I attended a Michael Hauge screenwriter's workshop (8-5, almost non-stop, which is why I didn't post yesterday). His talk also applied to novel writing. He said one thing that struck me as very useful. There are 4 types of characters to have in a novel or movie:
1. hero
2. nemesis
3. reflection
4. romantic interest
I didn't glean a ton of nifty stuff from 1, 2, or 4 (a few salient points), but my Ah Ha moment came with the Reflection. This is the sidekick, the buddy. This is the person who points out to the hero how he/she can achieve their happiness. He's the one who shows the hero a glimmer of what the future MIGHT be.
I've always had 'sidekicks' but I never thought of them in this sense before. Because of that "ah Ha" moment, I've redefined a minor character in my current WIP and I think the book is stronger because of it.
I was so energized when I came out of that workshop -- the best way to feel for a day-long event, right? I took pages of notes and now look forward to putting them all to use.
Off to write!
1 comment:
I was wondering what reflection was when you first listed it there. Thanks for the clarification. I usually use sidekicks as comic relief or added tension, whatever is opposite from the main plot at the moment. Now that I think of it though, they do tend to be the base for the heroine use as a control group for an upcoming change. Hmmm.
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