I have been writing for a long time. It’s only been recently that I’ve been putting my writing out there, so there’s not much I can show you just yet. I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. Of course, the stories you write as a 6 year old will be way different from what you write as a 22 year old (or at least that’s how it should be). My stories had very loose structure during my early teenage years. I began learning more solid writing skills when I turned 17.
I’ve learned so much about storytelling over the years. Of course, I’m not perfect, but there are some major stuff that has greatly improved the way I write. I will share with you 3 examples of things I learned.
Example #1 – Diversity/Representation
I didn’t realize how important this was until I was 18 years old. I took a class about ethnic representation in movies. This class made me pay more attention to how minorities are represented in media. I never noticed how much minorities are portrayed negatively. The Mexican drug dealer, the stingy Jew, the angry black woman, etc. This made me upset. There are so many white protagonists in movies and TV shows that get the positive spotlight.
One day, I took a look at my own characters. A lot of the characters were white. I had a few Asian and Hispanic characters, but they were pretty outnumbered by my white characters. My POC characters weren’t always the bad guys, but they didn’t get the spotlight as much. This felt wrong to me. I wanted to make more diverse characters. Ones that are intelligent, positive role models, realistic, etc.
Diversity is very important for (most) stories. We need more stories that represent POC in a positive light. We need heroic black people, hispanic people, native americans, etc. Not only when it comes to race, but also gender and disability. Yes, I believe there are exceptions. I know there are people who disagree, but I still think this. Take a look at the Pixar movie Coco. All the characters are Mexican. It’s a very good story. There can also be good stories that feature a majority Caucasian cast. I think this is acceptable when the setting of the film has a population of mostly white people, just like how Coco has mostly Hispanic people. With that said, most movies in the U.S. take place in the U.S. Because of that, I believe there should be way more movies that have diversity. There’s not much excuse.
After I became more aware of the need for good representation in media, I became way more intentional about having diverse characters. The first time I put this into practice was when I was figuring out who my protagonists should be for Space Grind. I decided that I wanted Neuro to be a Mexican-Colombian aerospace engineer. If I were to make a top-ten list of my characters that are the most rounded, one of them would be Neuro. He’s also very fun to work on.
I am determined, as a storyteller, to make lots of diverse characters that are portrayed positively and authentically. I’m still learning and practicing, but I have way more diverse characters now. Ones that are carefully thought out. I hope you guys like them and root for them ❤
Example #2 – Argument and Counter-Argument
This is something I learned in Robert McKee’s book Story. Basically, when determining the moral of your story, you must give an equal amount of energy into supporting the opposite message of your story. What? How does that make sense? If I’m writing a story about how “love always wins,” I also have to argue that “hate can win.”?
Correct.
One big reason to do this is conflict. Every story needs conflict. For example, if you want to write a story about “forgiveness,” you must also counter that message with arguments supporting “resentment.” And this can’t be reasons that are portrayed as “dumb” or “dismissable.” You must write a story in such a way that supports “resentment,” just as much as you write a story supporting “forgiveness.” Why? Because the character must be have their beliefs challenged. You must put to the moral of your story to the test. Is your message the truth?
Back to “Forgiveness vs. Resentment.” Even if you wholeheartedly believe that forgiveness is a moral absolute (like some people truly believe), you have to answer the tough questions (note: through showing, not telling). “What if the person I have to forgive murdered someone I love?” “What if the person I have to forgive abused me?” “What if the person cheated on me?” You must answer these questions (through actions and outcomes) with believability. At the same time, the counter-arguments need to be believable.
In the end, when you exhaust your arguments, stick to your convictions. If you still believe that your initial message is true, show or prove that it is the winning argument. If you believe, deep down, that the counter message is the truth, show that it is the winning argument. No matter what, tell the truth. That is one of your number one responsabilites as a writer. Your audience won’t accept a weak argument. And they usually won’t like a one-sided one.
Example #3 – Pay Attention To Both Content & Form
This is also something that I learned while reading Story. “Content” is what is in your story. The characters, the ideas, the events, etc. “Form” is how your story is told. When I read this, I realized that I create a lot of content for my stories, but there’s not much structure in how I arrange the content. I knew I needed to work on “form.” A writer may have a ton of interesting content, but if the form is weak, it’s hard to follow the story.
A writer/storyteller must carefully arrange how they reveal parts of their story. For example, foreshadowing should not make the story predictable. It’s vital, but if handled incorrectly, it can give away an obvious event that will happen in the story. Foreshadowing is a clue that something will happen, but must be subtle. When the plot twist happens, the audience will look back at the foreshadowing, and think The answer was right in front of me! Cliques or overused tropes will be boring to watch, so watch out for those, too.
Writers also must arrange events that are easy to follow. They must remove or shrink the dialogue or scenes that make the story confusing. With music, if the musical notes are all over the place, the song won’t be enjoyable to listen to. Similarly, if story content is all over the place, the story won’t be enjoyable.
Summary
- Diversity is important
- The moral of the story must be challenged
- A story’s form is just as important as a story’s content
I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you are a more experienced writer and already knew this stuff, I hope you still enjoyed reading it. Or maybe even gotten a refresher 🙂 If you’re a beginning writer, like me, I hope I was able to help you improve your skills. Have a nice day! 🙂
Alex Zen Draw Comic Book Blog 