Creating Characters: How to Build Story People
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Gantry, Elmer, 17
Genre characters, 150–152
Ginsberg, Allen, 28
Giono, Jean, 45
Glamour, 167
Goal, 42–44, 57, 58, 99
Gods Must Be Crazy, The, 106
Godzilla, 106
Goetz, Bernhard, 25
Goldman, Emma, 72–73
Goodwin, Archie, 173
GQ, 167
“Great Imposter,” 77
Green, Hetty, 77
Gresham, William Lindsay, 101
Greyfriars Bobby, 106
Grimes, Martha, 77, 80, 91
Gruber, Frank, 91, 123
Guinness, Alec, 14
Gun in Cheek, 136
Hal, 106
Hamilton, Donald, 89
Hamilton, Nan, 89
Hamlet, 7
Hammer, Mike, 148
Hammett, Dashiell, 50, 95, 100
Happiness, 36–37, 40–42
Harris, Thomas, 86, 179
Health, 67–68
Hearst, Patty, 12
Heinlein, Robert, 73
“Helen O’Loy,” 105
Heller, Joseph, 73
Helm, Matt, 89
Hemingway, 50
Hepburn, Katharine, 103
Hercules, 12
Heredity, 65–68
“Herman the German,” 22
Hero, 55, 89, 98–101, 101–104, 125, 126, 172, 173, 174, 176, 177; See also: Protagonist
Hero with a Thousand Faces, The, 46
Heroine, 55, 89, 98–101, 101–104, 151, 173, 176, 177; See also: Protagonist
Hill, Fanny, 183
Hillerman, Tony, 7, 89
Hinton, S.E., 179
Historical, 158–161
Hitchcock, Alfred, 8
Hite, 114
Hoare, Mad Mike, 65
Hogarth, 179
Holmes, Sherlock, 6, 12, 37, 78, 89, 93, 130, 183
Homicide Investigation, 149
Hook, 54–55
Hope, Bob, 108
Huckleberry Finn, 175
Hugo, Victor, 7
Humor, 108–127; definition of, 108–109
“I Am A Camera” approach, 95
Ideas, 71–74
Incidental characters, 103–104
Incongruity, 120, 124, 126
Individual, imitation of, 3; importance of, 3–4
Ingersoll, Robert G., 72
Inside the Criminal Mind, 149
Introducing characters, 19
Ivanhoe, 159, 183
Jack the Ripper, 34
Jarre, Jean Michel, 104
Jaws, 55
Jennings, Gary, 77
Johnson, George Clayton, 161
Juliet, 7, 12
Keillor, Garrison, 108
Kemelman, Harry, 74
Kesey, Ken, 80
Kienzle, William, 24, 73, 91
King, Stephen, 34, 77, 87
Kinsey, 114
Knock Three-One-Two, 87
Kropotkin, 72
Labeling, 15–20
Lady Macbeth, 7
Lafargue, Paul, 72
Laing, R.D., 85
L’Amour, Louis, 169
Landy, Eugene, 24
Lansdale, Joe, 91
Larger than life, 60
Laughter, definition of, 114
Lavender Hill Mob, The, 14
Le Moulin de Pologne, 45
Leary, Timothy, 73
Le Carré, John, 91
Lenny, 80
Life in Darwin’s Universe, 162
Lindsay, Judge Ben, 72
Logan’s Run, 161
London, Jack, 105
Long John Silver, 66, 130, 183
Long story, 147–150
Look of the Old West, The, 160
Looking for Mr. Goodbar, 66
Lost World, The, 169
Love interest character, 102–103
Macbeth, 101
MacDonald, John D., 7, 22, 93–95, 183
MAD, 167
Mademoiselle, 167
Magic Wagon, The, 91
Maltese Falcon, The, 50, 95, 100
Man Who Walked Through Walls, The, 118
Manchu, Dr. Fu, 7
Manner, in dominant impression, 15, 16–17, 18
Mannerisms, 21, 25
Manson, Charles, 70, 175
Marlowe, Philip, 130
Martians, Go Home!, 106
Marx, Karl, 72
Mason, Perry, 169, 183
