Fiction

Casting your Characters

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Do various actors ever pop into your mind when working on a story? Do you ever think, “Oh man! Hugh Jackman would be perfect as my character”?

I took a class on modern theatre a year ago. For our final project, we had to read a play and then cast it, design costumes, etc.

I read Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. We cast David Tennant as Katurian, Sean Bean as Ariel, Michael Fairman as Tupolski, and Edward Norton as Michel (solely because we couldn’t think of anyone else).

Ever since that course, I’ve been thinking about who looks like my characters, or at least could pull them off. I haven’t been able to pinpoint anyone as Will, yet. But I’ve noticed that I rarely watch movies/TV shows with characters in their late teens-early twenties, so that may be part of the problem. Having just rewatched Dead Poets Society, I’m thinking a young Robert Sean Leonard or a young Ethan Hawke. They look completely different, but Will’s coloring is closer to Ethan’s.

For other characters, it’s a little easier. In my mind, Geoffrey looks like Peter Wingfield (a semi-underground actor who’s in mostly sci-fi stuff, but was in this season of 24).

But what about you all? Does anyone else do this?

What’s On the Bookshelf? Vol. 4

What's On the Bookshelf?

Between yesterday and today, I managed to down Alexander McCall Smith’s The World According to Bertie, the fourth book in his 44 Scotland Street series. Previously, I reviewed Espresso Tales, the second book in the series. And no, I haven’t read the third.

That’s part of the charm of the series. You don’t have to read them in order. If you wanted to, you could even start with the fourth book.

My favorite story line follows Bertie, the perpetual six year old forced to go to saxophone lessons, yoga, and a psychotherapist. In this book, he has a new baby brother named Ulysses. His parents always lose their red Volvo, but this time, they manage to outdo the leaving-it-in-Glasgow situation from Espresso Tales.

Bertie is so charming and fun to read about because of his youth, and he’s precocious without being obnoxious as hell. The poor kid just wants to be like everyone else. He wants to wear jeans, have a white bedroom and play with trains rather than wearing “crushed-strawberry dungarees,” live in a pink room (his mother wants to desensitize him to color prejudices) and being forced to play house with the obnoxious Olive. There’s a little bit of Bertie in us all, I think, and that’s what makes him so endearing.

On temperature and weather

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

We get that it’s cold. Or that it’s hot. Or whatever.

But there can be more description to the weather in books over that. Bitingly cold. Sweltering heat. Boring, dull, cliche phrases.

Today’s assignment: come up with something more interesting to describe what it’s like where you live.

The day reminds me of England. Temperature wise, it isn’t that cold, perhaps 40 or 50. But it’s the damp that gets you. That creeping, gloomy damp that seeps into your knuckles and makes them ache. No amount of polar fleece can keep you warm. You shiver, huddling in a blanket, and wonder when it’s time to go to bed. Tea is the beverage of choice, as it alone can warm your core.

On character development (part V)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The Character’s Emotions and Personality

1. Is your character an introvert or an extrovert?

He is very much an introvert. He doesn’t enjoy party situations and has a difficult time meeting new people. He’s talkative enough, but it is very difficult for others to get to know him.
2. Do they get along well with people? Do they have charm or charisma? Are people naturally attracted to them?

He gets along well with those he knows. He’s a bit charming, but it takes time to find it.
3. Do they have many friends? Any close friends?

He doesn’t have a lot of friends, but the ones that he does have are very close. His best friend is actually his cousin/penpal, who he’s never actually met.
4. Would you describe your character as hot-blooded or cool headed?

He’s cool headed.
5. Do they have a narrow or wide range of emotions? Do they show, or are the emotions concealed? Why?

He’s a very emotional person, but does his best to conceal how he really feels. He doesn’t like the idea of people knowing how to get the upper hand when dealing with him.
6. Do they indulge in emotional peaks, outbursts, or valleys? Often?

He tries to limit the amount of emotional outbursts that he has. Exposing his emotions makes him feel weak.
7. Would you describe them as sensitive or callused?

Sensitive.
8. Is your character suspicious, cautions, trusting, or oblivious about people or situations?

He’s cautious and would rather observe a situation than jump into it.
9. Are they an aggressive or reactive person? Act or react?

He’s a reactive person, and waits for things to happen to him rather than seeking out new and exciting things.
10. Do they typically take positive or negative action?

Positive. He likes to be happy.
11. In a dangerous or emergency situation, would they go toward the situation or run away?

He’d hover at the edges, able to help if need be, and just as easily run away.
12. Is the character basically nervous or calm?

He’s primarily calm.
13. Does the character have a sense of humor? Do they appreciate jokes? Can he see humor in any situation? Can they laugh at themselves?

He has an off beat sense of humor based on observation. He likes a good joke, but not the typical teenage sex jokes. He finds Judd Apatow boring. He can laugh at himself.

14. Do others find them amusing? Are they a practical joker? What do they think about tricks or jokes played on other people?

Others find him amusing enough. He’s not a practical joker, but loves when other people (not himself) get pranked.
15. Is their humor ever cruel?

Sometimes it borders on cruel, but it never involves the physical or emotional harm of others. Sometimes his humor falls in the black comedy variety, like the work of Martin McDonagh.
16. Are there any conditions that would cause them to be harmful, mean, or cruel to another person?<br />
17. Are they a loving person? Are they capable of relating to one specific person in a romantic way?

He’s a very loving person, but someone has to earn his trust in order to gain his affection. He’s capable of being in a romantic relationship.
18. Is the character loved by any other person, in what way?

He’s loved by his parents in a nurturing way.
19. Is the character romantically in love now? With whom? Is this a happy, rewarding or frustrating situation for them?

He’s not romantically in love, but has a strong attraction to his friend Linda. It’s frustrating for him, because Linda is dating someone else, and he’s too honorable to make a move.

Existential inspiration

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

carpe-diemI knew I signed up for Human Nature for a reason. And not just to fulfill a general requirement.

At the moment, I’m knee deep in a paper about existentialism in Dead Poets Society. While debating bad faith in SPOILER Neil’s suicide, I realized something.

My novel just got a swift kick courtesy of existentialism.

What a cabbage!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Languages have such wonderful little idioms. For example, in Italian when you want to say “damn!” you say “che cavolo!” That’s literally “What a cabbage!”

English has some quaint expressions as well. In New England, “wicked” is positive. “Wicked good” is several notches above good, and “Wicked awesome” is about as good as you can get.

For example:

Mike: “Did you see the Sox game last night?”

Jim: “See it? I was there! Beating the Yankees 12-0 was wicked awesome!”

 

In creating different cultures (I’m looking at fantasy and sci fi writers specifically), keep in mind the strange things that might not be translated literally. It could be very interesting to have a character translating from his language to another, or even from one area of the country to another, and having a complete miscommunication.