The Kilted Writer

The Devil Wears Prada , by Lauren Weisberger, is a great example of "expansion" in revealing your world to your reader. In fact, this book's introduction was how I first became interested in the topic of reveal your world to your audience. I was at a workshop given by Pikes Peak Writers and the person leading the workshop used this introduction to illustrate how starting close to your character and expanding the world outward was a good way to draw your audience into your story. Ever since then, I have been more aware of story openings and how authors reveal their worlds, studying them and breaking them down to see what commonalities I could find. The result of that research and study is my new workshop, "Let There Be Light: Revealing your World to Your Audience." Just like with my "Brains, Brawn & Bravado" workshops , one small spark has grown into a flaming inferno of information. The Devil Wears Prada opens inside at a busy New York City ...

In addition to my "Brains, Brawn & Bravado" posts, I will start adding additional analysis related to my new workshop, "Let There Be Light." This will be the first of those analyses. If you attend writers conferences or workshops, even occasionally, you have most likely heard the phrase "Show; don't tell." While that axiom is important to storytelling, it is critical to effectively introducing your world to your reader. Think of it this way. You want your reader to become a part of the story, to be drawn into the story through the senses of your characters. You do not want your reader watching your story unfold as if through a window pane. A great example of this lesson is Clockwork Angels , by Kevin J. Anderson. The book has a short prologue that does a lot to introduce the main character's personality, but very little to introduce the world in which he lives. I will focus on chapter one, the beginning of the actual story Anderson is tel...

I am currently developing a new workshop! Right now, I have two workshops I am giving at various conferences and writing groups. The first is "Brains, Brawn & Bravado: Mind, Body, and Spirit in Character Development," and the second is "Brains, Brawn & Bravado: Mind, Body, and Spirit in World Building." Both teach writers how to use the mind, body, and spirit symbolism I have been writing about in this blog. My new workshop also falls under the category of "world building," and is tentatively entitled, "Let There be Light: Revealing Your World to Your Audience." Basically, I will show how to pull your reader into the world you create, whether  your story is set in modern-day Chicago or a galaxy far, far away, using techniques of incremental revelation. I was first exposed to the concepts as part Write Brain workshop hosted by Pikes Peak Writers several years ago. I have taken those basics and expanded them into a more...

I just sat down to watch Pacific Rim, and within five minutes the mind, body, and spirit symbolism leaped off the screen and right into my lap. I am still watching the movie as I write this, so I have not identified the characters who represents each personality. This observation is more of a world building example. In the movie, creatures called "kaiju" are wreaking havoc on mankind. To fight them, giant machines called "jaegers" are built. The jaegers (body) turn out to be too difficult for one pilot to control, so an additional pilot is needed. In order for the pilots to operate the jaeger in unison, designers create a process that links the two pilots minds. And this is where it gets interesting. The process takes the logical and analytical left brain (mind) from one pilot and links if with the creative and imaginative right brain (spirit) of the other. The link between the two pilots is called "the drift." In order to be effective, pi...

There are two versions of the movie True Grit , both based on the novel by Charles Portis of the same title. While the remake is every bit as good as the original, in a lot of respects, it lacks one key element. In the climactic scene where Rooster Cogburn charges down four members of the outlaw gang led by Lucky Ned Pepper over an open field, the original movie starring John Wayne had a wall of aspen trees as the backdrop. The remake has no such majesty in this key scene. As for the plot, we have three main characters who are all out to find an outlaw, each for their own reasons. Mattie Ross wants justice for her father's murder. LaBoeuf (pronounced "LaBeef") wants a big reward being offered in Texas, and Rooster Cogburn wants to rid the country of one more malcontent while helping the young Mattie find her justice. The Mind Character: Mattie Ross Mattie is introduced meeting with the town's undertaker about her father's body. He has been brut...