McArdle, Phil and Karen, 149
McCrumb, Sharyn, 112, 122
McGee, Travis, 7, 22, 183
Meily, Clarence, 72
“Millionaire hobo,” 77
Missing Persons, 86
Mister Macawber, 130
Morgan, 72
Moses, 12
Mote in God’s Eye, The, 150
Motive, 31–38, 50–52, 76; definition of, 50
Motivation, 176–177
M/R gaps, 176–177
MTV, 168
Murphy, Pat, 23
Mutual Aid as a Factor in Evolution, 72
“My Heart’s in the Highlands,” 113
My Sister Eileen, 118
Names of characters, 22–23
Narration, 148
New Age music, 104
New Woman, 167
Nichol, Peter, 162
Nightmare Alley, 101
Nightmare on Elm Street, 169
1984, 162
Niven, Larry, 150
Nixon, Richard, 21
Nolan, William F., 161
Non-human characters, 105–107
Non-likable characters, 179–181
Noon, Ed, 90
North and South, 159
“Not-you,” 157, 163–168
Noun of vocation, 17, 131
Novel, 147–150
Novelette, 147–150
Novella, 147–150
Of Mice and Men, 80
O’Hara, Scarlett, 7, 183
Ohara, 89
Oliver, Gideon, 90, 169
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 80
Orwell, George, 162
O’Shea, Wildcat, 90
Outsiders, The, 179
Over-the-Hill Gang, The, 14
Palmer, Ray, 137
“Parsimony, principle of,” 74
Past, 157, 158–161
Pay off, 178
Paying the Piper, 112
Perfect Age, The, 23
Piesman, Marissa, 113
Pileggi, Nicholas, 69
Pinkwater, Daniel, 108
Planting, 177–178; definition of, 177
Playboy, 167
Please Write for Details, 93
Poe, 87
Pohl, Fred, 169
Point of view, 48, 92
Poirot, Hercule, 183
Pollyanna, 92
Polti, George, 185
Pournelle, Jerry, 150
Presley, Elvis, 21
Principle of parsimony, 74
Pronzini, Bill, 136
Protagonist, 98–101, 104
Psycho, 76, 80–87; definition of, 80; as viewpoint character, 86–87
Psycho, 80
Ptath, 106
Puritanism, 72
Purpose, 76
Quade, Oliver, 91
Quasimodo, 7, 66, 92
Radio, 152–155
Raft, George, 25
Rake’s Progress, The, 179
Rambo, 25, 169
Randolph, Vance, 24
Raskolnikov, 3
Rationalization, 8–11; in background, 62–75; of actions, 50–52; presence and behavior, 8
Rationalize, to, 9, 71, 79, 182
Reaction, 176
Reader identification, 60
“Real” people versus characters, 21, 59, 61–65
Recognition, 40
Red Dragon, 86
Regan, Dian Curtis, 23
Relationships, 21, 26–28
Renfroe, Martha Key, 22, 185–186; See also M.K. Wren
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br /> Research, inadequate, 174–175
Response, 40
Rice, Craig, 56, 123
Right to be Lazy, The, 72
Rister, Carl Coke, 160
Ritual in the Dark, 80
Rivera, Geraldo, 168
Roberts, Gillian, 123
Rodman, Howard, 8
Rogers, Will, 122
Roles, 88–107
Rolling Stone, 167
Romeo, 12
Rosary Murders, The, 24
Samenow, Stanton, 149
Sandler, Susan, 99
Sanger, Margaret, 72
Savage, Doc, 92
Sawyer, Tom, 183
Scarf, The, 30, 87
Scene, 176; definition of, 176
Science Fiction Encyclopedia, 162
Science in Science Fiction, The, 162
Scott, Walter, 159
Sears & Roebuck catalog, 160
Second-person viewpoint, 98
