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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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How to Write Stronger Characters

Hello Everyone!

I realize that I don't have much about character development on this blog, mostly because I love talking about plot and worldbuilding so much more. But don't get me wrong, characters are the most important part of your story because, as readers, we need someone to root for, and that person is your protagonist. Every other element of your story could be fantastic- you've got a killer plot, a perfectly-developed world, and believable dialogue- but if your characters fall flat, your readers aren't going to take any interest in what you've written. I'm here today to help you avoid this problem and create characters that are unforgettable.

Creating Your Character Outline

You're about to collect a lot of information about your character and let me tell you, you need someplace handy to put it. You could make a thousand separate Word docs, but I suggest downloading One Note. It serves as a virtual note and is extremely helpful. The notebooks are broken down into sections and then into pages. So for example, my notebook would be called Turncoats, then I have four sections: characters, outlining, worldbuilding, and miscellaneous. It's the perfect way to make a comprehensive story file and stay organized, especially since I have upwards of seven pages per character. The best part? You can print files directly into OneNote and write or type on them. Keep your eyes out for some free writing resources that you can use in your story file!

Getting to Know Your Character

Everyone creates characters differently. Some start off with a fully formed idea, while others just know that their character is blond. I've been both. The first thing you want to do is learn everything about your character. And I mean everything. Their favorite food, their dog's name, the address of their childhood home. Everything. Sound daunting? It is. But don't worry, I've created a free printable worksheet for you: the Ultimate Character File! Just fill in the blanks and you'll soon be an expert on who your character is. I know that I like to be able to visualize my characters clearly, so I like to find actors that are close to what I imagined in my head for my character and keep them close to my character file (that empty space on the last page is perfect for any pictures you want to include!). Next, I get to know my character even better. I interview them. This not only helps develop your character's voice (see below) but also helps you get a comprehensive story of their life. I made a Character Interview Worksheet to make this easier!

Developing Your Character's Voice

Your story is going to be living and breathing through your characters, which means that you need to be able to hear their voice. Every single character in your story should talk differently. Think about people in real life. Do they talk exactly the same? No. While some people grew up together or in the same place may use similar expressions and idioms, each person's experience is unique to only them and so is their way of speaking. My favorite way to do this is putting myself into my character's shoes and journaling. Not only does this help you develop your character's way of speaking, but it also helps you develop a stronger narrative. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up using some of your journal entries in your finished product! Here are some prompts to get you started: Character Journals.

What Makes Your Character Tick?

You need to understand how your character's brain works. As authors, we are tasked with understanding people who are completely different than us. How do I like to do this? I think that the MBTI personality test is an excellent resource. Not only does it tell you your character's personality type, but many tests often give pages of insights about each type. It is an easy and quick way to make your character more believable. My favorite version of the test is this one: https://www.16personalities.com/. You can even add the information they give you to your character outline.

Making Your Character Relatable

This is where a lot of inexperienced authors (me included!) get things wrong. You may believe that good personality traits make your character likable, and that's true to a point. You have to be careful not to go over the top. If your character begins to seem perfect, then your readers will get easily annoyed. Imagine if one of your friends was perfect in real life. They got A's on every test, was the star player of the basketball team, got the lead in the musical, and on top of all that, everyone loved them. You would hate them! Everyone has good and bad traits and as authors, we must find a balance between the two sides. I love flawed characters. In fact, I find myself relating more to characters with whom I share flaws, rather than good qualities. One of my favorite characters, Hal from Henry IV: Part 1, is extremely imperfect and that's why I love him. He's stuck between his father and the calling of his responsibilities and the pull of fun and the common people. Hal is ultimately human and makes mistakes. He's manipulative and sometimes mean, but he is good at heart. We like to see ourselves reflected in our characters and that's why we have to have a balance because no one is completely good or evil. This applies to villains too. I love complex villains and they're much scarier when there's good and bad in them. It means that no one is evil by nature and they made the conscious decision to be evil. I also love stories where some of the bad guys aren't really bad guys. They're just on the wrong side, doing their duty. Bad guys that your protagonists can respect are also super interesting because it begs the question: is anyone really evil? Aren't we all just the protagonists in our own stories? To fully flesh out your character's strengths and flaws, I like to make a list of both and then expand upon them. For example:

Self-righteous: Benjamin's mother raised him with a strong sense of morality and he has since learned to never compromise on his morals. However, this can lead to him believing that he is morally superior to others, even when they are faced with a tough decision that may not have a right answer.