Mind, body, and spirit characters are often used in " based on a true story " movies and stories. Apollo 13 is no different. In fact, this movie includes two sets of mind, body, and spirit characters - one set in space and one on the ground.  I've covered why mind, body, and spirit characters show up in "true story" movies in previous posts (see above). In this post, I want to focus on "motivation." On the surface, each character seems like a mind character. They all have knowledge and share information freely and they all react to conflict, especially the explosion, with knowledge, information, and procedure. Even when the procedures no longer apply because of the disaster, they start to build new procedures. All of this is mind-related behavior. In order to see the character's true natures, you have to look a little bit deeper at the characters' motivations. For this analysis, I will focus on one key motivation for each cha...

In the last post , I discussed the "parent" level of the family model of mind, body, and spirit as it relates to the popular science show, Mythbusters . Now, I will take a look at the "children" level of the model.  What's interesting about this show is that it's been on the air long enough to see the "children" mature into an independent team. In the beginning, the team did a lot of "behind-the-scenes" work, but were rarely in front of the camera. Their responsibilities were simply to build whatever was necessary. Somewhere around season four, the team moved to the front of the camera, but their responsibilities were still limited. Now, they share almost equal on-screen time and develop tests for their own myths, independent of their "parents," Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. The Mind Character: Grant Imahara Grant has a background in robotics. On the show, he is often responsible for calculations and scientific...

(Note: This post was originally written in October 2013) First, I want to thank all of you for keeping the blog's stats up while I was away. If you follow me (Kilted Writer) on Facebook, you know I was traveling for my 25th high school reunion. It was a great time, more so than I would have ever expected. Now, though, it's back to work. I want to be as prepared and up to date as possible for my presentation at the Castle Rock Writers Conference on November 23rd. Unlike previous posts, which have focused on "film and fiction" this one will look at the popular series, Mythbusters . This is not a fiction series, but it is produced for entertainment value. Now in its 14th season, I think they've succeeded. Part of that success can be seen in the interactions of the cast members as they set out to confirm or bust various "myths" from all parts of society. The chemistry between the cast members can be partially explained in terms of mind, body...

Normally, I would introduce the book and tell you about each of the three character types. In this post, though, I want to focus on the interaction between the mind and spirit characters in Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees . The book shows how three sisters, May, June, and August, work to transform a fourth character, Lily Owens. May is the body character, June is the mind character, and August is the spirit character in the story. In the following passage, August and June are discussing what to do about Lily, who has just recently entered into their care. The Setup: For those who are unfamiliar with the book or the movie, here is how the story develops up to the interaction I will be breaking down. Lily is a teenage white girl in 1960's South Carolina. Her mother was killed when she was young in a tragic accident, so she lives alone with an abusive father. She runs away with a black housekeeper, who is a fugitive from the law, and winds up with thre...

I grew up on Star Wars, Buck Rogers, and Battlestar Galactica. My friends and I would fight over who got to be Starbuck and who got to be Apollo in our recreations of battles against the Cylon "tin cans." Which is why I was absolutely appalled to find out the recent remake of the Battlestar Galactica television series featured a female Starbuck. What's worse is the sexual tension depicted between Apollo and Starbuck. That whole situation is so far removed from the original characters that it changes the whole dynamic of the series. I recently started re-watching the original series and, given the sex change, was surprised by how much of the original carried over into the remake, right down to the use of "frak." I actually gained a little more respect for the new series. As I watched the pilot episode, I immediately became aware of the mind, body, and spirit symbolism in the characters. The dynamic may be different in the remake, but here is wha...

A common question in my workshop is "Is all this mind, body, and spirit stuff an accident?" In other words, do writers intentionally include it in their work, or is it something so inherent in a good story that writers include it without even knowing they are doing so? Personally, I think some writers do it intentionally. When you read some books or series, the mind, body, and spirit symbolism is so tightly woven into the story it is hard to believe it is accidental. In other stories, though, the symbolism comes across as almost an afterthought, like in the movie Rush Hour , starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The body and spirit characters are dominant throughout the film, but when needed to push the story forward, a mind character appears.  I don't know if the mind, body, and spirit symbolism in  Rush Hour was intentional or accidental. I would like to believe it was intentional, but it doesn't have to be. It's there because it works, accide...

