CHAT ARCHIVE - 4-3-1999, Character Motivation

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ICQ Chat Save file
Started on Sat Apr 03 21:23:59 1999

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<Casey> Everybody think of a character and the situation he or she is in.
<Casey> Topic tonight is character motivation.
<Russ> I always find a whip works best
<Chipmonk> No beatings!
<Sea Witch> Kinder to use an alarm clock
<Casey> Russ, please make yourself a little bit bigger. Then go sit in the corner.
<Russ> but they deserve it
<Casey> I LOVE Sylone!
<Casey> You do villians well.
<Russ> thanks. <<<blushing>>>
<Sea Witch> Who is Sylone?
<Zach> I think the motivations are pretty basic. Greed, revenge, lust, desire for power, etc.
<shorty103> yes, I agree with those Zach
<Russ> sylone is a charater in my novel Seawitch
<Soulmoon> That's a cool name Russ
<Chipmonk> Fear, love, cuz your mommy told you to.
<Russ> Thanks, Soul
<Zach> Those are the exciting motivations.
<Zach> Food, clothing, shelter, are not so exciting (usually).
<Casey> But sometimes greater motivations than the other things, which aren't so necessary.
<Soulmoon> Longing to reach new goals could be one.
<BeckyB> What about peace?
<Sea Witch> If we are talking evil dude here then surely "for the hell of it" has got to feature
<Casey> Usually for the hell of it translates into adrenaline rush and thrill.
<Sea Witch> Or experimentation
<BeckyB> I'm not sure if I'd use the "for the heck of it" motivation for a villian though. I like the villians who have a good reason to do bad things.
<Chipmonk> Sociopathy.
<Russ> boredom
<Sea Witch> That's the word Chip
<Sea Witch> Some villains do bad things for no other reason than the sake of the act itself
<Soulmoon> Sometimes villians are villians because they love it. Or they love to torture or whatever they do against a community.
<Chipmonk> They physically need more intense stimulation than normal people for arousal of any kind.
<Russ> aha
<Casey> We have good examples in current event.
<Russ> what made ted bundy kill all those girls
<Casey> The guys that dragged the black man to death.
<Soulmoon> Kosovo.
<Casey> They were motivated by the desire to begin a white supremacist group. The murder would have brought attention to them and legitimized their group.
<Casey> In their own minds.
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ICQ Chat Save file
Started on Sun Apr 04 02:29:25 1999

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<Casey> Rose, you were talking about switching Rosa from first person to third person POV, but you have her in 3rd person, from what I recall.
<shorty103> now, to answer Casey question, I didn't realize that I had written it third person,
<Casey> First person is when you write from your own perspective by using the word, "I."
<Casey> I went to the door and opened it, is 1st person.
<shorty103> but to come up with likes and dislikes, and other things like that, I guess my imagination is not working very good
<Casey> A character's personal preferences tend to develop as I write. <Casey> As they act and reaction with other characters.
<Soulmoon> 1st person is the easiest because you can put yourself in their shoes.
<shorty103> but maybe I'm just blind, but I can't see any of that within my story so far
<Casey> You have characteristics there already.
<Chipmonk> Think outside of your story.
<Casey> It's easier for me to talk about Lornia than Rosa because Rosa's section is so short.
<shorty103> I guess I'm looking in the wrong spot, I can't see them
<Chipmonk> Imagine your character getting up in the morning, eating breakfast and so on.
<shorty103> okay, than let's go to her instead of Rosa
<shorty103> okay, but I don't want to bore the reader either
<Casey> Where Lornia stays with her natural mother even when Ann and the guy (forget his name) begin abusing her.
<Casey> Shows her loyalty to her invalid mother.
<shorty103> Mitch
<shorty103> yes, you mean her adopted mother or birth mother
<Casey> That's a strength you can develop to more depth.
<Casey> Her loyalty to her birth mother.
<shorty103> about being adopted or about not knowing her birth mother
<Casey> I'm a little confused now by your question, Rose.
<shorty103> okay, I think I see where your going, if I only knew my birth mother for only a short time, expand on those feelings
<Casey> Yes.
<shorty103> and relay them to Lornia
<Soulmoon> have you tried to make feelings that you would have liked to have shared with your birth mother?
<Casey> Exactly.
<Casey> And investigate more why Lornia left her adoptive mother in the first place.
<shorty103> I think that I have so much going on, that I am getting so confuse on what is really going on within this story
<Soulmoon> sometimes it helps if you write certain chapters about one character at a time then lace them all together.
<shorty103> It was identity, learning the family background
<shorty103> that is why Lornia left her adopted family
<shorty103> not feeling complete
<Casey> Why did she not return to her adoptive mother when the abuse began?
