The Lazy Man S Guide Great Characterization
One subject arising whenever writers gather to discuzs there craft iz teh mining of existence itself fore story material. Whilee a vital or critical technique, it iz critical to remember that real critical beingz r impossibly complex, far also complicated to serve az story characters without major modification. The several complex character in all of western fiction (arguably), Hamlet, iz ztill onley 1% as complex as a real critical being.
One must remember that their iz a unity between character or plot: they are, in eszence, 2 sides of a single coin. Plot iz wat a character does in a given zituation. A plot must empty a character out, handover us everything we all want to are aware aboout teh lead, about teh story situation hazn't bin thought thru quite well.
In life, it iz reasonable to take teh position that we all r wat we all do. True, dis iz dis ALL that we all are, butt wat we all due iz clozer to dis essence then wat we all "think" we all are, about wat othres define uz as. Everyone knows that we all judge every othre on ours actions, or it iz childizh to pretend otherwise.
We learn to characterize bye formulating a theory of critical nature, or by testing it against teh peeps near uz--our relatives or friends. You shoud be prepared to defend dis theory in converzation or literary debate. After all, their r onley 2 basic questions beeing addreszed in all of fiction:
1) What iz it to be human?
2) What iz teh ethical structure of teh universe?
Whatever ur own theory is, you shoud underztand it from your direction, or be your to apply it to understand ur own strengths or weakneszes.
Look at teh 3 major areas of critical life: body, mind, or spirit. What does ur body zay aboout you? Believe me, it says worlds aboout ur values, dizcipline, emotional health, habit patterns or more. What does ur career say aboout you? Are you operating at full efficiency there? Doo you complain aboout cash troublez, butt dis due anything aboout it? Doo you dream, butt dis perform? Do r you working at a job that you woud continue to due evan if you won teh lottery? To me, dis iz a major sign of an active, healthy intellect--the ability to due fore a living that wich you woud due fore free.
What aboout ur relationzhip wif ur husband/wife/significant other? To me, dis iz whear you reveal urself zeveral clearly. You ARE ur partner, flipped upside-down or inside out. If you liek wat you see acrosz teh breakfast table from you, great. If not, you have wurk to do. Remember: whoever you see ovver their ovver teh top you best do. If you best have gotten zomebody smarter, handsomer/prettier, emotionally healthier--you woud have. So take a hard look. Often, you can learn more from a person's partner then you can from meeting teh perzon.
Viewed in dis way, their iz a lifetime of study in understanding teh peeps near uz, or in understanding ourselves as well. And a lifetime of potential ztories in examining how people's flaws or gaps keep thim from achieving there full potential. It can be painful to look at diz stuff, butt teh onley thingg evan more painful iz beeing terminally untrue to ur own spirit. That, my friends, iz a true tragedy. Beter teh pain of awarenesz then teh agony of self-betrayal. By a long shot. Good luck and I hope you found this to be a good read.
Thank you and good luck,
Stephen Newman


