Tag: Past

Socioeconomic Status

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            How much money someone has affects the things that he does, thinks, and says. It impacts future dreams and the things that she hopes to accomplish.

For example, a person who grows up in a wealthy family has everything that she could ever possibly want. Nice clothes, a comfortable bed, good food and all the electronics that one could possibly want. He may attend a private school with other entitled children so never knows what it’s like to have class disrupted by unruly students or may have never witnessed a lunchtime brawl.

This character grows into an adult with distinct advantages in terms of status, education and outlook. He has experienced nothing but the best and desires to maintain that status.

Then consider the low income child who grows up in a tiny studio apartment with eight family members. Who is often hungry and wears ragged hand-me-down shoes and clothes. Who falls ill frequently or has to accompany non-English speaking relatives to appointments to act as translator and so misses great amounts of school.

Perhaps she moves around a lot, from one shelter to another, and so schools change weekly. Most shelters are in low income neighborhoods so she does not have access to modern technology in terms of computer labs, WiFi and calculators. School lunches are adequate, probably free, but not delicious. She knows of students who come to school high on drugs, who sell their bodies and who are bellicose.

Think about how these differing early lives affect how your character behaves in your story.

Your task is to decide into which socioeconomic group your character belongs. Then make a bullet-point list of the structures in this person’s life, beginning with the home environment. Consider size of the home, family living there, quality of food and clothes, and what possessions the character owns. Include on your list the things the character sees in his daily life, as he walks down the street, rides in a car or bus, goes into a store, eats at a soup kitchen or restaurant.

Once you have completed your list, write a short scene in which these elements come into play.

This is not an easy task.

Have fun with this one.

Secondary Characters

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

 

Before the story begins, not only does our protagonist know what she wants, has known what she wants and has struggled with getting what she wants, but her friends and family have also struggled with their desires.

The overlap is what concerns the reader. Secondary characters are not just in the story in order to allow for dialogue, but to impact what happens to the protagonist, in both positive and negative ways.

Consider the so-called best friend who feeds the protagonist gossip about the boyfriend that causes a breakup so that now the friend can date the boy. The friend has an agenda that negatively impacts the protagonist, causing pain and anguish and forcing her to do something that she didn’t want to do. Now it may turn out that the breakup was a positive step, especially if the boyfriend is hyper-controlling or abusive, but in the immediate, the pain of separation is real.

Your task is to think of secondary characters that could populate your story. Make a list of who these people could be and their relationship to the protagonist. For example, a young person might be influenced by a teacher, an adult by a boss, a sick person by a nurse and a contractor by an engineer.

Make another list of issues that each secondary character brings to the story. For example, the teacher might be emotionally drained due to the illness of her husband, the boss might be up for a promotion if a project is well-received, the nurse might be struggling with paying the rent and the engineer might have lost important designs. The more issues you come up with, the better your options become.

From both of your lists, choose one character and one overriding issue. Your next step is to list ways in which this issue will affect your protagonist.

Your background work is now done. When you write interactions between your protagonist and your secondary character, do not fill space with the issues. Instead, consider the feelings of the secondary character facing the issue, and how those feelings affect the ways in which that character talks to your protagonist.

Write a scene rich with dialogue. The protagonist wants something because all protagonists must want something or there is no story. She meets her friend. They talk. The protagonist is hoping to hear words of reassurance or advice, but the secondary character is consumed by her own desires.

Imagine how fulfilling the conversation will be and what each character gets out of talking to the other.

This will not be an easy task.

Have fun with this one.

Varied Locations

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing prompt1 Comment

 

Generally a story has more than one setting which places the burden on the writer to bring each place alive. One way you can do that is to plan a walkabout with camera or notebook in hand.

You might want to focus on architecture, such as the shapes of buildings, bridges, and archways. Cities generally have a mix of architectural styles since they are developed over periods of time. Downtowns are frequently the oldest part of town. What features do you see there? In San Francisco, you would see a lot of stucco facings and large, carved wooden doors. Around the doors and windows might be whirliques, demons, saints and sinners alike. If you can, walk inside and describe what you see. Marble staircases and floors? Gilded handrails? Wood flashings and trim?

If the buildings have been remodeled or replaced, massive steel and glass structures might have arisen. Step inside, keeping in mind the contrast to the old buildings that used to be there.

Cross over a bridge or two. San Francisco has two important bridges, the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge. The first is an orange structure that connects SF to the Marin side. It traverses what would be a huge cavern if not for the bay waters far below. When you look at it, think about what stories it tells. There have been many jumpers, almost all of whom died. What would bring someone to jump off that bridge? Think of the car accidents that have taken lives. What were the drivers doing when they crossed over the separating lines.

The Bay Bridge is a modern structure with massive steel cables. It is beautiful, but is shrouded in controversy. The cost to build it went way beyond projections. Think of the story to be told about the negotiations that might have taken place. There are bolts that are rusting, causing some to fear driving over the bridge. Not that we want that to happen, but think of the fictional piece that could tell that story.

As you walk up and down the streets, look at the doors. I’m willing to bet that no two are alike. Note the colors. Do they signify anything or did the owner choose by random? Imagine the story if color meant something. Green for an herbalist, yellow for an apothecary. Red for law. Blue for police. What stories come to mind?

If you don’t have time for a walkabout, go on an imaginary one in the setting of your story. Take notes. Make lists. Come up with potential conflicts and events.

Your task is to write a scene in which the environment is crucial to the story. Don’t spend copious amounts of time describing the scene, but allow the elements to slowly come into play.

Have fun with this one.

Dealing with the Past

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

In Karen White’s contemporary novel, The Sound of Glass, the secrets of the past are interwoven with events of the present. As the story unfolds, the strings binding together families slowly unravel, revealing a disturbing proclivity that is spread across time, place and generation.

This novel reminds us that a person’s history is built by a series of events that influence the development of character.

A classic example is that of an abusive parent or spouse, who abuses the children of the union, who then grow up not knowing any other path of relationship building, and so repeat the pattern of violent action on a new generation.

Likewise a family that is created by love, kindness and caring raises children who feel the warmth, grow up understanding how love binds together individuals and so build new relationships based on mutual respect.

When designing a character, the writer must take into consideration that individual’s past. While the past might not be described in the text, but it does influence how an individual sees and responds to the world.

One way to do this is to write a character sketch of a defining moment in that person’s life. It could be a remembrance of being held in the father’s arms, snuggling with a sibling in a hammock strung between two strong trees, talk around the table during dinner.

Imagine how differently the individual sees the world if he is smacked across the face for speaking during a meal, pushed against a wall for dropping a toy that shatters into pieces or is whipped with a belt for forgetting to pick up dirty clothes.

Your task is to create the background for a character that already exists in one of your stories. You can do this either by writing a scene or by making a list of bulleted points.

Once you have done this, reread your story and look for places where the individual’s reactions would be influenced by the past. Make corrections in order to build consistency.

Have fun with this one.

Good luck.