<shorty103> and yes Soulmoon, I think I will have to take on part at a time so I don't get lost, I tend to do that, get lost very easy
<shorty103> love, but she thought it was real, but it was false, like the old saying goes, love is blind
<Casey> The love part (in love with Mitch) was not clear at all.
<shorty103> yes, I think that was the bottom line of why Lornia stayed, there was a lesson to be learned,
<shorty103> Lornia was protected from the world in a way, she never saw what hate and other things do to people
<Casey> Love is a strong motivation and will make Lornia's staying in that relationship believable to your reader.
<shorty103> yes, I guess that was my motivation for writing it
<Casey> Having his baby both complicates and strengthens that premise.
<Soulmoon> um. . .I'm gonna sit out awhile/don't like topic but don't quit, this should be discussed.
<shorty103> but in Zach's class, he asked for a physical description of some of these characters, and I am very lost when it comes to that part
<Casey> The next time you go out in public, take a good look at the people around you.
<Casey> Jot down physical features that you like.
<shorty103> okay
<Soulmoon> go for a variety though
<shorty103> understood Soul
<Casey> If you're fascinated by someone's eyes, what about those eyes is interesting?
<Soulmoon> don't skip little details. like nose, lips, hair length, and yes, eyebrows.
<shorty103> I see, jot down things that interest you about each of the people you see,
<Casey> Do you like how that person looks straight at the individual they're talking to and doesn't continually look away or down?
<Chipmonk> When you go shopping, or looking at clothes think about whether your characters would wear what you see.
<shorty103> okay
<Soulmoon> along with that think about if they can afford them too (maybe?)
<Chipmonk> True!
<Casey> Since your piece is dated (in other words, a story being told that happened years ago) try to remember what clothing styles were worn then.
<shorty103> I hope that I don't let anyone down, more so myself. I have worked too hard up to this point
<Casey> Don't worry about letting US down! Create a story that is true to yourself and how you see it. That conveys the message you want to tell.
<Soulmoon> all that really matters is if YOU like it anyway.
<shorty103> well, it was back in 1978, and I don't remember the type of clothes back then, except what I have on now, track pants and a sweat shirt
<Soulmoon> i thought of something else. money/you might want to try to see who flashes the cash and who doesn't have it
<Casey> The library has old magazines. Look up ones from 1978 and look at the pictures of people there.
<Chipmonk> Clothes now kind of reflect the seventies.
<Chipmonk> Polyester.
<Casey> Mostly, colors change.
<shorty103> explain soul, the man she was involved with was very controling, he wanted everything including the cash for himself
<Soulmoon> um. . .I'm lost now. someone needs to fill me on sometime.
<Casey> Ok. What's your question, Soulmoon?
<Soulmoon> ok/if someone flashes cash (So to speak) he doesn't care how much he pays for something and some greedy people look at things and say is it really worth it and won't even pull out money to see if they can afford it. then some people look at things and say flat out that they can't afford it.
<Soulmoon> um, it will take awhile to answer but i could throw it out i guess. what's this story about? setting?
<Casey> It's character driven.
<Soulmoon> huh?
<Casey> I was waiting to see if Rose was answering your question in more detail.
<shorty103> well, within this story I have tried to tell that a young girl went looking for her birth mother, found what she thought was love, but found a life of abuse, control over her feelings,
<Soulmoon> ok.
<Casey> Good description, Rose
<shorty103> she did find the things that she had never knew growing up, but out of fear stayed, had a child that brought more abuse, and control over her
<Soulmoon> ok. understand completely now. same situation here
<shorty103> I just wish I could remember these things when and after I write them
<shorty103> HERE! LOL
<Chipmonk> That was good, Rose.
<Casey> Do like I do! Write them on little pieces of paper that get lost under other pieces of paper!
<shorty103> I have a very short memory
<Soulmoon> actually i should say, been there done that.
<shorty103> then I will be lost for sure, between papers for the garage sale, and this, my desk is a mess! LOL
<Chipmonk> Rose, did she have a child by accident or did she plan it?
<Soulmoon> ok/have you thought about finding out why this guy is so abusive and controling?
<shorty103> by accident, but then accepted it
<Chipmonk> Why did she accept it?
<shorty103> it was from being abused himself
<Soulmoon> it probably gave Rosa something else to live for.
<shorty103> because she was still with him at the time, I would class it as being brainwashed, not know anything different
<shorty103> yes, I just have to put the two together, so I have decided to write the story backwards, so Rosa is telling the story, and going to where is really began
<Casey> What are the other questions for Zach's class that you weren't able to answer?
<shorty103> I have a few, but I can't think of them at the moment
<Casey> (I can't either, and I did the homework!)
<shorty103> I have written the questions down, but I haven't had the time this week to go into answering them,
<Casey> I'm pulling up my mailer and peeking at my homework.
