Thursday, September 30, 2010

Thinking about character development

Some writers are acutely aware of character archetypes and accordingly categorize or avoid creating characters that fit into those pigeon holes. In truth, it's much more accurate or realistic to make a character that is a mix of archetypes because human nature is complex and people are full of contradictions.

Lately, I read an article called "Spotty-Handed Villainnesses: Problems of Female Bad Behavior in the Creation of Literature" by Margaret Atwood for one of my classes. I really liked what Atwood had to say about characterization and making the characters interesting instead of catering to what might be nice, politically correct and ultimately boring. I was aware of much that she wrote about, but it's good to see someone else's take on the subject, pulling it all together much better than I would be able.

Anyway, I'm going to keep this short for today. Lots of homework, including an important forum post for my Margaret Atwood class concerning the book Cat's Eye and the article I mentioned above. Maybe I'll post it on Friday or Monday after I finish it. =)

If you're interested in perusing this article, you can find it online here.

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