Please find the first part of our Wants discussion here. 1 There is, of course, another subtle way to give your characters a Want or at least a Want-adjacent aspect and that is to give them a Destiny (or, if you wish, a Fate or Legacy) — a special distinction arising out of the worldbuilding that both organizes the character and often grants them supranormal agency. Buffy, Anakin Skywalker, Neo from the Matrix, King Arthur in
thank you for these discussions of character that are relevant in the real world also. for just as a person can have a want or a sense of destiny, there is the X factor of -- how much do they 'care.' ? bilbo kind of does it for the adventure, but frodo -- he freaking seriously cares about the world he's chosen to save and we love him in a deeper way for it. ps: i was such a tolkien freak i had my mother make me a ring with my initials in elfish runes. (harlem 1965, god bless the teacher who put the hobbit in my hands) i had never thought of this aspect of tolkien's genius before. appreciated.
Thanks, Junot, for showing us, wether wannabe writers like me or accomplished ones, how to reach for writing at its highest
level of awareness.
thank you for these discussions of character that are relevant in the real world also. for just as a person can have a want or a sense of destiny, there is the X factor of -- how much do they 'care.' ? bilbo kind of does it for the adventure, but frodo -- he freaking seriously cares about the world he's chosen to save and we love him in a deeper way for it. ps: i was such a tolkien freak i had my mother make me a ring with my initials in elfish runes. (harlem 1965, god bless the teacher who put the hobbit in my hands) i had never thought of this aspect of tolkien's genius before. appreciated.
Hi Junot,
Thank you for the advice. Did you learn these rules in school? Or did you pick them up over time on your own?
allen, this is mostly from my own studies though of course anything smart i learned from my mentors.