tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post3608603706364502505..comments2024-03-22T03:59:39.188-07:00Comments on Dive into Worldbuilding: CompanionsJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-43797153787771198042010-04-20T20:45:02.378-07:002010-04-20T20:45:02.378-07:00Great post. Companionship can be especially effec...Great post. Companionship can be especially effective when you want some complicated relationship dynamics to explore character. <br><br>In a fantasy project draft I wrote awhile back, there were two "main(er)" characters, who were friends and the leaders of a group. But there was also a larger group that comprised the main cast for the group. <br><br>One of the characters was rather introverted and abrasive and stuck closely to his friend, while that friend was more smoother and more outgoing, and had to play peacemaker a lot, especially when the internal conflict for the characters picked up. <br><br>I might still have had an interesting dynamic with the two main characters, but I couldn't have developed them so well--or communicated their differences as clearly--if the other characters had not been around, because these two had a fairly normal relationship with each other when alone, but that dynamic shifted considerably in the group, as such dynamics are wont to do.<br><br>While I think the common skill pool can be an important aspect of the story, I think the character dynamics are more directly relevant to the reader. <br><br>As an example from another medium, often male pairs in anime have a similar skill set, but you get a lot of play from their personality differences, whereas the group interaction focuses more on skillsets. Not the only way to do it, but pretty common.<br><br>On the subject of information management, I think larger groups can do more harm than good. It's just more of a pain to avoid infodumps when you have more characters who can be in different places, while pairs and occasionally trios can be very effective at getting information to the reader without seeming contrived, as well as avoiding repeats of what the reader already knows.<br><br>I wonder what the proper balance between these issues would be. It would depend on the story of course.atsikohttp://atsiko.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-42945339917312933932010-04-19T16:27:10.684-07:002010-04-19T16:27:10.684-07:00Companionship itself is such a revealing thing in ...Companionship itself is such a revealing thing in HOW the companionship is expressed and what is acceptable and permitted or even expected. To continue on your example: I think of Azula and her companions. She thinks nothing of mistreating them (consider threatening Ty Lee with possible death in her circus occupation if she did not join Azula), and yet, they are her only friends. This says a great deal about her character (in how she does need and expect companionship, yet takes no time to get it in the normal manner of making friends) and also about her cultural expectations (as princess, she can order it if she so desires.<br><br>Sometimes, when I'm reading a novel (or writing one, yes), I find that how certain characters choose companions and how certain ones eschew it or minimize it serves as a remarkable key to characterization all on its own. As they say in fairytales, the characters you know the least about attract the most interest.<br><br>Got me thinking all right. Sorry if I rambled a bit. My brain took off a hundred directions at once.Megs - Scattered Bitshttp://writing.smeganpayne.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937390557356997344.post-48894754938787519602010-04-19T13:25:52.135-07:002010-04-19T13:25:52.135-07:00Companions also play a strong role in satire/first...Companions also play a strong role in satire/first person commentary in that they give the narrator a foil to blame things on or to be the butt of situations. <br><br>I'm thinking in particular about characters like Mark Twain's Mr. Brown, who give the uncultured but real opinions about what's going on in the "Sketches", while Twain plays the role of the "proper" gentleman.<br><br>In a more modern case, I'm still on the fence about whether or not Stephen Katz is a real person in Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". In any case, he is the one who is always late, packs too much stuff, and can't figure out how to put up a tent. Great stuff, either way.<br><br>In my case of coure, Gnarley plays that role admirably...but we all know HE'S real...Mr. Farwalker Walkingstickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238081250763172162noreply@blogger.com