Security, 40
Sequel, 176–177; definition of, 176
Series characters, 30
Serpent’s Mark, The, 86
Sex, 67; in dominant impression, 15–16
Shakespeare, 7, 77
Shane, 185
Shannon, Dell, 56
Shape of Minds to Come, The, 163
Shaw, George Bernard, 67
Shylock, 183
Short story, 146–147
“Should,” the, 114–120, 126
Showing, 148
Silence of the Lambs, The, 179
Smiley, George, 91
Smith, H. Allen, 118
Snyder, Le Moyne, 149
Socrates, 114
Sod House Frontier, The, 160
Southern Plainsmen, 160
Spade, Sam, 100, 183
Specificity, 130–135
Speech, 21, 24–25
Spock, Mr., 92
“Springboard scene,” 55
Stableford, Brian, 162
Stage, 155–156
Steinbeck, John, 80
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 77, 83, 130
Stinson, Jim, 123
Story, 104, 141; definition of, 43, 55; long story, 147–150; short story, 146–147
Stout, Rex, 78, 173
Stranger in a Strange Land, 73
Streetcar Named Desire, A, 80
Superman, 66, 148
Suspects, 22
Swanson, Charles, 149
Symbionese Liberation Army, 12
Symmes, John, 77
Szasz, Thomas, 85
Szondi Test, 8
Tags, 18–19, 21, 22–26, 63–64, 131; ability, 23, 25; appearance, 23–24; attitude, 23, 25; contrast, importance of, 25–26; mannerism, 23, 25; of speech, 23, 24–25, 137, 140
Tall Dolores, The, 90
Tarzan, 7, 130, 148, 183
Taylor, John, 163
Techniques of the Selling Writer, 58, 176
“Tell-Tale Heart, The,” 87
Telling, 148; vs. showing, 175–176
Thinkers Exchange, 71
Third-person viewpoint, 97–98
Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, The, 185
Thomas, Ross, 24
Thomas, W.I., 40
Three-Penny Opera, 132
Through Darkest America, 161
Torrey, E. Fuller, 85
Town and Country, 167
Traits, 21, 26–32, 131; action to show, 29–30; human, 26; individual, 26; planting, 177; rules for, 180; social, 26; typical, 26
Trollope, 77
Truck Shot, 123
Twain, Mark, 175
Twist, Oliver, 7, 183
2001, 106
Tyler, Anne, 108
Types, 27–28
Tyranny of the “should,” 114–120
Unanticipated, the, 115–116, 119
Underground Dictionary, The, 24
University of Oklahoma Professional Writing Program, 26
Unorthodox Practices, 113
Valentine, Jimmy, 175
Van Vogt, A.E., 106
Vanity Fair, 167
Vesco, Robert, 3
Viewpoint, “author omniscient,” 95; “I Am A Camera” approach, 95; weaknesses, 170–174
Viewpoint character, 48, 92–98, 149, 170–174, 176
Villain, 89, 101–102, 104, 172, 173, 177; See also Antagonist
Vocation, in dominant impression, 15, 16
Watson, Doc, 93
Wayne, John, 156
Weaknesses, 170–174
Weill, Kurt, 132
Wertham, Frederick, 179
Western Words, 24
Whitman, Charles, 85
Whitney, Phyllis, 35
Wild cards, 76–87
Williams, Tennessee, 80
Wilson, Colin, 80
Wilson, George P., 24
Winfrey, Oprah, 168
Wiseguy, 69
“Witch of Wall Street,” 77
Wizard of Oz, The, 78
Wolfe, Nero, 78, 92, 173
Woman’s Day, 167
Women in Business, 167
Words, 128–136
Working Woman, 167
Wren, M.K., 22
Zest, search for, 182–186