<Chipmonk> As far as styles and such from 78, Rose, do you have any movies from back then? Or remember TV shows like Three's Company?
<shorty103> yes, I do remember that show, and I might have some movies for that time period
<Soulmoon> short shorts that all I can say
<Soulmoon> what time period is it?
<Casey> That's a great way to get a visual feel for the time period.
<Chipmonk> 1978.
<shorty103> well, out of four hundred and fifty movies, I might be able to find one or two
<Chipmonk> Saturday Night Fever?
<shorty103> I can't stand watching that show
<Soulmoon> I'm doing a quick search to see if I can find anything to help you
<shorty103> oh, it just dawned on me, I thought you meant Saturday night live, sorry, I do like the movie, but don't have it
<Casey> 1: theme 2: physical description of protagonist 3: supporting characters: physical description and how they relate to the protagonist 4: the protagonist's mission in the story 5: What awful thing has just happened or is about to happen to the protag (in the opening page of the book)
<shorty103> so what about the mission statement of the protagonist, what is that all about
<Casey> A mission statement is simply: What does the protagonist intend to accomplish in the story.
<shorty103> so what I tried to describe to Soul would be my mission statement
<Casey> The mission statement would be more specific.
<Soulmoon> have you thought about how they talked?
<shorty103> yes, but it's not coming out right
<shorty103> okay, I misunderstood, I was thinking of something else
<Chipmonk> What does she want?
<Casey> Here, you have to return to Rosa. What is she hoping to prevent--with her grandchild Amy
<shorty103> yes, I am still trying to decide where to go
<Soulmoon> ok/i am seeing a lot of sites about hair style.
<Casey> You've said before that she's trying to keep Amy from making her mistakes.
<shorty103> I thought about a conflict with her father about her mother leaving
<Casey> That's #5's answer.
<shorty103> Amy not knowing why, and blaming herself when it wasn't Amy
<Casey> That's the opening conflict, isn't it?
<shorty103> yes, I was thinking of that, what do you think Casey
<Casey> You begin with conflict, which is good.
<Soulmoon> sorry, rose/can't find any good stuff
<Chipmonk> BeeGees hair.
<Soulmoon> no, they only had women's beehives =)
<Chipmonk> Shag.
<Chipmonk> Don't forget the gold appliances.
<Chipmonk> And green shag carpeting.
<shorty103> what gold appliances
<Soulmoon> my mom still has that kind of carpet in her room
<Casey> I hated the everything's brown color scheme's popularity.
<shorty103> I guess, I'm lost here,
<Chipmonk> In the seventies the popular colors for refrigerators and such were olive green and antique gold.
<Casey> I had brown appliances and a brown bathroom when I bought this house.
<Chipmonk> Oh, and there was the gasoline crisis.
<Soulmoon> we had canary yellow when we moved in/and the washing machine was a dark yellowish color with the refrigerator.
<shorty103> well, I have a brown bathroom, and a brown Jacuzzi so don't feel bad about the kitchen stuff
<Chipmonk> That's the gold I'm talking about, Soulmoon.
<Soulmoon> oh/i was only 3 when we moved in here.
<Casey> I was thrilled when the kitchen appliances finally died. I bought white ones!
<shorty103> but the rest of bedroom is red crushed velvet curtains, and brown paneling walls with some wrought iron thrown in
<Soulmoon> what about Grease. When did it take place?
<Chipmonk> 50s
<shorty103> yes, I have that movie
<Soulmoon> too early i would say
<Chipmonk> Yup.
<Casey> Although household appliances and decor can be from an earlier decade than the 70's. As our remarks show, appliances don't change rapidly.
<Chipmonk> Of course I don't know if things were the same in Canada. I was living in Texas at the time.
<shorty103> what about "it could happen to you" it is about someone who won 4 million dollars in a lottery, and shared it with a waitress
<Casey> Especially where the family is poor, or a tightwad, they would not make major changes just to keep up with fashion.
<shorty103> yes, money was tight, welfare , and going to the food bank, and other places for clothing
<Chipmonk> And a teenager would have been really frustrated with that.
<Casey> So having older furniture and appliances would work well to show their harder lifestyle.
<Soulmoon> um. what about drugs.
<shorty103> this guy would not pay the rent when due, just moved into another place and started the same process over and over again
<Soulmoon> going with appliances. you might want to say that they didn't even have most appliances and if he had a washing machine how it would shake so much it moved around.
<Casey> this is before frost-free refrigerators became standard. Remember having to defrost the refrigerator?
<Chipmonk> Yes!
<Chipmonk> Hey! I remember ice picks.
<Casey> Me, too.
<Chipmonk> As crip would say, that's because you're older than dirt.
<Casey> lol.
<Chipmonk> You probably had to have an ice pick because it was the ice age.