So in the rules I posted that we were supposed to do an overview a week and then I promptly broke my own rule. But still, here it is. Usually I'd feel guilty about spamming the blog, but between the two of us, things should be all right.
HP Fandom was good times, but that's because I spend so much time reading and writing fanfic for it. And I love Cedric Diggory and Draco Malfoy in bizarre and equal terms, as well as me loving Remus Lupin. And Severus Snape. I mean, sure, Harry's cool and all, but he's the protagonist, and everything is about him. I really, really wanted to do a piece on Regulus Black, because I think he's been rather left in the cold, though not as much since DH came out. I found that, despite my best intentions, my descriptions of places ended up actually being descriptions of people, but then the character of a place is in its history, and history is people, so that works. I was pleased with myself for branching out and trying new things, like with Remus (whom I've never properly written before except as a secondary character) and Tobias Snape (who doesn't get much fandom love either). The trick with fandom is walking the fine line between canon of a character and throwing in your own original twist. Maybe that's why I prefer secondary characters, because there's more room to play.
As far as original characters go, my initial intention was to do drabbles for the boys and girls in the HN novel. Then I remembered that many of those characters are based on real people and I did drabbles for those real people, so I'll have to get some more flesh on those characters' bones before I can pull off a real drabble for each of them. I found that it's difficult to describe a character in isolation without coming off all Sweet Valley like (which I was definitely guilty of when I was younger). Novels and stories aren't meant to have a dramatis personae section in the front or the back (unless it's a Russian novel, or 100 Years of Solitude, because then there are so many characters that a dramatis personae section is necessary). Since boring, cliché introductions are no good as a literary device, I discovered that a vignette style worked best, one that had a slice of plot or action, because a description of an original character falls flat if he or she is not in action. I discovered, as well, that characterization and description go hand in hand, though it's easy to do too much of one and not the other. It was a good two weeks for me, because I love making new characters (and am far less successful at finishing stories with them). Characters should be the heart and soul of fiction, and I got in some good practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment