EMPATHY: The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
06/16/22 • 17 min
S2_E42. EMPATHY! The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week, I gave you the 5 dialogue tricks every writer needs to create a clear and dynamic storyline. This week I discuss how to create dynamic characters through empathy.
The basis of story is understanding the human condition from an empathetic point of view. In order to do this it is absolutely necessary for a writer to understand and confront their own sin nature. If you don't understand people, you cannot be a good writer. So this, in turn, means that you must be aware of the world around you. The actual world, not the false created world you pretend it is.
There is a desire to deny evil, because if evil doesn't exist, then we're not guilty. And what do human beings want to do more than anything? We want to justify ourselves! By knowing that evil exists inside of ourselves, we can then translate more believable characters and more believable scenarios to our stories.
DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.
HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES - The Storyteller’s Mission online platform offers one-on-one COACHING, SCRIPT and MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES, and ADVANCED CLASSES ON WRITING. Send us an email at [email protected], or if you have a question or a specific writing related topic that you would like Zena to consider addressing on a future episode, LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL!
UP NEXT - Next week we get out of our comfort zone and change the way we think about engaging culture.
S2_E42. EMPATHY! The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week, I gave you the 5 dialogue tricks every writer needs to create a clear and dynamic storyline. This week I discuss how to create dynamic characters through empathy.
The basis of story is understanding the human condition from an empathetic point of view. In order to do this it is absolutely necessary for a writer to understand and confront their own sin nature. If you don't understand people, you cannot be a good writer. So this, in turn, means that you must be aware of the world around you. The actual world, not the false created world you pretend it is.
There is a desire to deny evil, because if evil doesn't exist, then we're not guilty. And what do human beings want to do more than anything? We want to justify ourselves! By knowing that evil exists inside of ourselves, we can then translate more believable characters and more believable scenarios to our stories.
DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.
HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES - The Storyteller’s Mission online platform offers one-on-one COACHING, SCRIPT and MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES, and ADVANCED CLASSES ON WRITING. Send us an email at [email protected], or if you have a question or a specific writing related topic that you would like Zena to consider addressing on a future episode, LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL!
UP NEXT - Next week we get out of our comfort zone and change the way we think about engaging culture.
Previous Episode
Five Essential Dialogue Tricks to Help Clarify Your Storyline for Your Readers
S2_E41: Five Dialogue Tricks For a Clear Storyline
EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week, we discussed the importance of getting to your main action and character quickly. This week I give you 5 dialogue tricks to avoid ‘the kiss of death’ in your story, confusion. If you confuse your audience, you automatically take them out of the story, which is the opposite of what you want to do. The rule of thumb in story is to always keep your audience invested.
TRICK #1: You always want to prefer clarity over cleverness, always choose clarity of the words over clever or flowery written passages.
TRICK #2: Provide visual cues for your audience to interpret what is going on.
TRICK #3: Provide dialogue. Remember, when it comes to dialogue, don’t rush, slow down, and let the scene unfold naturally. You also have to ask yourself, "How will my audience know this?”
TRICK #4: Create a device that allows dialogue to be a part of what is happening in that world. An effective instance of this would be Wilson (the volleyball), in the film Castaway.
TRICK #5: Bring in a new character that wouldn’t know what was going on inside that world. This allows the protagonist to justifiably relay information out loud, that the audience needs to know.
The key takeaway to remember is to give your dialogue a purpose! We must justify the dialogue for our audience to enjoy it, regardless of how it is created.
DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website.
UP NEXT - Next week, we discuss the importance and necessity of understanding our own sin nature when creating effective characters and storylines.
HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES - The Storyteller’s Mission online platform offers one-on-one COACHING, SCRIPT and MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES, and ADVANCED CLASSES ON WRITING. Send us an email at [email protected], or if you have a question or a specific writing related topic that you would like Zena to consider addressing on a future episode, LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL!
Next Episode
Crucial Factors Writers Must Overcome to Successfully Engage Culture in Story
Support the show
S2_E43. EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Last week we discussed the importance of empathy. Not only for ourselves as writers, but for developing dynamic and engaging characters.
This week, we take that same principle and dive deeper as we apply it to our lives and our writing to think about the way we engage culture. Now as a storyteller, writing coach, and artist myself, I tend to see a very common thread that leads to, well, not so good stories.
That common thread is fear.
I want to challenge us in this episode to really look at our role in society both as artists, and as Christians, and see where we are letting fear affect our writing. We need not be afraid to address the hard aspects of life. If we are going to change the world through story then we can’t take a sanitized view of the world. In fact, we need to address the world as it really is and reveal that there really is a way out of sin, pain, suffering and anxiety that exists within every person.
So we need not be afraid! Follow me on this journey of confronting our fears and facing the world with a bold faith, knowing that Christ called us to be in the world, but not of the world.
DOWNLOAD FULL TRANSCRIPTS FOR FREE on the podcast page of our website
UP NEXT - Next week, we take this premise and apply it to our writing as we dive into the difference between ‘Kind’ and ‘Nice’ and how it will change the live’s of your characters.
HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES -The Storyteller’s Mission online platform offers one-on-one COACHING, SCRIPT and MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES, and ADVANCED CLASSES ON WRITING. Send us an email at [email protected], or if you have a question or a specific writing related topic that you would like Zena to consider addressing on a future episode, LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL!
The Storyteller’s Mission with Zena Dell Lowe - EMPATHY: The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
Transcript
THE STORYTELLER’S MISSION WITH ZENA DELL LOWE
S2_E42: EMPATHY! The Number One Tool Writers Need to Develop Dynamic Characters
PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
Published June 16, 2022
00:00
INTRO: Hello, and welcome to The Storyteller's Mission with Zena Dell Lowe, a podcast for artists and storytellers about changing the world for the better through story.
00:11
TOPIC INTRO: Today, I want to talk to you about character
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-storytellers-mission-with-zena-dell-lowe-229005/empathy-the-number-one-tool-writers-need-to-develop-dynamic-characters-25884849"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to empathy: the number one tool writers need to develop dynamic characters on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy