Puppets, Characters, and the Difference Between

During a writer meeting with the Young Writer's Program I am involved in, I was asked about don't do what you want them to and sort of take on their own identity, that's when they really come alive."
characters. I replied, without thought, "Well, I find that when a character does what I want it to, it isn't really a character, more like a puppet. When characters

One of the teachers sat in silence, then said, "That was really amazing, the way you put that. Write that down!"

Now that I've had time to think about it, I have gleaned the truth out of it as well (because I don't really think about what I say, it just sort of comes out without former thought). And it's true; my naughty character Dirco used to be the shining example of beautiful alive characterness. He made smart-aleck remarks when I wished he would be emotional, and he would write in his little notebook whenever I didn't want him to. So, in a sad, strange attempt to put a bridle on his personality problems, I said, "Now Dirco, in the next book, you're going to have some feeling and emotional problems and you're going to like it!"

It was a big mistake. Now, he's a slave to my foolishness, and completely lacks in original thought and motive. He's all me. And I hate it.

Now I wish I could say something really encouraging and give you my results in changing Dirco back, but sadly I haven't done so yet. I'm finding it a bit difficult to cut the puppet strings.

So the moral of this story is: NEVER TRY TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CHARACTERS. When they do their own thing, cheer! You've made a great character! Hooray!!

Now go and pray I can get my real Dirco back. Really hard.

~Anastasia

Book Review: The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Photo credit Wikipedia

Okay, this is a long-due review of the book series that inspired me to write fantasy. I found the series to be very inconsistent in writing style and such. In the first book, Paolini took an almost casual tone, but by the end his language was so formal that I felt as if I was reading Lord of the Rings. Now, I loved these books while reading them, but after having time to mull them over a little, I decided on these opinions.

Overall review: The Inheritance Cycle is worth getting from the library first before buying them. I mostly enjoyed reading the books, but the writing was very inconsistent and things came too easily to the hero (you know, heroes are supposed to actually have trouble doing some things...isn't that what makes them a hero?). I also can't seem to pull any moral from the story; it lacked completely in a message. Still, the storytelling aspect of this series is excellent and the elements of Paolini's fantasy world are very interesting.

Eragon

7 out of 10 stars: Well thought-out, entertaining, but overall not very memorable.

It took me a while to finish this book, but it was very good. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and the technical fantasy aspects were well-thought out. It was an excellent beginning to a series, and I was excited to read the next installment. The characters were well-constructed and the story was intriguing. The only thing it seemed to lack was a solid structural backbone; there didn't seem to be any underlying moral to the story, which left me feeling a bit empty. I don't remember there being a terrible amount of gore, but one character cursed a few times in the beginning.

Eldest

5 out of 10 stars: Not unbearable, but not good. Badly paced and inconsistent with the former novel.

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as I enjoyed Eragon. Eldest set a whole different tone and doesn't have as much action as the others in the series. It focused more on the elves and magic and not enough on the war going on; it was almost like a cultural lesson in Christopher Paolini's version of elves. It got very boring and very dragging at times, but it picked up near the end. Again, there was no underlying moral that I can discern. Plus, Roran's relationship with Katrina was very unhealthy. I can't exactly say I hated it, but I definitely didn't love it.

Brisingr

7.5 out of 10 stars: Best book in the series; action filled, best written, consistent, paced.

This was my favorite book out of all of the series. It was a perfect mix of action and emotion. At this point, Eragon was still working out his magical powers and such, so he still struggled (as opposed to the next book, where he breezed through every challenge with ease). There were more POV shifts, which kept the book moving even in the slow parts, and the depth of the writing really revealed a lot more about the world Paolini was constructing. The whole scene where Eragon built his sword was totally unnecessary, but I get Paolini is one of those people who have to describe every little thing his character does. There was actually a smallish message in this book, I guess, about different races joining together and trusting each other...(???) But again, it's a subtle message. Some gore, but I don't remember any language.

Inheritance

6 out of 10 stars: I'd rather read this than Eldest, but it was a disappointing ending. Still, not horrible, since some parts were very cool.

I started this book out expecting an epic ending to the series but didn't get what I wanted. Things were way too easy for Eragon; I felt more attached to the secondary characters than to the hero because Eragon seemed too perfect. The action was a-plenty, though, with emotions down to a minimum. No moral that I can detect. The defeat of the villain was okay, I guess...I didn't really understand it all too well, but I think I got the general idea. The ending was so sad I nearly passed out. Paolini stated in the acknowledgments that he might write more about Alagaesia one day, but I think that might have been an excuse to leave all of the complicated subplots unresolved (if I'm wrong, please forgive me, Chris). It's like he got so confused by his own subplots that he couldn't think of a way to resolve them all. Not to mention Paolini had to insert his own religious beliefs into Eragon, which didn't end very prettily.

To make a long story short, this series is worth reading. I guess it really depends on your taste. If you're one who doesn't read too much into books and their messages and morals, then you'll probably enjoy these books. If you're a sensitive type and like to be moved by the material you read, then I'd go with something more Bryan Davis-y.

Have you read the Inheritance Cycle? What are your thoughts?

Heroes, Protagonists, and Jack Frost

Psst.

Can I tell you a secret?

No, right now.

Yeah, like, before my computer runs out of batteries and I have to go to bed!