Like others films based on true stories I have analyzed , The Great Debaters focuses on three main characters with mind, body, and spirit characteristics. This illustrates how prominent these characteristics are in storytelling, whether the story is purely fiction or based in fact. In my workshops, I emphasize three things when it comes to using mind, body, and spirit symbolism in character development. First is the character's introduction. I had one attendee ask if she was being too 'obvious' as to her character's type in her introductory description. I referred her back to the initial character descriptions in The Three Musketeers to show that it is better to be 'obvious' when it comes to describing your mind, body, or spirit characters. The second thing I emphasize is characters reactions to conflict. Each character type has their own unique way of dealing with conflict. Finally, I emphasize character's interactions with each other. Th...

My wife suggested "The Cat Who..." series by Lilian Jackson Braun would make a good study in mind, body, and spirit symbolism. When I decided to take a look, she suggested I read The Cat Who Played Post Office , which I recently did, and she was right. While this book was not very good for examining Yum Yum's character, the characteristics written into Qwilleran and Koko are clear. Yum Yum's characteristics are clearer in other books in the series. The Body Character: Yum Yum Yum yum plays a minor role in The Cat Who Played Post Office , and according to other sites I found about the series, does not play a big role in solving many of the mysteries Qwill and Koko face. Even so, she does play a big role in the series. Yum Yum is more affectionate than Koko and has outstanding dexterity. She opens drawers, operates switches, and performs a variety of such manual labor tasks. Her ability to steal objects earned her the name, "Yum Yum the Paw."...

In previous posts, I've taken a look at the mind and body characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . In this final post in the series, I will look at the presentation of the spirit character. The Spirit Character: Jay Gatsby Introductions are important and set the stage for the type of character a writer intends to present. Jay Gatsby is first shown emerging from the shadows to examine the stars. ...a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion... Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. Gatsby reaches out toward a green light across the water, which we discover later is the direction of Daisy's house. He then disappears as mysteriously as he arrived on the scene. When I looked once more for Gatsby, he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. An a...

Like Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan is the quintessential embodiment of his character type, and this is clear from the moment he is introduced in the book. The Body Character: Tom Buchanan Tom's introduction firmly defines him as a body character. He is standing on the front porch of his home as Nick approaches and describes him as a: sturdy straw-haired man of thirty...hard mouth...two shining arrogant eyes...appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Nick summarizes Tom's character by saying: "Now don't think my opinion on these matters is final," he seemed to say, "just because I am stronger and more of a man than you are." Tom is given to alcohol more than any other of the main characters in the book and is having an affair. He even admits to "making a fool of himself," but is jealous that Daisy and Gatsby might be having an affair. In fact, he is very much a hypocrite on the matter of extramarital relationshi...

(Note: This post was originally written in July 2013) With the recent movie release, I thought I would reread The Great Gatsby . In doing so, I discovered yet another fine example of mind, body, and spirit in literature, which I will show you in this series of posts. The Mind Character: Nick Carraway The book is written in first person, past tense, with Nick Carraway as the narrator. He introduces himself like this: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since, After explaining what the advice was, he writes: ...I understand he meant a great deal more than that After introducing himself and several other characters, Nick ends up in an apartment in NY with Tom Buchanan, Tom's mistress, and a group of merrymakers, but he doesn't quite fit in with this crowd. He isn't a big drinker and doesn't have a girl of his own, so he sits in a chair reading a book. ...either it w...