I hope that this helps anyone struggling to create three-dimensional characters. I've found that these methods are extremely helpful when I'm trying to make my characters believable. Stay tuned for more posts and more free writing resources. I'm considering compiling all of my characters resources into an ebook. Thoughts?

#writing #character development #characterization #original post #the meandering manuscript

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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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A New Way To Worldbuild

I’m going to be completely honest. I don’t always world build for my first draft. I just write and hope that what I imagine in my head is seeping down into my paper. Am I ever that lucky? No. I usually end up doing some world-building questionnaires about half way through my first draft because I realize the world I’m writing about is horribly boring and bland. Though I don’t mind the questionnaires, they can get boring fast, so I’m here today to pitch some new, more interactive ways to world-build.

Draw a Map

I love map making. Not only is the process super fun, it actually helps your writing. Now you don’t have to comb through fifty pages trying to figure out if the queen’s castle is north or south of the Lost Sea. I know that some writers, myself included, sometimes shy away from something that involves drawing because it is not our medium, but remember, this map is for your eyes only. It’s just to help you keep track of where everything is in your story. I like to start either by tracing a preexisting map (I traced one of Ireland for The Four Treasures of Inisfail) or making a land-shaped blob that I will later fashion into a continent. From there, I fill in natural landmarks, so this includes mountains, lakes, forests, rivers, deserts, etc. After that, I add any man-made features and country borders. For reference, here’s a very zoomed out version of a map I made for Turncoats. If you’ve been keeping up with my updates of Turncoats, do any of these places look familiar? If you haven’t been keeping up with Turncoats, here’s the link: https://www.quotev.com/story/8107516/Turncoats

Sketch Clothing Designs

Just like every country in our world has different traditional outfits, every region in your world should have clothing diversity too. For example, somebody from the northern part of Ashland would not dress the same as someone from the Jephra Desert. I use traditional dress for one of my characters, Ara, to show how she is adapting to living in another country. Once again, don’t worry about how bad your sketches look. If you’re having trouble getting the proportions right, Google something along the lines of ‘fashion sketch form’ and thousands of templates for you to draw on will pop up. If you’re stumped on what your characters would wear, research options from the real world that have similar climates to the places you have created. For example, if I wanted to research options for my characters in the Jephra Desert, then I might look up traditional clothing in the Middle East or Sahara Desert to get an idea of what a character would wear during the winter there. If you truly do not want to draw, then there are plenty of doll makers across the internet. Almost like a game of dress up, you’re able to customize the virtual doll and dress them.

Cooking Regional Dishes

I love to cook and bake so this is really fun for me. I did this for Four Treasures and made fresh butter and oat cakes (but got stopped at boar stew when my mom claimed that we didn’t have any boar) and the experience allowed me to fully understand the experience of prepping and tasting the meal. Once again, this step might involve a bit of research. For example, let’s take Sahea from the map above. It’s surrounded by water on three sides, so we can assume that there is a large fishing industry there and I’ve already decided that the climate is similar to the Mediterranean. From there, I could research crops grown in the Mediterranean, or focus in on a country, like Italy or Spain and research different flavorings and foods from each country. Another option is taking food with recipes already written and renaming them for your story. For Sahea, I might choose a dish like Cioppino, which is a fish stew, although not invented in Italy, but by Italian immigrants. You don’t even need to name the dish, but perhaps name the ingredients instead. For example:

Benjamin sifted through the tomato broth filled with crab, scallops, clams, and the Sahean delicacy of squid tentacles that he had yet to learn to enjoy.

