Monday we talked more about
characters. The question we are to always ask when writing a story is, who? Who
are you writing about? Who cares?
We also learned that there are two
essential things needed to make your characters interesting; active characters (who
try and take control in every situation) and passive characters (passively go
through life).
When I consider which one of these
characters I would be, I’m pretty sure I’d be a passive one, sadly. I like to
avoid confrontation and be a silent observer in most situations.
As readers, we like out of the
ordinary and passive doesn’t fit that description often. And when writing a
story, we must make sure that the protagonist is an active character.
As an active character, they needs
motivation. What makes them do or react in certain ways? Many ignore finding
the motivation for a character, yet as Professor Jenkins mentioned, it is key
to having a good story.
To figure out what our characters
do what we do, Jenkins introduced the Maslow Hierarchy of needs. Here is a
graph I found that depicts what we should consider for our characters and their
development:
It’s very interesting and it’s hard
to figure out where I am personally along the chart. I know am past exist and I
know that I’ve found love and belonging, yet I’m not sure if I’ve found
security yet. That’s what I’m going to college for, to at least find a way to
have financial security, hopefully. Very interesting.
You've probably got safety. Do you live in a home? Do you have insurance? Do you have a job? Do you have a car? A cell phone? These are all forms of security.
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