When I was a kid, I had a skateboard, but I was never good at skating, mostly because I didn't put in the work to master the necessary skills. I wanted to be like the "Z-Boys" - the Zephyr skate team who were constantly highlighted in the skating magazines of that time. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, and Jay Adams were gods (and still are, in some ways) of the skating world. In previous posts , I've shown how mind, body, and spirit characters are used in stories based on real people and events. Lords of Dogtown continues that illustration. The examples given in this post are from the movie, and not necessarily on actual events. The Mind Character: Stacy Peralta (John Robinson) Stacy is a character study in practicality. Early in the movie, he is watching some of the older guys surfing when one of then wipes out and gets cut. Stacy suggests he should get out of the water because of the injury, a suggestion that is not taken kindly. Stacy is the only one ...

When Siddhartha leaves the followers of Gotama , he encounters a ferryman who allows him passage for no charge. The ferryman is a kind man for whom Siddhartha seems to have some level of admiration. Later, after leaving Kamala and Kamaswami , he meets the ferryman once again. The Spirit Character: Vasudeva Vasudeva has spent many years learning from the river. He has learned many important life lessons from his time alone on the river. Siddhartha is very intelligent, but Vasudeva is very wise. "I only know how to listen, to be devout; otherwise, I have learned nothing." After leaving Kamala and coming to river, Siddhartha wants to drown himself in it. Before he is able to complete the task, he hears the river speak to him and give him peace. It is the first of many lessons Siddhartha learns from the river while staying with Vasudeva. Later, he learns about the nature of time and eternity from the river. When he explains it to Vasudeva, the old ferryman l...

(Note: This post was originally written in June 2013) As I was giving the "Brains, Brawn & Bravado" workshop to the Parker Writers Group (thanks for having me, PWG!) this past weekend, I realized something. Siddhartha's transformation mirrors that of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol . Both start their transformation journey with a mind character, then encounter a body character, and finally encounter a spirit character. Where Scrooge's transformation takes an entire night, however, Siddhartha's takes a lifetime. Body Character I: Kamala After shedding the burden of intellectualism, Siddhartha's eyes are opened to a whole new way of seeing the world. All this, colored and in a thousand forms, had always been there...but in previous times, all this had been nothing to Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes... For the first time in his life, Siddhartha allowed himself to experience the beauty of the world, and...

Siddhartha is the story of a man's spiritual journey to enlightenment and the trials and tribulations he encounters along the way. Born the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha begins his life studying the scriptures and quickly becomes a highly esteemed holy man. Intellectual pursuits, however, do not lead him to enlightenment, so he decides to live in the ways of the world. This only takes him farther from the enlightenment he seeks. Finally, he discovers peace and accepts all that has happened to him as steps along that path.  In this series of posts, I will show the characters who define each of the stages through which Siddhartha must pass to achieve his enlightenment, starting with the mind character. The Mind Character: Govinda Siddhartha, as a young Brahmin, stands apart from his peers. He is far and above the most learned of the holy men; he knows all the scriptures and can perform all the sacrifices. ...above all, he loved his intellect, his fine ardent th...

Stargate SG-1 ran for 10 seasons and over 200 episodes, which gave the writers a lot of different mind, body, and spirit opportunities. In addition to the main characters and the " uber races " of aliens, SG-1 has one other another prominent mind, body, and spirit set. In the war with their primary enemy, the Goa'uld, the humans of earth ally themselves with the Jaffa and the Tok'ra. The Body Race: Jaffa The Jaffa are the enslaved warriors of the Goa'uld, who pretend to be gods in order to exert their power. They are the measure of any particular Goa'uld's military strength. In the pilot episode, Teal'c, a Jaffa serving as the "First Prime" (top ranking Jaffa) of the Goa'uld Apophis, rebels against his false god and starts a movement within the Jaffa to create a free nation. These free Jaffa fight against the Goa'uld to help their brothers and sisters gain the same freedom they enjoy. The Jaffa are imbued with lon...