To me, food is a really important part of world-building that really sells the setting. Plus, if you ever get published and your book becomes extremely popular, you could one day combine the food you created into something a la the Harry Potter Cookbook.

Take a Walk

The best way to understand the world you’ve created is to experience it, right? Now while I’ll probably have to rely on my imagination for anything south of Olsany, I can experience parts of Ephrea and Ashland in my own home. I live in Northeastern Ohio, which means that I know a fair bit about deciduous forests. Go to the metro parks and get lost on a trail (but not physically, that would be bad). How would your characters see this world? Focus on what it’s like walking through the park. How does the wind sound? How do the trees move? Are there any animals? Understand how your world works is crucial to writing it later on.

I hope that this helps anyone struggling to create a living and breathing world. I know that it can get boring to just think and sit about your world, so switch it up and get your hands dirty.

Katie

#original post #worldbuilding #writing #writing tips #the meandering manuscript

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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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When someone editing your writing comes back with a long list of things that might need changing, do your best to not react negatively to it. It can be hard, because writing gets pretty personal, but you need to put your improvement as a writer over your pride. Besides, a lot of the times a lot of changes might not mean that you’re a bad writer– it just means you’ve got a good editor! So keep trying, and keep improving your writing!

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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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Planning a Mini Writing Retreat

I usually look forward to summer as a time to focus only on writing, but that hardly ever happens. With my senior year and the college search looming over me, writing has fallen to the wayside and every time I try to write, I am plagued by an incurable case of writer’s block. So I did some research to see what other writers did when all hope was seemingly lost and I discovered the idea of a writing retreat. Now I had heard of writing retreats before, but most of them involved spending a week with other writers going to workshops and writing together, which wouldn’t work for a number of reasons. Number one: I’m broke, number two: I don’t have a week’s worth of time, and number three: I’m not 18 yet (sigh). So after being disappointed by delusions of grandeur (I will someday rent out a cottage in the Irish countryside for a month, surrounded by only sheep, but sadly today is not that day), I figured that I could have a writing retreat in my own home that didn’t involve me locking myself in my bedroom and wrapping myself in my Ohio State snuggie only to stare at a blank Microsoft Word document for six hours. So if you can tolerate a couple of un-witty section titles, join me, and we can plan our writing retreat together.

Discovering Your Motivation/The Genre of Your Retreat

First things first, you need to decide what you to accomplish. Set one concrete goal for yourself (i.e. edit four chapters, write 10,000 words) and one abstract goal (i.e. fall in love with your work in process). I really wanted my retreat to be a place where I could recharge and fall back in love with writing, so I decided to create an itinerary that would combine my goals with some of my favorite things: writing, relaxation, and Shakespeare. Now you could have very different ideas of fun and what you want to accomplish, so base your retreat around what you like best! Perhaps you get your best ideas while exercising, so work in activities that get you on your feet to break up your writing periods. I find that having a major theme to encompass your day or weekend will help guide you in your planning because it’s almost like an outline for the rest of the retreat.

To Invite, or Not to Invite

The next step is to decide whether this is a solo adventure or you need the support of a group of friends. When deciding this you have to consider if your author friends are going to help you improve your writing. My best friend and I would love to go on a writing retreat together, but let me tell you, you leave us alone for five minutes and we’d start debating over the best Irish punk-folk band (it’s The Pogues and I will fight anyone on this) and never get around to actually writing. If you’re going to invite a partner in crime, I suggest having a reading period at the end of each day, so that everyone has some accountability. You have to write so you don’t show up to the reading session empty handed. Also, only invite people that would bring good vibes to your writing space. Anyone who acts too author-ly (we all know that one person) should be left off the guest list.

