Sam
it's you! it's me! it's dancing!
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 Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:22 am Post subject: Critiquing Characters |
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You've poured your heart and soul into your latest critique. With a copy of Strunk and White in hand, you pored through the rough draft, putting in EVERY. SINGLE. COMMA that they misplaced. The story is eight times better now, right?
And how does the author going about rewarding your hard work? "Uhm...thanks. That's what Word's Grammar Check said, too."
Down goes the ego. You may never critique again.
Hmm...what else could you look at? Claudette's already torn apart the plot and Snoink's got POV, with Grif on the theme. It's a real stumper (look to the heading of the article for a hint).
Oh, yeah! Characters! The heart and soul and LIFE GIVING- okay, maybe not, but still. Characters are really important.
It's hard to review characters, because when a character is well-written you don't know why, and when it's horrible you don't know where to begin. (This especially tough for people *cough* like myself, whose characters just come and develop on the way.)
Where is the mystical beginning of a character review? Start with the most basic, and work your way up...
1. DID YOU LIKE THE CHARACTER?
Yes, it's as simple as that. It's a yes or no question, not rocket science...and if you don't have an opinion, just pick one and go from there (or better yet, do a little of each).
2. IF YOU LIKED THE CHARACTER OR DIDN'T LIKE THEM- WHY?
Did they remind you of good ol' Grandma Smith? Or were they terribly whiny and juvenile? Pinpoint exactly what ticked you off, or what you thought was cool, and jot it down.
3. WHEN DID IT TURN INTO A [DIS]LIKE?
When you were reading through, were you originally impartial- and then something happened, causing you to go, "Ooh!" or, worse, "Ugh!"? I was reviewing a story the other day, and one of the characters threw a complete hissy fit over a missing shoe, for no apparent reason. I had liked them before then- but then the dark side showed. If you find a turning point (or a convincing point) write it down.
4. WERE THEY PERFECT?
This is easy to spot in some places, and some it's not. A perfect character is sometimes intentional- my David is pretty much so, but it's the bane of his existence- but when it's not, it's just plain bad. Snoink wrote an article about the 'Five Fatal Flaws' that characters should have.
Perfect people are just annoying. If you find someone with a perfect character, consider the plot and come up with a few suggestions for flaws.
5. WAS THE DIALOGUE GOOD?
This is the toughest one to do because it requires actual work  . While you're sitting at your desk reading through a story, read the dialogue aloud, like a script. Does it flow?
If so, note that.
Then, look at the character's personality (which, if they aren't developed enough already, offer suggestions for development- direct them to the Character Development usergroup!) and decide whether the speech fits the character. In an ideal word, the dialogue should be tailored to every character so that there's variety...but often, there's not. Bummer, right? However, this simplifies things for you- all you have to do is the obvious look-over. A Harvard graduate wouldn't use the word 'ain't', for instance. If anything's out of place, say so!
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There are other things you can look at, of course, like relationships and mannerisms and such- but I'm certain your...uhm...reviewèes will appreciate the insight. Characters are the main stars of the show, and if your stars stink, then everyone throws tomatoes at them.
And tomatoes are hard to describe, aren't they? |
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Myth
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:21 am Post subject: |
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Shouldn't this be in Writing Tips? I don't know...
Anyway, I don't always do the above when critiquing, I guess I'll have to do it from now when critiquing and writing my own work. So thanks for that, Sam  |
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Suzanne
verbivore
Writer of Legend
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Claudette's already torn apart the plot |
*squeals* I got mentioned!!!
This is something I think I never do....even with my own work. Which is probably because in my short stories my characters are all carbon copies of the ones before them, they all fit the basic mold because my short stories are so...the same thing over and over. I'm trying to stop that.
But in other peoples fiction, I never look at the characters unless I think they seem nonexistent or I can't grasp on to who they are, because I hate that and its easiest for me to notice.
That was a great tip/thing I'll have to start watching out for those characters... I don't want to get hit with any — *gets hit was a tomato* Darn. |
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