Action vs. Characters
Characters are what drive the story. Personalities, motivations, hopes and dreams are what they are made of. Only after that, can you introduce action.
Hello everyone...
I recently released my very first science-fiction, political-thriller novel on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. I've been told that the work seems to embody the writing style of a Tom Clancy or a Michael Crichton, blended with an Isaac Asimov. While this is high praise, indeed, I want to go to the next level.
Enter an analysis of a very quiet, very low-action scene in the first season of Game of Thrones. That analysis is here.The analysis is stellar. The writing is stellar. The analysis talks about how:
- Robert Baratheon was not a lecherous drunkard, but actually a very shrewd man.
- He longed for a woman who died long ago, and his wife, Cersi, has been worn down by the fact that Robert truly loved someone else.
- It's also shown that Robert loved the IDEA of this woman, not who she truly was. This is something all of us to can relate to.
- This scene shows a incredible moment, when two jaded people finally drop their guards and are genuine and real with one another. It also embodies decades of hurt into seven mere minutes.
In conclusion...
The character development is incredible, and the dialog is so good that you can feel the feelings of these characters and you can understand their subsequent motivations with a small, quiet scene. THIS is what I aspire to capture in my writing. My story telling is very good. My technical accuracy is decent. And I've found that I have a good skill in weaving various threads together and presenting it as a coherent and engaging work.
What I will strive to master in my second novel is in this arena. I intend to greatly deepen my characters. What are their deepest motivations? What drives them? What thrills them? What horrifies them? I intend to plumb the depths of this facet of my writing.
As the narrator and analyst in the video says, "The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself." I may disagree with this a little, but it is more right than wrong.
Happy writing, my fellow authors!
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