The Setting of Your Retreat

The one requirement for your retreat is that you must be able to relax and be able to write in the space where you’re holding a retreat. While it would probably be better and more of a get away to hold your retreat somewhere outside of your home, it does provide a totally free option (as long as you live alone or somehow manage to get rid of your family for a couple of days). If you do hold your retreat in the comfort of your own home, change some things around to make it feel different. Build a blanket fort. Sit outside and write. Put some scented candles around the place. If you are looking for a free option outside of your house, go to a park nearby, a library, a Starbucks, or go bookstore hopping. Of course, the activities you plan will be limited by your location, so consider what you want to do with your time and whether or not your chosen location will allow for that. Your favorite bookstore might not mind you hanging out to write, but if you start busting out some yoga poses, you might be kindly asked to leave. If you are not a broke teenager like me, consider a Bed and Breakfast or maybe even an AirBnB. With the latter, you can usually rent out entire houses for a very reasonable rate. Maybe you can live out my dream of writing among the sheep in the Connemara countryside.

Choosing Your Trials

Now for the fun part, choosing your activities! Create a schedule for the day (don’t forget meals and breaks!) based upon your goals. So my schedule might look a little something like this:

8:30 – Breakfast

9:00 – Character Workshop – Gather any materials you might need the night before, so you don’t waste time scouring the depths of the Internet for character worksheets. For this activity, you get to choose what helps you get inside your character’s heads the most. Maybe you like character interviews, but personally, I love writing journal entries from the character’s point of view. Not only does it help me practice develop their voice, but I find this is the most effective way to discover who your character really is.

10:00 – Relaxation Break – For my first break, I wanted to emulate the feel of a spa (I wasn’t kidding about breaking out those scented candles), so I have a small collection of face masks just waiting to be used.

10:30 – Writing Block- Turn off your internet access and just let yourself free write!

12:00 – Lunch

12:30 – Henry IV: Part 1- For some reason, anytime I pop the Lord of the Rings or The Hollow Crown into my DVD player I get the urge to write. So this is a form of inspiration in a way. I love watching Shakespeare’s characters and they always encourage me to better my own, and besides, who doesn’t love a good hero story? Plus, Hal such a relatable protagonist. He’s constantly compared to his cousin who’s better than him at everything and then Hal acts incompetently to lower everyone’s expectations of him. We’ve all been guilty of folding the laundry incorrectly so our mothers won’t ask us to do it again. Or is that just me?

2:30 – Writing Block

4:30 – Relaxation Break. Take a dip in a hot tub if one’s available. Or draw a hot bath.

4:45- Worldbuilding Exercises – I admit, this time around I did not worldbuild as thoroughly as I should have and because of that, I feel like my writing has suffered. Plus, worldbuilding makes me excited, so I love to do it. If you’re worldbuilding too, you don’t only have to fill out questionnaires that never seem to end. Draw maps! Sketch designs of traditional garments! Make up regional recipes and then attempt to cook them! The fun never ends!

6:30 – Dinner

7:30 – Reflection. Did your retreat accomplish everything you wanted it to? Did you accomplish your goals? Do you feel confident in your craft? Are you happier and more relaxed?

8:00 – Writing Block

10:00 – End of the Day. Eat a giant bowl of ice cream while watching Henry IV: Part 1 a second time.

So like I said, this is what my schedule would look like, but yours could be completely different. Maybe you want to focus more on editing on your work in progress, or being active helps get you inspired. This is just a rough template that can be modified to fit your own personal needs and goals.

Tips

Tell everyone that you’re going to be unreachable for a day or a week. For me, knowing that I told people I’d be gone makes me want to reach out less. Turn off the Wifi. The Internet is a black hole that needs to be ignored. Download your writing music onto your computer or phone so you don’t have to use Spotify or Youtube playlists. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb. It’s the closest thing to turning your phone off without actually turning your phone off. Eat healthily. You may be tempted to binge eat cookies all day, but you’ll be more productive if you eat healthily. Save the sweets for the end of retreat celebration.

So, I hope this helps anyone that is thinking about planning their own writing retreat! Let me know if you’ve ever done something similar or are planning to try this out one day!

Katie

#writing retreat #how to #original post #the meandering manuscript

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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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Making a Short Film: Part 2

Hello Everyone!