A while back, I introduced the concept of mind, body, and spirit societies . I illustrated the concept in my discussion of the book, Divergent , by Veronica Roth, and in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. The TV series, Stargate SG-1 , contains three separate "uber-races" of aliens the team from Earth encounter at various times throughout the series. These three races make up a complete mind, body, and spirit set. The Mind Race: The Nox The Nox appear to be a very primitive race when the team first meets them. They even seem to have difficulty with basic communication. Within the span of a brief conversation, however, the Nox pick up the language and patterns of communication the team is using and are able to communicate quite easily. The Nox use the power of the mind for everything from healing their sick to escaping detection by unwanted intruders. They can even resurrect someone who has died under the right  conditions. To the Nox, humans are a...

Mind, body, and spirit are usually very clear in science fiction and fantasy. The TV series "Stargate SG-1" is no exception. As with most series, the characters maintain their mind, body, or spirit traits, even as they develop depth over the seasons. Col. Jack O'Neill is a body character when the series begins and he is still a body character in the movies produced after the series' 10-season run. What I found interesting is that this continuity extends to replacement characters, as well. When a spirit character leaves the show, another spirit character is written in to take his place. The same holds true with the body character. For this analysis, I will be looking at the entire 10 seasons, which I recently finished re-watching. For the military ranks, I am using the rank in which the character started the series. The Mind Character: Dr./Capt. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) Amanda Tapping is one of the few actors to have been with the series f...

In a way, Joan of Arcadia is similar to The Mentalist when it comes to mind, body, and spirit.  In The Mentalist , you have a mind character, a spirit character, and then a team that collectively makes up the body character. When you examine the team members individually, though, you see another layer of mind, body, and spirit. In Joan of Arcadia , Will Girardi (Joe Mantegna) is a mind character, Helen Girardi (Mary Steenburgen) is a spirit character, and their three kids collectively make up a body character. When the three kids are examined individually, you can see another layer of mind, body and spirit. The Spirit Character: Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn) Joan sees and interacts with God. She will do whatever God asks her to do, but often reluctantly. She often asks "why," but continues forward despite never getting an answer to her questions. God explains that she can see him because she is open to more possibilities than most people. This is undersco...

I recently got into a discussion with a fellow writer about stories with multiple layers, subplots, etc. One of the movies we discussed was Independence Day . It had been a while since I'd seen the movie, so I could only make general observations. I couldn't even remember the characters' names - just the actors'. After the discussion, I decided to watch the movie again and do a mind/body/spirit analysis. One of the things I realized in re-watching the movie was how wrong I had been about the main plot - specifically, the "main character." Cinematically, the main character is Capt. Steve Hiller, played by Will Smith. He has all the great lines, is involved in all the action, and has a dominating presence on the screen. The main character of the story, however, is not Capt Steve Hiller. The story is really about David Levinson, played by Jeff Goldblum. David Levinson is a part of every major plot point and is the character who undergoes the great...

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she planned to add some Faulkner to her reading list for the coming year. That inspired me to pull down my copy of "The Unvanquished." As I read, I was reminded of the universality of the "brains, brawn, and bravado" concepts. In these posts, I do not try to explain the plot of the story or give a review of the book or the film. I am only trying to pass on enough information from the story to illustrate the mind, body, and spirit characters and concepts. I try to make the post relatively brief and therefore encourage you to read the book for yourself to discover all I haven't included.  The Body Character: Ringo Ringo is a young slave boy who is more of an adopted son than a slave. After the fall of Vicksburg, the Sartoris family must leave their land, taking their valuables and their slaves with them. They stop in town and receive a gift of rose clippings, which Ringo must tend to along the journey....

In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , we see mind, body and spirit clearly in the characters of Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie. Peter Pevensie is a 4th character who is transformed through his interactions with his siblings. This transformation model is common , and especially so in fantasy fiction. At the beginning of the story, Peter just wants to be a leader within his family and doesn't want to have any part of Narnia's struggles. By the end of the story, he is crowned High King of Narnia, Peter, the Magnificent. The Body Character: Edmund Pevensie Edmund cares only about himself. This is illustrated in the story through his obsession with Turkish Delight. He accepts the treat from the White Witch, the personification of evil in the story. He even begins to ignore her as he "...thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate, the more he wanted to eat." The White Witch prom...