(*cough* Actually I should really already be in bed...but my dad hasn't given the order yet... >:})

(Especially since I think I'm coming down with the cold circulating throughout our two-bedroom condo...)

(Anyways.)

No, I only have 18% left, you have to come right now!

Okay. All settled? You may want to sit down. This could knock your socks off.

For real this time. You ready? Okay. Here goes...

I have serious character envy.

There, I said it! The secret is out! I, who treasure and adore my characters, with all their little flaws and occasional rebellion, and their cute little perfect features (perfect for me, anyways), ENVY another character...one I did not create!

Ooohhwwggg...I'm so ashamed...

Here's the whole story. You know I have this whole 'affair' with the Dreamworks movie Rise of the Guardians? Well...I watched it today. It was probably my fifth time I've ever watched it. And around that time I start to really take apart the movie and its characters. And I am seriously jealous of Jack Frost.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sure you read that little blurb on my author blog about "I. Love. Jack. Frost." I'm sure you caught wind of my animation romance with the complexity and awesomity of Jack Frost. But you have no idea how deep that character goes.

First, I'm going to have to ask you to watch the movie. Yeah, I know, it wasn't exactly a BLOCKBUSTER HIT or anything, but it is a super good movie. Especially if you're artsy like me. The story is awesome and the animation is INCREDIBLE. The facial expressions always get me...I could watch Jack and Santa Clause talk about their center all day... No seriously, you can tell everything Jack is thinking in that scene from the way his face moves, I swear.

Anyways. Off-track and distracted by the late night hypers. Ahem. So, go to your local Redbox and pick up the movie, dust it off, and stick it in your Blu-ray player. No, it has to be Blu-ray. No Blu-ray?! What, do you live in the twentieth century or something?! FINE, use your DVR...sheesh.

...Watched it? Good! Now I can blurt out all the secret stuff about Jack Frost.

Okay. Here's why Jack Frost is such an awesome hero.

1. He has flaws. *Gasp!* I know! Heroes aren't supposed to have flaws, right?! Nope, wrong! Heroes should ALWAYS have flaws, weaknesses, and things that make them tick. Haven't you ever come across a protagonist in a book that you just hated because he was too...good? Jack Frost can't be seen by the children of the world. He has a bad weakness because he's doubtful of himself. He feels like he can't know who he is unless he knows who he was before he was Jack Frost. That. Is. AWESOME.

2. He has fears. And it's not just because of the Boogie Man. Jack has always been afraid of never being believed in. He's afraid of never knowing who he was. He's afraid of himself, in a way. It's sooooo easy to make a hero perfect. (I have on many occasion...ahem...) But lots of people don't realize it's the flawed, fearful, messy characters we love the most because we sympathize with them. We feel their pain, because we aren't perfect. (I guess that's why I never liked Superman... Always had things going for him with the super strength, the invincibility, the laser eyes... I think the whole kryptonite thing is in his head, too, because, um, wasn't his PLANET made out of kryptonite?!)

(...Don't answer that, I know literally two things about Superman.)

(He's super and he has a dog named Krypto.)

(Another weird thing. Name a dog after your greatest weakness.)

(...Losing track. Sorry.)

3. He has desires. Jack wants more than anything to be noticed by kids. His greatest wish is to figure out why he is who he is. Why did the Man on the Moon pick him to be Jack Frost? What is so special about him? These desires drive Jack into the adventure. They keep him going when the going gets tough. When life hands him lemons, he looks at his goals and desires and squeezed those lemons right into his eye sockets just to feel the stinging flames of victory. And that, my friends, is the mark of a true hero that us readers can say, NOW THAT'S SOMEONE WORTH ROOTING FOR! HE'S NOT JUST FLYING BY THE SEAT OF HIS PANTS, THERE'S MOTIVES BEHIND THOSE DECISIONS!

4. He makes mistakes. When Jack gets distracted and abandons his team to search for his past in Pitch Black's lair, he makes a big mistake and ruins Easter, resulting in him being cast out from the Guardians. Now, this is something I have trouble with: letting my heroes fail. As writers, we want our heroes to succeed! We want them to get the girl and fly off into the sunset on a cherry red Mustang GT 500! We don't want to see them stuck in a snowy wasteland being tempted by the villain. But in order to make a believable and sympathizable (is that a word? I just used it. Loud and proud and no one will notice, that's what I always say.) character, we must let our babies experience life. In real life, things aren't easy. They come with hurt. Bad choices have consequences. It's just hard to fit that all into a character who still seems so awesome.

5. He still manages pure awesomeness. Grace under pressure. That's a hero's motto. Or it should be, anyways. Despite his faults, Jack still strives in his own little way to become a better person. He wants to help the kids of the world, and he wants to help the Guardians. Realizing that he'll do whatever it takes to accomplish that takes guts. The guts of a real hero. See, heroism isn't all about the cape and the sword and the cool quips. A hero has to get his hands dirty or he'll just end up like...like...Superman. Too good for his own good. And that is not something we writer's want, right?

Right. NOW GO OUT THERE AND GO TO BED, NOW THAT YOU HAVE LISTENED TO ME RAMBLE ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE JACK FROST!!!

(Wow...I managed to write that all and still have 12% battery left! Yippee me! That was like...speed blogging...oh yeah, if there was an Olympic sport called speed blogging, I'd SO win.)

(But if it came to staying on subject...yeah, that's a whole different matter.)

;)