I know it’s been a long time since my last post in this series, but life has caught up to me and slowed me down this summer. I’ve been experiencing a horrific bout of writer’s block, so tomorrow I’m planning on doing a mini-writing retreat to get me back in the game (more on that tomorrow). Anyways, this is the second part of my short film series and today I’ll be focusing mostly on preproduction. Hopefully, the hardest part of preproduction, actually writing and editing your script, will be over for you and you’ll be able to move on to preparing to film.

Cast and Crew

If this is your first short film, you’ll probably be relying on family and friends to help you bring your script to life. Luckily on the crew side of things, you don’t need professionals for your first couple of films. There are a few major positions that I do recommend filling, though. The roles of director, cinematographer, producer, boom operator, and editor. I usually take on the roles of director and cinematographer, depending on who I’m working with, but since it’s a small film shoot, your crew members can take on more than one job to help get things done. Your actors, however, should be a little more experienced. You could have a beautifully filmed, produced, and edited piece, but bad acting will sink it in the first few minutes. If you’re still in school, try recruiting people from the drama club. Most actors love to get more experience (it’s something they can put on a resume) and won’t mind working for a couple slices of pizza. You can also subscribe to performing arts news to reach a wider audience who might be interested in helping you. I know that in the Cleveland area, Neohiopal is a great resource. It’s a free, subscription email service that allows anyone to post and receive news in the area.

Storyboarding

For me, storyboarding is ultimately one of the most time-consuming things in the pre-production process. If you don’t know what storyboarding is, it’s a comic-like way for a filmmaker to visualize their film shot-by-shot that serves as a roadmap throughout the filming process. This allows you to see what your film will look like edited and every time I finish this step, I fall back in love with my piece (which is crucial for any writer in any medium). This not only allows you to see your film, but it also allows you to communicate your vision with your crew and cast members and allows the filming process to become more efficient because you know exactly what shots you need. A lot of times, people get frustrated with this step because they do not consider themselves visual artists. Trust me, you only need to be able to draw stick figures to get this done. I’m horrendous at drawing (I dropped out of art class to prove it) and I still finished my storyboards, and believe me, you forget about how bad your drawing ability is once you’re able to get a sneak-peek of what your finished film will look like.

Script Breakdowns

I know that there’s several different programs and templates for script breakdowns on the internet, but I prefer a couple of multicolored highlighters and a Microsoft Word document. The first thing I’ll do is make a key on the cover, for example, pink equals actors, green equals locations, yellow equals props, then I go through my script and highlight everything accordingly. Once I’ve finished that, I make a list for each scene, which might look something like this:

Scene 1.

Actors

Josephine

Percy

Louise

Props

Rock

Calendar

Alarm clock

Twilight Kingdom sign

Books

Notebooks

Crumpled paper

Red candles

Pancakes with red frosting

Handwritten “Birthday of but a single pang”

Wardrobe:

Pajamas

Locations

The woods

Josephine’s bedroom

Old stone gate

Treehouse

Vehicles

Three bikes

Special Makeup

Sweat

Audio

Rock tapping

From there, you can create a props list by compiling all the props needed in the script. My props list, for example:

Props:

Rock

Calendar

Alarm clock

Twilight Kingdom sign

Books

Notebooks

Crumpled paper

Red candles

Pancakes in red frosting

Handwritten “Birthday of but a single pang”

books

open notebook

picture of Words, Words, Words

rock

colorful lights

Percy’s note

Watch

Books, treehouse dressing stuff

Candle

Lighter

Alarm clock

Scheduling

This is one of the most important parts of any film. Without one, you’ll be blindly shooting scenes way slower then you should be. The number one thing to remember is that you don’t need to film in chronological order. In fact, doing so sometimes slows you down. Organize your schedule by your locations so you don’t have to be driving back and forth between locations, wasting both time and gas money. Also, pay attention to when your scenes take place. You don’t want to schedule to shoot in the morning only to remember that the scene takes place at night. I had two scenes to be shot at night, so I scheduled everything else around those two scenes. I also try to budget extra time for each scene I’m shooting so I don’t run out of time. Filming takes forever because the weather could act up, an actor might not know his lines, there could be technical difficulties, and on top of all that, you need multiple takes of each shot. You don’t want to get behind schedule and have to spend another day filming, so I suggest putting extra time into your budget to help cover any unexpected problems.

