Monday, April 26, 2010

Physical Activity

What kind of exercise or physical exertion does your character do? Is s/he forced into it or does s/he do it voluntarily? Is there something else s/he would rather be doing?
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8 comments:

  1. Meg WiviottApril 26, 2010 at 4:46 AM

    Like me, most of my characters are couch potatoes. But my newest character plays the cello - unfortunately, I don't. It means I'm learning a lot.

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  2. Stephanie ThebanApril 26, 2010 at 8:14 PM

    This is a good thing to think about. My MC in my current ms is being forced to participate in a sport. How he reacts to this and what he's thinking about while doing it can tell a lot about the character. I'm going to go back and see if you suggestion can make my ms stronger. Thanks!

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  3. Christina FarleyApril 27, 2010 at 3:56 AM

    Hmmm... I guess my character would rather do taekwondo than study her Chinese characters.

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  4. UnknownApril 27, 2010 at 9:16 AM

    Sword fighting... lots of sword fighting. ;) I think physical movement in fiction is often underrated, in large part because readers don't "see" the characters. But my rule of thumb is that if I want to keep the story moving, the characters need to be moving too, even if that movement is just something as simple as chopping vegetables.

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  5. NatalieApril 28, 2010 at 1:08 PM

    My characters spend a lot of time digging. It's hard work, but they have a goal and it makes it worth it.

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  6. AnonymousApril 28, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    Most of my characters don't do any real exercise.

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  7. Anna StaniszewskiApril 28, 2010 at 6:16 PM

    Meg, I love having characters do things that I have no idea how to do - it's fun to learn so much about something new!

    Stephanie, sounds like you have a lot to work with in your story. Good luck with it!

    Christina, I can't say I blame your character - taekwondo sounds a lot more fun!

    KM, I love that idea: "If I want to keep the story moving, the characters need to be moving too." Sword fighting seems like a good way to do just that!

    Natalie, digging doesn't sound like that much fun, but I hope all that digging allows your characters to uncover something exciting!

    Medeia, my characters tend to be a lot more physically active than I am - maybe they're trying to tell me something. :-)

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  8. KAMay 1, 2010 at 7:59 PM

    My MC is a fighter, so he's always boxing. He's kind of obsessed.

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