{"id":12129,"date":"2017-12-25T22:18:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-25T14:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/blog\/?p=12129"},"modified":"2025-11-19T16:41:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:41:56","slug":"storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2017\/12\/25\/storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"a set of notes about storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Storytelling Heft? (2022\/2023)<\/p>\n

fiction should slap you in the face and kick you in the gut and spit in your mouth otherwise what\u2019s the point? lol. being dramatic. it could also massage the knots out of your muscles, caress your hair<\/p>\n

a really good bit of fiction becomes load-bearing in a meaning sense<\/p>\n

\u201cno one will remember if we are good men or bad\u201d<\/p>\n

game of thrones: more people died than expected
\nandor: more people died than expected
\narcane: more people died than expected
\ngod of war: mom died
\nbatman: parents died
\nsuperman: entire planet died<\/p>\n

death introduces stakes, it rips open a hole in your airplane and sucks the air out. we all die eventually. death leaves us maimed and wounded and gasping, bleeding out, in shock. we have to stop the bleeding. i was afraid to talk about death in introspect because i am not a doctor, i am not a priest, i am just some guy. but sometimes i think people need to hear from just some guy. i\u2019m in here with you and i\u2019m trying my best.<\/p>\n

Villain wants radical change https:\/\/twitter.com\/visakanv\/status\/1449766771230085128?s=21&t=i6OYcbN4QGXVWSDaACc9OA<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

San Francisco\u2026 romantic in a way<\/p>\n

Type of guy https:\/\/twitter.com\/self_beware\/status\/1557895004072292352?s=21&t=znTxe7YZOcNmguD1laETKA<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ea<\/p>\n

Unintegrated wannabe<\/p>\n

Gleeful enforcers<\/p>\n

\u2731<\/span><\/p>\n

you cannot simply kill the demon guardian, unleash the archdemon, and then pat yourself on the back for having performed a heroic deed when you actually just made the world worse<\/p>\n

\u201cGood Sir Knight, if you kill the Thieflord, his minions and underlings will conduct warfare to decide upon a new Thieflord. There will be more cruelty and violence than before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, but you shall be free!<\/p>\n

\u2731<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFaye is dead\u201d
\n\u201cthe best of them are.\u201d<\/p>\n

older history, ruins<\/p>\n

occurs to me that we are still in the early days of wedding-as-spectacle<\/p>\n

\u2731<\/p>\n

Emma Coats’ 22 Rules<\/h3>\n

Emma Coats<\/a> is a storyteller who used to work at Pixar. In 2012, she wrote a series of tweets<\/a> with the hashtag #storybasics. I refer to them from time to time. Here they are:<\/p>\n

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.<\/p>\n

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.<\/p>\n

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.<\/p>\n

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.<\/p>\n

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.<\/p>\n

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?<\/p>\n

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.<\/p>\n

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.<\/p>\n

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.<\/p>\n

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.<\/p>\n

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.<\/p>\n

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th \u2013 get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.<\/p>\n

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive\/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.<\/p>\n

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.<\/p>\n

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.<\/p>\n

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.<\/p>\n

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.<\/p>\n

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.<\/p>\n

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.<\/p>\n

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?<\/p>\n

#21: You gotta identify with your situation\/characters, can’t just write \u2018cool’. What would make YOU act that way?<\/p>\n

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Likeable characters<\/h3>\n

What makes characters likeable? (WIP)<\/p>\n

\u00a0e.g. rocky balboa liked his turtles and made stupid jokes with the awkward girl at the pet store<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
arya stark being grossed out by sansa wanting to be married.\u00a0\u201cseven hells!”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
lorelai and her coffee addiction<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
what makes you join a character\u2019s corner<\/div>\n
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rocky losing his locker<\/div>\n
people killing fucking direwolves<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tywin Lannister \u2013 got his hands dirty cleaning the stag he killed. Treated Arya with surprising amount of kindness<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tyrion \u2013 Having a soft spot for\u00a0bastards and broken things. Sense of humor. Dirty jokes. Casual disregard for decorum and epaulettes.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sam Seaborne \u2013 his defense of Ainsley Haines<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n
Kronk (Emperor’s New Groove) \u2013 made spinach puffs, was generally good natured and fun<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Terry Crews in Brooklyn Nine Nine<\/div>\n
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Davos Seaworth \u2013 Tried to do the right thing<\/div>\n
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Garrus Vakarian \u2013 total bro<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mr. Rogers \u2013 kind, gentle, genuine \u2013 when he got frustrated with technical issues and delays, he would play the piano fiercely<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Wall-E<\/div>\n
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Samwise Gamgee \u2013 “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Aaron Paul’s character in Breaking Bad<\/div>\n
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Atticus Finch<\/div>\n
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12 Angry Men guy<\/div>\n
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Jed Bartlett \u2013<\/div>\n
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Forrest Gump \u2013 resiliently innocent\/genuine. Similar character to Viktor Navorski, and Rocky<\/div>\n
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Ralph from Wreck-it Ralph<\/div>\n
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Yinsen \u2013 Don’t waste your life, Stark.<\/div>\n