#short film #writing #original post #the meandering manuscript #pre-production #filming

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the-meandering-manuscript · 8 years ago

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Lisa Lawrence’s Archetypes and Symbols List

Archetypes and Symbols

SITUATION ARCHETYPES

1. The Quest – This motif describes the search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land, the desolation of which is mirrored by a leader’s illness and disability.

2. The Task – This refers to a possibly superhuman feat that must be accomplished in order to fulfill the ultimate goal.

3. The Journey – The journey sends the hero in search for some truth of information necessary to restore fertility, justice, and/or harmony to the kingdom. The journey includes the series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way. Usually the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths, quite often concerning his faults. Once the hero is at this lowest level, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living.

4. The Initiation – This situation refers to a moment, usually psychological, in which an individual comes into maturity. He or she gains a new awareness into the nature of circumstances and problems and understands his or her responsibility for trying to resolve the dilemma. Typically, a hero receives a calling, a message or signal that he or she must make sacrifices and become responsible for getting involved in the problem. Often a hero will deny and question the calling and ultimately, in the initiation, will accept responsibility.

5. The Ritual – Not to be confused with the initiation, the ritual refers to an organized ceremony that involves honored members of a given community and an Initiate. This situation officially brings the young man or woman into the realm of the community’s adult world.

6. The Fall – Not to be confused with the awareness in the initiation, this archetype describes a descent in action from a higher to a lower state of being, an experience which might involve defilement, moral imperfection, and/or loss of innocence. This fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience and/or moral transgression.

7. Death and Rebirth – The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. It refers to those situations in which someone or something, concrete and/or metaphysical dies, yet is accompanied by some sign of birth or rebirth.

8. Nature vs. Mechanistic World – Expressed in its simplest form, this refers to situations which suggest that nature is good whereas the forces of technology are bad.

9. Battle Between Good and Evil – These situations pit obvious forces which represent good and evil against one another; typically, good ultimately triumphs over evil despite great odds.

10. The Unhealable Wound – This wound, physical or psychological, cannot be healed fully. This would also indicate a loss of innocence or purity. Often the wounds’ pain drives the sufferer to desperate measures of madness.

11. The Magic Weapon – Sometimes connected with the task, this refers to a skilled individual hero’s ability to use a piece of technology in order to combat evil, continue a journey, or to prove his or her identity as a chosen individual.

12. Father-Son Conflict – Tension often results from separation during childhood or from an external source when the individuals meet as men and where the mentor often has a higher place in the affections of the hero than the natural parent. Sometimes the conflict is resolved in atonement.

13. Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity – Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding intuitively as opposed to those supposedly in charge.

SYMBOLIC ARCHETYPES

1. Light vs. Darkness – Light usually suggests hope, renewal, OR intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.

2. Water vs. Desert – Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. Water is used in baptism services, which solemnizes spiritual births. Similarly, the appearance of rain in a work of literature can suggest a character’s spiritual birth.

3. Heaven vs. Hell – Humanity has traditionally associated parts of the universe not accessible to it with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern its world. The skies and mountaintops house its gods; the bowels of the earth contain the diabolic forces that inhabit its universe.

4. Haven vs. Wilderness – Places of safety contrast sharply against the dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources.

5. Supernatural Intervention – The gods intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against him.

6. Fire vs. Ice – Fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth while ice like desert represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death.

