Friday, May 28, 2010

Telling Actions

So I went to this concert. I won't drop names, but here's a picture I took. :)

We had fabulous seats (not to brag or anything), so we had a great view. Both my husband and I love his music. I already know he's married with kids. Said to be a devoted husband. He's handsome. An amazing guitar player. And a great sense of humor.

How could I possible like him more? I found out at the concert.

He singled out all the kids near the stage and made a point of getting them one of his guitar picks. How awesome is that?

So what does this have to do with writing? Everything. When we create our characters, how do we show that our MC is who we say he is?

Something as simple as giving a kid some attention can add depth to make them believable and real. What have you done in your book to show your readers who your MC is?

22 comments:

Vicki Rocho said...

Glad you had a good time!

I do need to keep this in mind. I'm going to have to do a dozen revision rounds. Round 1 - fix glaring errors. Round 2 - fix punctuation and grammar. Round 3- Keep tension where it needs to be. Round 4 - Make sure characters are multi-dimensional
Round 5 - well, you get the idea. hahaha

Stina said...

Eek! My brain's not awake yet to answer this. Like you've pointed out, it's the little things my characters do that show who they are. What they say. Their mannerisms. Their attitude.

Joanne said...

I love when the artists connect with the audience like that. We went to a concert last weekend, and when the singer spotted a high school girl in the front row, he talked a bit with her from the stage, asking her about her concert experience. I'm sure she'll always remember that.

Lydia Kang said...

Looks like you had a great time!

Hmm. My MC has her moments, when no one is watching, where you get to see more of her. The stuff she hides. So it's a secretive way of showing who she is!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sounds like you had a great experience, and I'm impressed that you saw how it relates to writing. Singling out kids to give his guitar picks is very telling--shows a warm heart and genuine kindness. I think if we want readers to like a character, we should show those, small but considerate gestures to others--especially kids, ill or disabled people, animals and the elderly. Or during the course of the story, the character could change from clueless to caring.

Tana said...

Aww, isn't he sweet? And great seats!!!!!! It's been too long since I've been at a concert. Lucky for me it's summer time. Gotta love summer, right?

Anonymous said...

He sounds really great, and I'm glad you had a good time. :)

R. Garrett Wilson said...

My MC is a kid. Maybe I should have him give attention to adults. :)

Janna Leadbetter said...

What an awesome writerly tie-in!

And, crazy enough, a friend of mine named Janet (!) is at his concert TONIGHT, very close to stage.

Jealous!

B.J. Anderson said...

That is so awesome! My MC does little things for his sister, which I hope shows that he's compassionate and caring. We'll see. :D Great post!

Talli Roland said...

That's amazing - I am super jealous! And thanks for the reminder about our characters.

(Thanks, too, for dropping by my blog!)

Missed Periods said...

I feel silly because I can't tell from the picture who that is.

But, you do make a very good point about the little things people do and how we must incoporate that into our writing.

Anonymous said...

I have to comment about the concert, if that's ok! I'm crazy about Brad Paisley. The seats we had when he showed in my town were right against the centre ramp. He stood right above me playing. Amazing talent. And such a 'real' guy. I never got a pik but I did get a BP smile!
My MC? Sorry, you had me at the picture! I hope my readers get hooked as quickly as I did by your first lines.

Anonymous said...

Glad you had a great time at the concert!

Raquel Byrnes said...

Great observation. Made me think. I have to pay closer attention to details of action. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Janet, you were drawn and won my 100 follower give-away. Please drop by and email me your address. Have a great day!

Josette said...

Hi Janet,

Thanks for visiting my blog! :)

Oooh, I have never been to a concert before and I love music so much! I can't wait to attend my first one.

May I know what is MC? Thanks.

Jenny said...

Happy Memorial Day! What a fun post! I love when "stars" have class! Sometimes it seems like such a rare thing!

Kasie West said...

How cute. That does make for a good character. :) Love it.

Christina Lee said...

very cool -it's the whole showing versus telling, right?

Cheryl Kohan said...

I'm old enough to be his mother, I'm pretty sure but I gotta say...Brad Paisley is hot!

So glad you had fun.

Endra Setiawan said...
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