How Including People Makes Your Stories Come Alive
It's wired-in: people want to hear about people, so they can include themselves.
Any success you've had or can have depends on how well you communicate and persuade others.
That's why we're focusing on the story in what you're writing or telling people. Because that's what they want, basically...
OK, we've covered this before. How we like our stories is wired in. It's a bit like our breathing. Somehow, we all know what a great story is and ones that are boring or stupid.
So, to communicate well, to get your point across, to enable the other person to do what you want - these all need a great story.
Basics: A story is a person solving a problem, somewhere.
Too simple? OK -- A person (usually called a character) is someone you can identify with.
A problem is a purpose or goal, opposed.
A setting is somewhere.
We like to hear about people (or personifications) because we want to be entertained, educated, inspired. And when we identify with some person, it's easier to understand what's happening.
Today, we're just talking about the person - the characters in the stories.
There are three types of characters - round, flat, and in relief.
Those are defined by their character traits - what motivates them to act.
And there are four types of traits:
Human traits: these are natural to most humans - appetites, instincts, sensations, emotions - the basic and common feelings which are familiar and appealing.
Typical traits: these are what you expect of a person because of their job, their race, their sex, age, job. Often these are stereotypical.
Social traits: virtues, vices, selfish desires, social demands. People are interested in resolving the wired-in conflicts between natural laws and human culture. These define action.
Individual traits: what peculiarities make this character different from all the others in the story. Their idiosyncrasies, habitual mannerisms, quirks. And can include their preferred manner of dress.
You can start looking over people around you and find all these traits in them.
So, a round character has all four of these. In any story, particularly novels, your main characters will be rounded out.
A flat character will have only a single trait - clear cut and simple. They always act the same way, perform the same function, usually in short stories or brief scenes.
A character in relief will have a dominant trait and a single subtrait. That subtrait is often discovered as a surprise in a story's crisis-point.
As you go through life, you'll find people who appear flat to you - but if you took the time to talk to them, you'd find out all their traits.
In any story, there are only room for characters who forward that story and create its chosen effect on the reader. If they don't do something, then they don't need to be written about. In films, these are the extras in crowd scenes.
Now you can make your stories come alive.
With focused practice, you improve.