Book Six

My Brother and Sister in a relationship? Neeto!

People really don't get how severe this is do they? The reaction from the family in any story like this treats it just like homosexuality, when really any sensible person would realize the magnitude of a problem this really is.

The one of the only people to tackle this with some level of realism is Captain Darko in his Prodigal Lincoln storyline. He manages to show how this level of disorder in a person isn't just romantic preferences, no it's a illness which effects someone on a deep level.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Bad endings can be just as compelling as good ones, maybe not as satisfactory, but sometimes we all need to find that things don't always go our way in life and learning to cope with a bad hand being dealt has more value then a typical cliche ending with everything ending right, minus one thing to make a sequel possible.

Requiem of a Loud is all about this, and it's what makes it great. The powerless situation gives every interaction between Lincoln and his family a greater subtext to go along with it, and this is because they all know the futility of their situation and have to accept that.

I'm not saying every good ending is cheap or contrived by any means. I just want you all to know a bad ending can be powerful, and people might be happy with a dose of realism added to a story.

Dive on in.

If I had to dive into most stories here like swimming pools I would be crippled. Why you may ask? Simple; most stories are all tell, no show. The themes are all really basic or non-existent, and this has me thinking that most of you don't think your readers are bright enough to read beyond what's in front of them, or just lack the ability to weave the web of themes through a story.

Themes turn simple stories into deep and thought provoking illustrations of the complicated human experience.

Most people either have to slap you in the face with rather simple themes, rather than give them meaning and leaving things abstract for people to derive their own meaning, if you do that then people can build their own personal connection to the story and then you would have succeeded at making people feel.

You can do this through symbolism, using your words as a swiss army knife to fulfil a duty for a narrative, but carrying a meaning beyond that.

An example would be your antagonist eating an apple, seems like nothing right? If you look beyond the surface it could be interpreted as a reference to Adam and Eve from the Bible and the original sin that they committed, thus characterizing a villain/closeted villain leading up to a reveal.

Look up, "Michael Myers without his mask on YouTube." the face of evil, the boogeyman himself, an unstoppable force of evil...looks just like you or me. A beautiful example of something small that could easily be forgotten within the few seconds of film it's shown, and it can carry a grand statement about human nature. Think about it; Michael Myers is nothing special, and he could be anyone around you, everyone is one step away from being a psychopathic murderer.

They could have gone with a scarred face to visually scare people for half a second, but instead they made that small choice to make everyone a different type of unsettled with questions bubbling in the back of their mind when they left the theatre. That is why Halloween is an all time classic and none of it's sequels have ever amounted to anything close, because they took that factor away from Michael Myers and made him into discount Jason Voorhees.

Character Progression

Without this a connected storyline should not exist. If a character goes through hell or some traumatic event they should be different then when they started. It has to be a noticeable change or else it's disappointing and unsatisfactory.

Another example in film comes with Darth Vader, who during his time as a Jedi was arrogant, cocky, and over confident in his natural strength and when he turned to the dark side he allowed these flaws to become his eventual undoing at the hands of his own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This defeat left him permanently maimed and without much of the natural talent that he leaned heavily upon.

The change in his character was drastic as it lead to him refining his skill in favor of relying on what he had known previously. It also lead to his demeanor becoming more cool and calculated, unlike himself before the fated duel that took everything he was away.

The change in character shines through in his second duel against Kenobi, in which he doesn't respond irrationally with anger in such a way it allowed a less skilled opponent to defeat him with skill and using his own emotions against himself. In this duel he achieves his victory, completing the evolution into a true warrior, rather than a bratty teen with raw potential.

It was his experience that made the evolution of his character believable and satisfactory, Vader is a good model when evolving a character over time.

How to make a character flawed

A good character is usually the most flawed one, because they are simply the most relatable ones. It's why Batman is widely considered one of the best characters out there and Superman is not. Batman is human with a great deal of flaws and Superman is nearly perfect...nearly...and it's why most people find themselves rooting harder for Batman rather than Superman.

In order to make a character flawed you must think of who they are as an individual and then think of the opposite. An example would be a career assassin who has always worked alone, but his short coming is the overall lack of people skills. These people skills could cost him if in theory he ever was on the wrong side of a large group, or if he ever worked with a team.

The weakness is usually best expressed by the protagonist or antagonist to make some sort of link that can make the conflict feel more personal as they use personal vices against one another.

"You gonna do something, Stink-oln?" The teenaged version of Chandler says with his arms out stretched, beckoning for some type of attack. Lincoln felt his temper grow out of control as his clenched fists began to turn his knuckles white. The memories of this bastard tormenting his childhood were clear as day to Lincoln as he faced down the bully.

Most times Lincoln would allow his anger to take control and be violent towards Chandler, and then it brought back different memories of the cruel things he'd tell his family when he had acted out of rage, the hurt expression of his mother burned clear as day into his memory.

"Go away, Chandler."

In this little blurb I put my tips into making a compelling story into use. Chandler's character symbolizes a source of pain that Lincoln had never got over completely. The evolution of his character comes with the realization that acting in anger is not the solution to the pain he feels. The whole situation symbolizes the progression from teenager to adult as he gives up the childish tendencies that would have landed him in trouble prior.