tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post8202952655781321301..comments2024-01-12T00:48:48.031-06:00Comments on Go Teen Writers: Ensemble casts, stereotype flips, and more lessons from the silver screenStephanie Morrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-63824698528114673382014-07-02T19:35:03.980-05:002014-07-02T19:35:03.980-05:00I've gotten to try the 'assemble the cast&...I've gotten to try the 'assemble the cast' thing recently with a group of writer friends. I know you mentioned once about Fan Fiction helping you write, but we've tried something a little bit different: RPG (Role-Playing Game). Unlike the norm RPG where you have absolutely no idea where to go, whether players will drop out or join in, and usually half of them are terrible writers, we've specifically made it a goal to make the game feel like a book. <br /><br />We have four players and about nine to ten majorish characters. A few are together on things, and a few are against another. Some change. The boy and the girl who hated each other ended up liking each other. The little kid who was made fun of became tolerable. Two characters disagree. It's all very interesting (especially since we can't really control other players' characters), because they're all different, and they don't always agree.Jenneth Dyckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02806251588834115742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-42359884494144828362014-06-10T11:46:12.981-05:002014-06-10T11:46:12.981-05:00Wow, I love your last point. (Why do you do that?)...Wow, I love your last point. (Why do you do that?) I'd love to incorporate that into my story somehow; a self-examination moment. Something like that could also show time passing; as in, character growth. Almost like Donald Maass's point in Writing the Breakout Novel about forgiveness being one of the best things you can put in a novel.<br /><br />Great post! Gave me some ideas. Thanks so much, Stephanie!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14162486665066635635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-13952807351265627262014-06-10T04:39:15.770-05:002014-06-10T04:39:15.770-05:00I love this post. x) It's given me a lot of go...I love this post. x) It's given me a lot of good ideas, too, and I totally agree with the stereotype flipping. That's the best. Heh, although give me the guns and freaky movies any day...I tend to sneak out of the room when it's a chickflick. ;)CG @ Paper Furyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14954615708675952085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-52091274485492207762014-06-09T21:48:11.883-05:002014-06-09T21:48:11.883-05:00I have a character that is the son of a guy with a...I have a character that is the son of a guy with a really bad reputation, but he is so different from his dad. He cares deeply about whether or not the person deserves it before he takes action. <br />I have often gained a character when my imagination takes something that wasn't mentioned much in a book or movie and expands upon it. pgacnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01868397677690901418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-45872313405276083652014-06-09T21:12:38.091-05:002014-06-09T21:12:38.091-05:00Great post! I've never seen the movie (though ...Great post! I've never seen the movie (though I might at some point because of this post :D ), but it sounds like they handled an ensemble cast very well. It's my theory that people in the movie/TV industry have an easier time with multiple viewpoints because they not only metaphorically but literally "shift the camera." Some of my favorite shows are ones with a nice big cast, all of them having screen time and character archs.<br /><br />I absolutely LOVE it when stereotypes are turned on their head. In Jessica Day Gorge's book Dragon Slippers, (spoilers ahead) the main character goes to work in a seamstress's shop, and you meet a varied cast there, including a quiet, subdued crippled girl and an outgoing and flashy flirt. At first your sympathies automatically go to the first one, but it turns out she is working for the villain, while the more flashy girl sticks by the main character and remains a spirited, tried and true friend throughout the series, thus taking care of the Prim and Quiet = Nice and Misunderstood, Flirty = Shallow and Bratty/ Never Trust A Popular Girl stereotype. I'm trying to do something similar in my novel, only slightly less drastic. My MC's best friend, the nice quite type, is actually a toxic friendship, because she apologizes and self-deprecates so much on purpose that she guilts my MC into doing what she wants. The head of the "popular" girls, on the other hand, shows my MC that she doesn't have to be ashamed of the best parts of her, and nearly always has her best interests at heart. (And somehow, as I always do, I have ended up bringing my book into this...)Miri Williamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-85380911160355177032014-06-09T20:47:55.056-05:002014-06-09T20:47:55.056-05:00All of these are great points! My favorite thing t...All of these are great points! My favorite thing to do is flip stereotypes. I love taking a character, thinking of every way you'd expect them to be, and then flipping all expectations on their heads. I don't always keep all the changes, but it's a fun exercise!<br /><br /><br />Alexa Skrywer<br />alexaskrywer.blogspot.comAlexa Mintahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13865586987033390255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-77629054430695493032014-06-09T20:38:38.524-05:002014-06-09T20:38:38.524-05:00I'm looking forward to finding a place to use ...I'm looking forward to finding a place to use that technique. Hopefully I pull it off as well as they did!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-59488370485214589252014-06-09T20:37:53.115-05:002014-06-09T20:37:53.115-05:00I LOVE when I find books that do that. Thanks for ...I LOVE when I find books that do that. Thanks for sharing, Kayla!Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-19222949237904647282014-06-09T20:37:01.417-05:002014-06-09T20:37:01.417-05:00I knew I liked you, Meghan :) And I totally cried!...I knew I liked you, Meghan :) And I totally cried! Multiple times! Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-1709277998404945792014-06-09T12:45:18.479-05:002014-06-09T12:45:18.479-05:00Great points, Mrs. Morrill! I especially loved you...Great points, Mrs. Morrill! I especially loved your points about flipping stereotypes and winning back sympathy. Not all characters are instantly loveable, and it's good to know how to handle those who aren't. Rachelle O'Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14414561666549371254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-20163353365157287832014-06-09T11:58:00.369-05:002014-06-09T11:58:00.369-05:00Happy birthday, and thanks for the great post! I r...Happy birthday, and thanks for the great post! I really enjoyed the part about flipping stereotypes. It makes a character so much more interesting when that happens, and it makes me want to try that out with my next MC. :) The last story that really influenced me was Saving Thanehaven by Catherine Jinks. It's about a guy named Noble who is trying to save the princess when a boy named Rufus comes along and tells him he's a program in a computer and Noble can think for himself. At the end, Rufus totally defied my expectations of what was going to happen. The book had a bunch of interesting characters, and it really got me thinking about my own characters and how to improve them!Kaylahttps://concerningwriting.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-1651787965085995672014-06-09T09:34:12.563-05:002014-06-09T09:34:12.563-05:00This was fantastic! First off--I loved that movie....This was fantastic! First off--I loved that movie. I laughed, I cried{!}...definitely a favorite. The points you made about the ensemble cast and how the writers/director flipped everything upside down and backwards--but it worked--was great food for thought. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-14014087109672512272014-06-09T08:06:03.222-05:002014-06-09T08:06:03.222-05:00I'm no expert on ensemble casts, but I think i...I'm no expert on ensemble casts, but I think instead of saying you have five main characters, you would describe it as an ensemble cast. Ensemble stories have such a different feel to them. Stephanie Morrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128389560727867719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024721400572472213.post-76804121312213078322014-06-09T07:50:18.835-05:002014-06-09T07:50:18.835-05:00This is a wonderful and thought provoking posts. ...This is a wonderful and thought provoking posts. I love to see when a book or movie flips a stereotype! I think it deepens the story so much! As for ensemble casts, I think they can be really interesting when well done, but I feel like we're so often told (as writers) that we can only have one or, at most, two main characters. If someone told me they had ten MC's, I know I would be more than a little skeptical as to the quality of their story.<br />Great post, Stephanie!<br />~Sarah Faulkner<br /><br /><a href="http://inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Inklined</a>Sarah Faulknerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00244256396217402116noreply@blogger.com