Holding Out for the Ordinary
Holding Out for a Hero They say you should never meet your heroes. Late last night (early this morning, TBH),[…]
Read moreA Blog for Readers and Writers of Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction
characters
Holding Out for a Hero They say you should never meet your heroes. Late last night (early this morning, TBH),[…]
Read moreI don’t generally throw books against the wall, but when I read Tana French’s book the first time, I was so aggravated by the ending that I tossed it. The story was engrossing. The characters richly detailed. The book won an Edgar when it was published, in 2007. But the ending drove me crazy because it left something important unresolved. I actually thought I’d got a misprinted book that had lost the last twenty pages.
Read moreWhat is it about Kinsey Millhone? I didn’t realize how much I miss Kinsey Millhone until I saw the ad[…]
Read moreLast of the Summer Wine, the television series about three Yorkshire lads who got old but never grew up aired from 1973 to 2010, an amazing 294 episodes, making it the longest-running scripted sitcom in Britain and the world. That’s impressive.
Read moreIf you write something and publish it, someone is going to have a nagging suspicion you wrote about them.
Read moreHow trees help me understand people better.
Read moreWhat we remember best about the books we’ve read is usually not the plot or the setting, as wonderful as[…]
Read moreLast weekend I had the opportunity to meet with Ann Cleeves (at Crime Bake), which was a treat on many levels, one of them being that she has created one of my all-time favorite characters, Vera. Of course, when I tried to tell this to Ann Cleeves I felt like one of those babbling brooks, but I did mean it quite sincerely. Vera has been a good friend to me. So my question is, do you have any fictional characters who you connect to powerfully, and if so, who?
Read moreFor more than a month, I walked the dog with Shonda Rhimes. Ms. Rhimes’ MasterClass is one of the longer and, in my opinion, more informative courses for writers on the podcast service. She demystifies breaking into television, discusses writing in general and also gets specific with the structure of various types of television episodes. She’s also has an amazing work-ethic, approach to her craft, and incredible talent. Plus, she’s funny.
Read moreYesterday, I posted about authors getting into shape. That got me thinking about the physical fitness habits of fictional characters. “Person versus nature” is a classic literary theme. A character engaged in an outdoor activity like backpacking, skiing, or trekking might find themselves combating nature’s fury in the form of a landslide, earthquake, or avalanche. A character might undergo physical training as preparation for battle against their antagonist. Even if you’re not a fan of sports films or boxing, when someone says, “Rocky,” you imagine Sylvester Stallone’s triumphant run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Dr. Strange” features several scenes of Benedict Cumberbatch enduring physical as well as magical training. Superheroes require physical toughness to fight the forces of evil. Two my favorite movies, “Stripes” and “Private Benjamin,” present the rigors of military physical fitness as both a literal antagonist to overcome and as metaphorical antagonist for the characters’ battles against themselves and others who are betting on them to fail. Christine Sneed, one of the authors interviewed for the article, “How the bookish stay in shape,” (William Hageman, Chicago Tribune, November 11, 2015) includes college athletes and distance runners as characters in her novels. Author Philip Brewer wrote a 2013 blog post, “Fictional characters getting in shape,” describing how he enjoys scenes showing the protagonist engaged in fitness activities. He lists Man on Fire, Wise Man’s Fear, Critical Space, and, of course, “Rocky,” as examples. Commenters on the post mentioned the Travis McGee, Doc Ford, and Elvis Cole series as others. What about you? Are you a fan of physical fitness in fiction? As a plot device to put a character in jeopardy? As preparation for the ultimate battle? As a metaphor for a battle against self-doubt? Or as a way to show that characters are as human as we are? Leave a comment on the blog or come over to Facebook to share and discuss.
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