character development Archives -

Building Complex Characters: Actors Teaching Writers

July 15th, 2021Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Actors have secrets to share with writers I studied acting in Los Angeles in my early twenties and I went on to found and serve for five years as creative director of a nonprofit theater. One of my primary motivations was to learn about conflict, pacing and dialogue as actors embodied the words in my plays and the work of other playwrights. At the acting studio where I studied, the teacher drew techniques from the system developed by Konstantin Stanislavsky (also spelled Stanislavski) that gained prominence in America in the 1930s, known as “the method.” The method technique in a …

The 3rd Person Viewpoint

November 3rd, 2020Sarah Lovett4 Comments

I confess I never stop thinking about the interplay of the macro and micro of story. My goal is always to provide the reader with clarity and meaning. Story development and structure arise out of and along with character development. And the story world connects inextricably to the inner life of each story’s viewpoint character or characters. Simply defined, the viewpoint character refers to the perspective and mind of the character through which the reader experiences the story. You might think of this character as your story’s eyes and ears and thoughts. When you use multiple characters’ viewpoints in a …

The Big Nothing, Small Deaths, and How a Dilemma is Vital for Storytellers

February 4th, 2019Sarah Lovett2 Comments

Recently I had a ‘New Year’ conversation with a good friend. Our talk turned to Noam Chomsky and his film, Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?, an animated documentary on the life of the linguist, philosopher, and political activist by French filmmaker Michel Gondry. (It is, btw, a delightful and provocative film.) Chomsky had been an early influence in my friend’s academic life. We touched briefly on Chomsky’s atheism and his belief in (I paraphrase) the “big nothing” that follows death. The topic of what comes after—nothing or something—tugged at me more than usual, due I think, to winter’s dark days and …

Bring Your Story to Life

July 3rd, 2016Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Gift your characters and their worlds and their journeys of dilemma, conflict, and transformation generously.

Emphasis on transformation.

Of course well-told stories have the power to simply entertain us. But the best stories also have the power to transform by offering new vision, new insight and awareness. They wake us up. And yes that is a tall order.

I watched two films at the Regal 14 with my ten-year-old daughter this summer. Both were major studio productions with big budgets.

The first, a very recent box office hit—a save-the-universe archetypal saga—featured a reluctant, off-beat hero and his vagabond “knights”, one of whom was female, with green skin and a fighting spirit. Make no mistake, she could kick ass with the best and the worst of the guys. The film was loud, action-packed, entertaining and the same ole’, same ole’ story. My daughter loved it! (more…)

Scared to Write Your Book? Let Your Fears Be Your Guides to Success

December 4th, 2015Sarah Lovett1 Comment

Afraid of writing your book because…? Go ahead and jot down a list of your worst fears. Scared of dying? Scared of failing? Scared of finding out you can’t write your way out of a paper bag? (Who needs to do that, anyway?) Scared of hurting others with your words? Scared of contaminating the world with darkness? Scared you’ll find out you’re a monster? Scared you’re just too scared to do anything? Fears. We all have them. You can’t put them in a bottle and cork it. You can’t reason with them. But you can shift your relationship to your …

Character Arc Transformation-Get to the Heart of Your Story

November 22nd, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Get to the heart of your story: character arc transformation This simple exercise provides you with a powerful tool whether you are just beginning to understand your story, you’ve written a full draft, or you are somewhere in between. Take a picture Imagine your protagonist at the beginning of the story, just as it opens. Take a virtual photo of her/him–and carefully observe and study the details: expression, posture, clothing, surroundings. Is she alone? Is she surrounded by others? Is she smiling? Is she looking away from the camera? If so, what is she seeing? What is she hearing? Is she holding something in …

#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #19)

November 20th, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

Okay, for today’s tip, here I go again, talking about staying curious about what your protagonist wants. And, remember, our fictional heroes are extreme–they go after what they want with an intensity that can be frightening and invigorating and freeing. They are bigger than life and we can watch them slip and slide and struggle and push and yearn and obsess to the extreme, whether their story is a tragedy or a comedy. So back to the want. I wrote a very personal blog post a few years ago about going through the death of my marriage and how the …

#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #14)

November 15th, 2015Sarah Lovett0 Comments

When it comes to understanding the story you are writing, teachers stress the importance of knowing what your hero desires, yearns for, desperately wants! They will probably remind you that her goal (want) is something that can be measured externally, in the world. It’s also a very good idea, they say, to know the meaning your hero attaches to getting what she wants. This meaning is internal, having to do with her most vulnerable emotional wounds. Example: She will do almost anything to get that promotion because then she’ll feel validated and successful (instead of feeling like the failure in her …

#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #11)

November 12th, 2015Sarah Lovett1 Comment

How well do you know your significant other? Do you know where and when your best friend went to middle school? Do you know your sibling’s deepest secrets? Do you know if your mother had a first love before she met your father? Or if your older cousin dropped out of sight and out of touch for several years? We are often attracted to people because they hold some mystery for us and we find that challenging, frustrating, and alluring.So, you ask, how does that apply to my novel? Don’t aim to or pretend to know everything about your main …

#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #8)

November 9th, 2015Sarah Lovett1 Comment

Hey, it’s NaNoWriMo day #8 so let everything go to hell! We’ve all had those days when things keep going wrong–and wrong–and more damn wrong! The events might be big (getting fired from your job) or small (someone cutting in front of you when it’s your turn to order your latte). At some point we feel so cornered we explode and let loose our rant! Maybe we’re alone and maybe we’re not. Maybe we’re ranting in someone’s face. Hopefully we’re not threatening anyone with bodily harm. Confession: I’ve pulled over in my car so I could rant without censoring myself …