Last night, I stayed up much later than I should have. I wasn’t engaged in a riveting chess match, though that probably would have been a better use of my time.
Like millions of Americans, I became hooked on Scandal. But, unlike millions of viewers, I don’t watch it during its regularly scheduled season. I discovered the show late. Friends urged me to watch it. It’s good, they said. You’ll love it, they said. They were right.
When I watch T.V. shows, I only do so via Netflix. I love binge watching. And, I know how wrong and unhealthy that is, but I want to see the show to the bitter end. (Except SOA. That show got under my skin and I still haven’t finished watching it.)
So, last night, I finished season 4 of Scandal. The number one thing I learned from creator Shonda Rhimes is:
Take ridiculous risks when you write. Make the reader or viewer think, “Oh, yeah, that could actually happen” no matter how far-reaching the idea. Don’t self-edit.
But, there’s precedence to what she’s writing. Historical precedence. So, she’s not creating anything groundbreaking or new. What she is doing though, is pushing the envelope of believability. Why? Because she knows the more salacious the story, the more compelling it is. Add a healthy dose of territorial testosterone, and a few strong, but ultimately broken, women, and BOOM! You’ve got yourself an epic tale. We all know that Scandal has that it factor. The question is, how do we make our stories/characters have it?
Your character needs to be believable and likeable (even the villain of your story needs these traits.)
How do you do this?
Art imitates life, remember? We’ve all met people we didn’t like, but we’ve also recognized that they weren’t all bad. We’ve also met people who seemed to have everything. When I create characters, they’re based on a combination of the people I’ve met throughout my life. This means that my characters are never all good or all bad. They can’t be. (Even people who love Dexter would say he’s an obviously disturbed, but an oddly likable character. )
One of the things I like to do is create character sketches (profiles). I don’t always know every detail in the beginning, but I’ll jot down the basics. As I write, the character will begin to reveal more details. For example, I didn’t know that Dezeray Jackson, my protag in Deadly Sins Complete and soon-to-be released, Hush, likes dogs. Not just any type of dog though. Dez has a rottweiler named Godfrey that she rescued from a shelter. What does this tell you about her?
If you’re just beginning your writing journey, remember to take ridiculous risks, and if you’re not already a people-watcher, become one. These two things will help your stories have that it factor.
Keep it real. Or, make it fantasy. You can’t do both.
