Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Digging Deeper

After watching Quantum of Solace again last night (what, you didn't think I'd buy the DVD and not actually watch it, did you? *grin*), I'm revising my original opinion of it. I think it's a lot better than I at first thought. Since it's a direct sequel to Casino Royale, it takes Bond's character and digs deeper with his thirst for revenge. Every scene had a purpose toward his character development and in the end, it showed how he came full circle.

It made me realize that I need to dig deeper with my own story. My characters have some pretty serious issues they're dealing with and I think at this point I'm skimming the surface of their problems. I need to unearth the layers, get down to the heart of things, and really explore what's going on in their innermost soul.

Here's where writing has a slight advantage over film. I can devote an entire page to what my character is going through - but a character on film normally doesn't have that advantage mainly because he or she isn't going to sit on screen and "tell" you what they're experiencing. That would be boring.

Thanks to James Bond, I'm going to take a closer look at my manuscript and see where I need to "dig deeper."

9 comments:

  1. A true inspiration that Daniel Craig--drool, swoon;) Good luck with your dig. Character development is always fun.

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  2. Writing inspiration from a James Bond film ... doesn't get much better than that! I like the thought of unearthing the layers, doing a little literary excavating. Enjoy ...

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  3. Daniel Craig is hot. And I liked how you managed to finagle him into your blog post.

    Getting to the heart of the issue ultimately makes your characters more appealing to your readers. Good luck with it.

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  4. Hehehe! no one blames you for watching that movie again! Wow! And great analogy! Jenni

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  5. Insightful! Thanks for sharing. I think we should all assess our own writing in such a way. Especially if it involves Mr. Craig. ;)

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  6. Digging deeper is one of the most fun parts of the second and subsequent drafts. This is where most of my "aHA!" moments arrive, where I make a lot of the connections that eluded me in the first draft, where I really get to my characters' hearts. I've learned if it ain't hard, I ain't digging deep enough. Good luck!

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  7. I tend to gloss over some areas where I know I need to dig deeper. I agree with Christine that the rewrites is where that part happens!

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  8. Who knew James Bond could be so insightful?

    It's funny because I'm going through the same thing with my WIP. It's so tempting to keep my characters shallow and easy. It's much harder to do the work and figure out what really makes them tick.

    Haven't seen Quantum of Solace yet (bad L.C., I know), but I really enjoyed Casino Royale, and your post makes me want to check out the sequel.

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  9. While I'm writing the first draft, I always know there are lots of places where I need to dig deeper. It's the part I enjoy most though. Once that first draft is out of the way, I can start to enjoy myself. :o)

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