7. Colors

A. Black (darkness) – chaos, mystery, the unknown, before existence, death, the unconscious, evil

B. Red – blood, sacrifice; violent passion, disorder, sunrise, birth, fire, emotion, wounds, death, sentiment, mother, Mars, the note C, anger, excitement, heat, physical stimulation

C. Green – hope, growth, envy, Earth, fertility, sensation, vegetation, death, water, nature, sympathy, adaptability, growth, Jupiter and Venus, the note G, envy

D. White (light) – purity, peace, innocence, goodness, Spirit, morality, creative force, the direction East, spiritual thought

E. Orange – fire, pride, ambition, egoism, Venus, the note D

F. Blue – clear sky, the day, the sea, height, depth, heaven, religious feeling, devotion, innocence, truth, spirituality, Jupiter, the note F, physical soothing and cooling

G. Violet – water, nostalgia, memory, advanced spirituality, Neptune, the note B

H. Gold – Majesty, sun, wealth, corn (life dependency), truth

I. Silver – Moon, wealth

8. Numbers:

A. Three – the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost); Mind, Body, Spirit, Birth, Life, Death

B. Four – Mankind (four limbs), four elements, four seasons

C. Six – devil, evil

D. Seven – Divinity (3) + Mankind (4) = relationship between man and God, seven deadly sins, seven days of week, seven days to create the world, seven stages of civilization, seven colors of the rainbow, seven gifts of Holy Spirit.

9. Shapes:

A. Oval – woman, passivity

B. Triangle – communication, between heaven and earth, fire, the number 3, trinity, aspiration, movement upward, return to origins, sight, light

C. Square – pluralism, earth, firmness, stability, construction, material solidity, the number four

D. Rectangle – the most rational, most secure

E. Cross – the Tree of life, axis of the world, struggle, martyrdom, orientation in space

F. Circle – Heaven, intellect, thought, sun, the number two, unity, perfection, eternity, oneness, celestial realm, hearing, sound

G. Spiral – the evolution of the universe, orbit, growth, deepening, cosmic motion, relationship between unity and multiplicity, macrocosm, breath, spirit, water

10. Nature:

A. Air – activity, creativity, breath, light, freedom (liberty), movement

B. Ascent – height, transcendence, inward journey, increasing intensity

C. Center – thought, unity, timelessness, spacelessness, paradise, creator, infinity,

D. Descent – unconscious, potentialities of being, animal nature

E. Duality – Yin-Yang, opposites, complements, positive-negative, male-female, life-death

F. Earth – passive, feminine, receptive, solid

G. Fire – the ability to transform, love, life, health, control, sun, God, passion, spiritual energy, regeneration

H. Lake – mystery, depth, unconscious

I. Crescent moon – change, transition

J. Mountain – height, mass, loftiness, center of the world, ambition, goals

K. Valley – depression, low-points, evil, unknown

L. Sun – Hero, son of Heaven, knowledge, the Divine eye, fire, life force, creative-guiding force, brightness, splendor, active awakening, healing, resurrection, ultimate wholeness

M. Water – passive, feminine

N. Rivers/Streams – life force, life cycle

O. Stars – guidance

P. Wind – Holy Spirit, life, messenger

Q. Ice/Snow – coldness, barrenness

R. Clouds/Mist – mystery, sacred

S. Rain – life giver

T. Steam – transformation to the Holy Spirit

U. Cave – feminine

V. Lightning – intuition, inspiration

W. Tree – where we learn, tree of life, tree of knowledge

X. Forest – evil, lost, fear

11. Objects:

A. Feathers – lightness, speed

B. Shadow – our dark side, evil, devil

C. Masks – concealment

D. Boats/Rafts – safe passage

E. Bridge – change, transformation

F. Right hand – rectitude, correctness

G. Left hand – deviousness

H. Feet – stability, freedom

I. Skeleton – mortality

J. Heart – love, emotions

K. Hourglass – the passage of time

CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

1. The Hero – In its simplest form, this character is the one ultimately who may fulfill a necessary task and who will restore fertility, harmony, and/or justice to a community. The hero character is the one who typically experiences an initiation, who goes the community’s ritual (s), et cetera. Often he or she will embody characteristics of YOUNG PERSON FROM THE PROVINCES, INITIATE, INNATE WISDOM, PUPIL, and SON.

