Icyflare wrote...
Hi, new to the forums. Saw the fanfiction discussion, and thought it'd be a good time to ask a question that's been bothering me for a while.
Sometimes, I find it very difficult to capture a character's voice or action, simply because I have an an idea of what I'd like a character to do in a certain situation but not a clear grasp of what they'd actually do. What kinds of tricks do you guys use to get around this block? Also, how do you guys plot your own stories? Personally, when I write something, no matter how hard I plan it out, the story gets away from me until it's a complete divergence from what I originally wanted. Any tips to share?
I'm a bit late to the party, but I wanted to weigh in here.
Personally, I get to know the characters. Sort of like how you would get to know a friend. Find out what happened in the character's past, what they're doing now, what they plan to do and how all of that relates to each other. I also take a good long look at people that influenced the character in question such as parents or friends. Take Liara, for instance. I pay very close attention to every thing she says about Benezia, and Benezia's confrontation. I believe that in order to get to know Liara, you also have to know Benezia.
Benezia is a matriarch, a leader in the asari culture. Very soon after talking to Liara, one gets the impression that Benezia takes this very seriously. She likes to look to the future, and I hypothesize that she did not take Liara's archeology exploits very seriously. She referred to it as an attempt of, basically, teenage rebellion. This gives the impression that she believed that Liara would drop her profession in due time. (Which, ironically, she sort of did. Dealing in information that can affect the future of governments ("I can start a war!") is about as future driven as you can get.) So, in a way, Liara did eventually "fall in line" as far as Benezia's vision of her is concerned. Not necessarily legal, but you take what you get.
Once we get into her confrontation, the idea that she is very career driven becomes more apparent, in my opinion. What is the first thing she talks about once she briefly slips out of indoctrination? It's not Liara. It's literally about the future. She starts explaining about the Mu Relay and how that ties into Saren's plans to harm the galaxy. (Another thought here. The Mu Relay is closely tied to history, such as the Rachni Wars and history is the past. It is also ironic that in order to save the galaxy, Benezia who concentrates on leading her people into the future, had to delve into the past to serve her ultimate purpose. Both Liara and Benezia essentially switched roles in order to best serve the galaxy. Takes a new meaning to "walking in someone else's shoes" there, I think.) She talks business without really addressing Liara at all, at first. This had apparently rubbed off on Liara as well, this "needs of the many outweigh the few" thought process going on. She tells her mother that, "Knowing the location of the Mu Relay is not enough...." and Benezia apparently agreed with her.
However, Benezia is by no means cold. She does eventually address Liara and perhaps the most important line in the whole scene between the two is: "You've always made me proud, Liara." As a writer, that immediately piqued my interest. Just what does that mean exactly? Was Liara's field choice truly trivial to you, or was it just hard feelings because Liara chose a path you didn't plan for her? Or, perhaps you originally believed that her study of the Protheans was ultimately fruitless because the asari kept secret an essential relic of their culture. Perhaps you thought her time was better spent elsewhere. However, I'd imagine that Liara was very successful in her field, despite her theories not achieving the recognition they deserved and maybe Benezia was proud that Liara could succeed. Maybe she realized the irony in her actions. The past she thought so trivial was essential to Saren's plan, a plan she knew would affect the galaxy in a significant way. At any rate, she knew just how important Liara was to her and made sure she knew that before her death.
(Liara herself is perhaps ironic in relation to Benezia. As someone that turns to the future, she sure didn't apply that vision to her relationship choices. Asari couplings are a relic of their past. With space travel, mating with other species became prevalent, a symbol of the future to them. I'll have to think on if this fits into her characterization, but the thought is interesting regardless....)
Now, how does this all relate to Liara? Well, for one, Benezia's implied career driven personality was probably the leading reason as to why Liara is so awkward by the time we meet her. People are taught how to socialize. My own mother had to force me into social situations in my early childhood. Played by myself and didn't have the average vocabulary. Solution? Threw me into pre-school. What did Benezia do? In ME3, Liara talks of playing in the park, digging things up in search of Prothean secrets. Sounds adorable, but what she says after that is very interesting. "No one was happy...." and Benezia then lectured her. Obviously, more than one person was involved with this situation. Who was though? The park caretakers? Benezia? Followers that actually watch Liara? I'd argue that Benezia wasn't even there and Liara was alone, with no friends, and got into trouble. Lecturing in my experience is done after the fact. My parents were more inclined to actively stopping my shenanigans growing up instead of lecturing me on the spot. One has to wonder how much attention Benezia gave to Liara growing up. I don't think she neglected her, but did Benezia realize how awkward Liara was?
Liara speaks of how asari culture view her mother and her in turn for simply being related to her. There is an element of pressure involved considering that people expected her to take up the mantle her mother does. Benezia dealt in leading the asari onwards. How much of Liara's career choice was an escape attempt from the pressures of her culture and, perhaps even resentment, to how much attention Benezia gave to the asari relative to her? Liara may be good at her job, but I do agree with the idea that it started out as rebellion. It also played to her need to be isolated from people. If she didn't get properly socialized as a child, then all the attention she would receive simply being related to Benezia would be extremely hard on her. Going on remote digs away from asari space and the peer pressure while also disregarding her mother's world view must have been appealing to young Liara. Given how much Liara comes out of her shell in future games, we know that Liara can and will make a stand for herself. At this stage, she seems very passive aggressive, it sent a message to Benezia and her mother was definitely smart enough to know what Liara may have been implying by studying the Protheans, thus creating the rift.
Whew, there is waaaayyyy more in regards to Liara. She is perhaps the most complicated character in ME with Miranda competing for that title as well. Now, massive chunks of the above are largely based on opinions and my own speculations, but that is an example of how I get to know characters. Listen, watch and ask questions about every little, solitary thing a character does. Realize that characters are not solitary balls of wonderfulness. They are all connected to each other and connected to the universe. Liara is characterized by her mother, by her past, by Shepard and by events in the story. All of these things and more affect who she is and how she reacts to things. She is also the a good example of how events change her character. I.E. Shepard's death and her subsequent change in personality. Keep everything in mind when writing her and anyone else and keep in mind the past and backstory in regards to each character. It's good to outline how you believe a character's past played out before writing them.
As for structuring plot, well, it's far less complicated. I tend to have a VERY loose outline and wing most of my stuff. I aim for a more organic feel to my stories and have it flow, rather than have it structured. I do have set points that I try to meet in a plot. In Striking, it is each in-game conversation you have with Liara. Everything in between that has not been planned so that way I have freedom in the story. Plot organization is largely up to each individual writer in question and it mostly has to do with what you're comfortable with.
But, yeah, sorry for the long post.
Retour en haut
