Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Wed, Feb 17 2010
Wrestling, boxing, arguing, fisticuffs, wizard wand-offs and words
I was watching a sort of online brawl today. I could talk about the people involved in that activity, but the sort of thing going on seemed to be feeding on itself a bit too much as it was. It did all start me thinking about conflicts in fiction. If two characters (or sets of characters) are having a fight or an argument in your story you should try to pace things so that it doesn't get to be the same old thing over and over. It might mean injecting other characters or changing the location of the battle.
That all being said, I've seen some really great scenes in films where a physical confrontation went on so long that I wondered how long it would last. If done well, such a scene can make the viewer feel the exhaustion that a prolonged session of table throwing and bottle breaking could bring. It's trickier to do that in a written story, but under certain circumstances a drawn-out fight could enhance other conflict being woven into the tale. In a world where everyone got along we'd wouldn't have to worry about such things, but I'm finding that there is plenty of conflict all around to inspire us to underscore the great themes and issues of life.
posted at: 20:49 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
I was watching a sort of online brawl today. I could talk about the people involved in that activity, but the sort of thing going on seemed to be feeding on itself a bit too much as it was. It did all start me thinking about conflicts in fiction. If two characters (or sets of characters) are having a fight or an argument in your story you should try to pace things so that it doesn't get to be the same old thing over and over. It might mean injecting other characters or changing the location of the battle.
That all being said, I've seen some really great scenes in films where a physical confrontation went on so long that I wondered how long it would last. If done well, such a scene can make the viewer feel the exhaustion that a prolonged session of table throwing and bottle breaking could bring. It's trickier to do that in a written story, but under certain circumstances a drawn-out fight could enhance other conflict being woven into the tale. In a world where everyone got along we'd wouldn't have to worry about such things, but I'm finding that there is plenty of conflict all around to inspire us to underscore the great themes and issues of life.
posted at: 20:49 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