Hateable characters<\/h3>\n
To tell a story, you need to have characters. For people to get invested in the story, they need to love and hate characters. What are some things that make people hate characters?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Joffrey \u2013 entitled, got to where he is without any effort, coasted along. Shows no compassion. Enjoys the suffering of others. Is punitive and wicked.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Bolton \u2013 enjoys making people suffer<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Lysa Stark \u2013 annoying obsession with her boy<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dolores Umbridge \u2013 relentless adherence to bureaucracy, disregard for small people\u2019s feelings. (Voldemort in contrast can be empathized with a little bit \u2013 conceived of love potion, doesn\u2019t understand love\u2026)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
John Hoynes \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m not going to stick around and be his whipping boy”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Walter White \u2013 disregard for other people, willingness to manipulate them, lie to them, to be dishonest to himself (until the end) about his own motivations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Skyler White \u2013 a lot of people hate her, interestingly. She’s really just trying to keep her family together, trying to take care of business, but she’s seen as some sort of killjoy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
T-Bag (Prison Break) \u2013 you feel for him at certain points, but his constant villainy, constant torture, murder, pedophilia, desire to hurt others makes him very unpleasant. And yet some people root for him.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Commodus (Gladiator) \u2013 snide, privileged, selfish, immature, whiny<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Denethor (LotR movies) \u2013 Stupid, Evil, Cowardly… in the books he’s more nuanced, but in the movies he’s this really selfish, ugly old man who doesn’t deserve the position he’s in.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Lucius Malfoy (Harry Potter) \u2013 represents this sort of upper crust wanker who has too much power and influence, and\u00a0enjoys being sexist\/racist\/etc<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
That PR lady in Season 1 of TWW \u2013 whiny…<\/div>\n
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Chuck from Better Call Saul \u2013 asshole being a total dick to his brother who went through so much trouble to help him, know-it-all, manipulative, behind-the-scenes dickery… couldn’t handle the idea of his shitty little brother growing up into a decent person<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Kettlemens from Better Call Saul \u2013 delusional<\/div>\n
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Dr. Frankenstein \u2013 whiny, moody, obnoxious, stupid, illogical, irresponsible<\/div>\n
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Tilda Swinton’s character Mason in Snowpiercer \u2013 disgusting. “Know your place”<\/div>\n
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The Council in Mass Effect \u2013 “Ah, the Reapers \u2013 we have dismissed that clam”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Interesting characters<\/h3>\n
\n

The most interesting characters of a show is rarely the primary protagonist. Sometimes it\u2019s the antagonist, but more often than not I think the most interesting characters happen somewhere in between. Batman has quite interesting villains in the Joker, the Riddler and Two-Face, but I think even then, characters like Harley Quinn and Selena Kyle can be more interesting.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the most interesting character in Game of Thrones? It\u2019s easy to root for Jon Snow, Dany T and Tyrion Lannister \u2013 they are the obvious choices. The interesting characters to me are people like Littlefinger and Varys.<\/p>\n

What about breaking bad? Mike and Saul are obviously more interesting than Walt, his family, or anybody from the cartels.<\/p>\n

Someone pointed out that when you rewatch How I Met Your Mother as an adult, you realise that it\u2019s Marshall trying to be a decent person while everyone else around him is being stupid.<\/p>\n

The words that come to my mind while thinking about this are \u201cfringes\u201d and \u201con the edge of complexity\u201d, \u201cshoreline\u201d. I\u2019m thinking about this show I watched \u2013 Human Planet \u2013 that demonstrated how the people living in the arctic regions would wait for the tides to recede under the ice, and then go hunting for clams and mussels and stuff that are left behind. It\u2019s the goldilocks zone. The character isn\u2019t forced by the narrative to be Good or Bad, and so they get to be Interesting instead.<\/p>\n

I enjoy Iron Man. Everyone loves to make fun of Justin Hammer, but I think he\u2019s the most interesting character in the movie trilogy.<\/p>\n

Bucky \/ The Winter Soldier might be more interesting than Steve Rogers.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the most interesting character in Harry Potter? It can\u2019t be Harry, Voldemort or Dumbledore. These folks were \u2018chosen\u2019 by their circumstances. Voldemort was born to be a villain, Harry was born to be hero. Dumbledore might have had an interesting past, but he was positioned to be Merlin the moment the book started. The interesting character is\u00a0Snape.<\/p>\n

These are the characters who struggle with who they are. These are the characters we can\u2019t be certain about.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the most interesting character in The West Wing? It\u2019s not Bartlet, it\u2019s not Seaborn. It\u2019s probably the detestable John Hoynes. I think they made it too easy for us to decide that we disliked him.<\/p>\n

