilt ridden ambition. Thief vs. charming thief be consistant through the whole book, don’t have him kick the cat at the end of the book.

Supporting Cast:

Main function is to bring out the best or worst in the protagonist.

The antagonist will bring out the protagonist’s best or worst.

Character A might bring out sadness, B nurture, C motherly, D caring, E hatred

Scatter the characters so that they bring out different things .

Build the relationship over time.

Antagonist: a bad guy never thinks he bad.

Dialogue: every character can’t sound alike, strongest accent are easy to have. Pick up an ear for listening. Quirks. Don’t go overboard.

Dialogue is never too much if its moving the story forward. Pepper it with internal dialogue. What moves the story.

Style: we all have unique styles, characters also have their own style. Woman that is never seen without a dress, makeup man with T-shirt that matches flannel shirt underneath. High top sneakers, never ties them. Bandana

Conflict: conflict is not always the main part of our book. Is the assassination is the ONLY conflict going on in your life? Boss, parents, car, thunderstorm, God, the dog dies, don’t overwhelm with this

How do you handle the 15 year old sasses you?

Peel the onion and let the readers see what they are made of!!!!

Book: The Writer’s Journey - Christopher Vogler

When you are in the character’s head, you can only describe what she sees. You can feel your hands tremble but you don’t see your own red eyes unless you look in the mirror.

Subplots are good with several different things going on in the same day. Even if not very big subplots.

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