2. Young Person from the Provinces – This hero is taken away as an infant or youth and raised by strangers. He or she later returns home as a stranger and able to recognize new problems and new solutions.

3. The Initiates – These are young heroes who, prior to the quest, must endure some training and ritual. They are usually innocent at this stage.

4. Mentors – These individuals serve as teachers or counselors to the initiates. Sometimes they work as role models and often serve as father or mother figure. They teach by example the skills necessary to survive the journey and quest.

5. Hunting Group of Companions – These loyal companions are willing to face any number of perils in order to be together.

6. Loyal Retainers – These individuals are like the noble sidekicks to the hero. Their duty is to protect the hero. Often the retainer reflects the hero’s nobility.

7. Friendly Beast –These animals assist the hero and reflect that nature is on the hero’s side.

8. The Devil Figure – This character represents evil incarnate. He or she may offer worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for possession of the soul or integrity. This figure’s main aim is to oppose the hero in his or her quest.

9. The Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart – This redeemable devil figure (or servant to the devil figure) is saved by the hero’s nobility or good heart.

10. The Scapegoat – An animal or more usually a human whose death, often in a public ceremony, excuses some taint or sin that has been visited upon the community. This death often makes theme more powerful force to the hero.

11. The Outcast – This figure is banished from a community for some crime (real or imagined). The outcast is usually destined to become a wanderer.

12. The Earth Mother – This character is symbolic of fulfillment, abundance, and fertility; offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those who she contacts; often depicted in earth colors, with large breasts and hips.

13. The Temptress – Characterized by sensuous beauty, she is one whose physical attraction may bring about the hero’s downfall.

14. The Platonic Ideal – This source of inspiration often is a physical and spiritual ideal for whom the hero has an intellectual rather than physical attraction.

15. The Unfaithful Wife – This woman, married to a man she sees as dull or distant, is attracted to a more virile or interesting man.

16. The Damsel in Distress – This vulnerable woman must be rescued by the hero. She also may be used as a trap, by an evil figure, to ensnare the hero.

17. The Star-Crossed Lovers – These two characters are engaged in a love affair that is fated to end in tragedy for one or both due to the disapproval of society, friends, family, or the gods.

18. The Creature of Nightmare – This monster, physical or abstract, is summoned from the deepest, darkest parts of the human psyche to threaten the lives of the hero/heroine. Often it is a perversion or desecration of the human body.

RECOGNIZING PATTERNS

The following list of patterns comes from the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster who teaches at the University of Michigan. If you are serious about literary analysis, then it is highly recommended that you buy this book. It goes into detail what is just briefly mentioned and is written in such a lively, witty voice that it does not read like a textbook at all! It will be well worth your time and effort to read it.

Ø Trips tend to become quests to discover self.

Ø Meals together tend to be acts of communion/community or isolation.

Ø Ghosts, vampires, monsters, and nasty people and sometimes simply the antagonists are not about supernatural brew-ha-ha; they tend to depict some sort of exploitation.

Ø There’s only one story. Look for allusions and archetypes.

Ø Weather matters.

Ø Violence and be both literal and figurative.

Ø Symbols can be objects, images, events, and actions.

Ø Sometimes a story is meant to change us, the readers, and through us change society.

Ø Keep an eye out for Christ-figures.

Ø Flying tends to represent freedom. What do you think falling represents?

Ø Getting dunked or just sprinkled in something wet tends to be a baptism.

Ø Geography tends to be a metaphor for the psyche.

Ø Seasons tend to be traditional symbols.

Ø Disabilities, Scars, and Deformities show character and theme.

Ø Heart disease tends to represent problems with character and society.

Ø So do illness and disease.

Ø Read with your imagination.

Ø Irony trumps everything!

Ø Remember the difference between public and private symbols.

MLA Citation (7th Edition)

Lawrence, Lisa. “Archetypes and Symbols.” West Morris Central High School. West Morris Regional High School District, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2013. <http://central.wmrhsd.org/FACULTY…/Archetypesandsymbols.pdf>.

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