In the movie Lord of War, it might be ‘the protagonist\u2019 \u2013 because he\u2019s not really the hero. The real hero is Ethan Hawke\u2019s character, who is morally righteous and good.<\/p>\n

In Mean Girls, if it\u2019s not Cady, it\u2019s Janis. Everyone loves or hates Regina, but in that regard she cannot be an interesting character.<\/p>\n

In the Rocky series, it could\u2019ve been the shitty brother-in-law, if he was given more room.<\/p>\n

In The Matrix, it could\u2019ve been Cypher, or Switch, or Niobe, or the Merovingian.<\/p>\n

In the Lord of the Rings, it would not be Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf or Sauron \u2013 it would\u00a0be Gollum, Boromir, even Denethor\u2026<\/p>\n

I think a lot of authors get very carried away with their love for their protagonists or antagonists, or the struggle between the two, that they don\u2019t give their \u2018middle\u2019 characters the loving attention that they deserve.
\n–<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always necessary to tell a story where there are \u201cthird party characters\u201d who are the most interesting ones\u2026 it just seems that this is the space where really interesting, nuanced characters can thrive.<\/p>\n

Relatable Antagonists<\/h3>\n

In general, movies\/films etc work a lot better (at least for me) when we’re allowed to sympathize with the antagonist. I think Lord of War is great because of that. The real enemy isn’t any particular agent of evil, but human nature itself.<\/p>\n

A Few Good Men would’ve been better if we were able to sympathize more with Colonel Jessup, rather than have him be this unlikeable asshole. He did strongly believe that he was trying to protect his men, and he was following a code of honor that made sense to him. We should’ve been allowed to appreciate that. Same for, say, The Matrix, or V for Vendetta, or Star Wars… those films all feel good because we root for the underdog against this Big Bad.But that’s far too easy, and kinda disingenuous. (OK there’s probably some nuance in Star Wars about Darth Vader that I’m missing…)<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

IIRC, Ender’s Game does a pretty good job of this with Colonel Graff \u2013 he’s sending children to war, but rationalizes it saying (paraphrased) “I’ll commit war crimes if it means that’s an Earth left at the end to put me on trial.” (Also the whole Speaker For The Dead thing.) I think Ray Bradbury does a good job with this in The Martian Chronicles \u2013 there’s an officer who realizes that his enemy\/counterpart shares more of his values than his own men.<\/p>\n

I think part of what made The Dark Knight so good (need to rewatch this) is that they made The Joker and Harvey Dent relatable \u2013 they’re really just tired of bullshit and bureaucracy, and we can all relate to that. I remember lots of people dressing up as The Joker afterwards for Halloween and such \u2013 definitely more than the number of people who dress up as Batman \u2013 which I think is an interesting goal to strive for, as a storyteller.<\/p>\n

I think we need more art and storytelling like that. In a way, the Big Bad films of our time do us a great disservice. When I get around to writing\/publishing novels, I think one of my main goals is to write really relatable antagonists. What would Lord of the Rings be like if Sauron was the character we empathized with most? We wouldn’t necessarily need to SUPPORT him, but we should be made uncomfortable by seeing how he represents the sort of exploitative industrial-military complex that we’re all tacitly complicit in. Tolkien’s biggest innovation I think was the character of Gollum \u2013 everyone else pretty much plays the stock roles that’s expected of them, but Gollum is complex and conflicted, which is what’s interesting. JK Rowling did something similar with Snape, who is as a character more compelling and interesting than either Harry or Voldemort. He can “go either way” in a way that neither of them could. And I suppose Shakespeare did this with a lot of his characters, as did Tolstoy, and Balzac.<\/p>\n

I wonder\u2013 using a “minimum viable” approach to writing \u2013 if the smart way to start writing these things is to start with the Smeagols and Snapes and Anakins \u2013 because starting with “Hero + Mentor Vs Villain” is too predictable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This also applies well\u00a0to Lindsay Lohan’s character in Mean Girls. Again and again I think that’s what makes for really compelling, engaging characters. As children we want picture-perfect heroes to look up to, but as we get older we want conflicted characters who embody our own conflicts and struggles.<\/p>\n

Links:<\/p>\n

Wisecrack philosophy of Joker<\/a>\u00a0(makes me think of nerdwriter’s Gotham as a character<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Loyalty Missions<\/h3>\n

An interesting trope in\u00a0video games (and I suppose also in anime, movies, stories of all kinds) is loyalty missions \u2013 when you, the hero, go on a quest on behalf of one of your party members, and in the process of that you earn their deep and true friendship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Feels<\/h3>\n

This is a post to aggregate things that have moved me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

"Tropes That Move Visa To Tears" Thread<\/p>\n

— Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) December 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n