Treasure Planet: Still Here

     It's not a new thing for good stories to be overlooked for a while. Good art is not always appreciated or even understood. I, and many others, would place Disney's Steam punk rendition of Robert Lewis Stevenson's classic in this category. While the animated film was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature its mixed reviews and poor turnout in the box office cost it the appreciation I feel it deserved. However, like most good art, the movie has made a bit of a come-back in the hearts of viewers. It is a bit of what we could call a cult classic at this point. These days if you do any research Treasure Planet is almost universally identified as an "underrated" Disney classic.
  But you aren't here to get everyone else's opinion, so why don't I give you mine.
 Treasure Island is a story that is recognized a lot in media. Not without reason, the story is a beautifully written one. As a child this story was one of the formative stories in my life, along with Lord of the Rings and Peter Pan. The original book is an incredible read, and easy to get through. It's no wonder it's considered a classic. Muppet Treasure Island is actually pretty good too, and It's the movie still what I think of when I hear "Muppets"
  Treasure Planet  is everything that I could possibly hope for in an animated movie. I have watched this movie redundantly to the point that any normal person would be bored. Not unlike a child actually.
  Treasure Planet has a lot to offer. From the first moments of the movie you are treated to an taste of some of the beautiful animation that is displayed through the film. The setting in space it taken full advantage of and the color pallet is brilliant. Because aliens and technology play a large role in the film it could have been easy for the movie to look more like a patchwork quilt then a realistic world. While there were a few unbelievable creatures or the most part the animation was smooth and played out beautifully. The idea of ships in space may seem a bit ridiculous, but it flows so beautifully in the animation that it feels as natural as cars on roads.
     Another aspect of the movie that I really enjoy is the script. The dialogue is so descriptive of the characters, and never feels forced or contrived. Captain Amelia, for example, had a complex dialogue fat with complicated words.  Her dialogue is one of my favorites because there is always more layers to discover as you dig into her words. And of course, who can forget Silver, a complex character and a "villain" that in my opinion, doesn't have a parallel in all fiction.  Iconic lines like  "You're going to rattle the stars, you are."  and the "You've got the makings of greatness in you." speech define the character not just as a charismatic man, but one with real depth.
   This brings us to the ultimate beauty that is Treasure Planet. Yes, it had beautiful animation, action, deep themes, and comedy lines that were pure gold, but ultimately the wonder of this movie is in it's characters. Treasure Planet is essentially character driven and revolves around one essential relationship. The friendship, if you can call it that, between Silver and Jim is deeply relevant and resounds through multiple generations, but perhaps in this one more then ever before.
  Jim is a character who has suffered deeply from his fathers abandonment when he was a young child. This wound is never downplayed in the movie and all the appropriate respect is given to this absence in Jim's life. While they do not pull any punches with Jim's backstory, it is not an irrelevant character twist but is skillfully woven into the plot.
    On the other end we have Long John Silver who is both villain and father figure at once. While we know that Silver begins his friendship with Jim as only a way to distract him and gain information on the treasure we quickly see that Silver truly grows to love the boy. It is ironic that Silver is one of the least trustworthy characters in the movie, but is probably the first person to place any real confidence in Jim. Silvers character is tragic in many ways while in others he accomplishes more then anyone else in the films. When Silver runs away in the last minutes of the film he shows that he is not by any means a perfect man, or even really reformed. Silver's relationship with Jim was not a radical change of heart for him as a character, which almost makes it better. While you could argue that Silver abandons Jim again, like his father did, you cannot deny that Silver changed Jim's life in a radical way. Jim is no longer defined by other peoples choices, but is "charting his own course."
    There are multiple lessons we can come away from this movie with. While there are the typical Disney themes of self-confidence and believing in your dreams, I don't think these are the best take away. One of the reasons that this film resounds so much with me is because Silver is so broken and yet does something so amazing simply by reaching out to another person. This simple action on Silver's part end in sacrifice and struggle but never regret.
    In a culture that focuses on all the damage that could be caused by a carelessly spoken word or a character flaw, be it right or wrong, we often choose to pick people apart for their flaws instead of seeing their potential. Long John Silver was by no means a good man. He was a pirate who was fully willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on gold. Despite all these sins, Silver changed one life for the better, and in the process rescued many more. Long John Silver saw something in a hurting boy that others chose to ignore.
   We as humans mess things up a lot. Sometimes those things are small, sometimes we make mistakes that leave lasting effects. It's part of the human experience. But no matter how many mistakes you make you still have great value and worth, because nothing touches the human heart like the love of another human. This isn't about redemption or turning a new leaf, it's about the simplest and purest of all things: the ability of one human to profoundly impact another. Most of us are like Long John Silver or Jim. We have the capacity for great evil, or the ability to "rattle the stars". We have all made our mistakes and we carry the wounds from those other's have made, but we all have the capacity to reach out to help our fellow man.
   Because these themes are so influential to me I have leaned heavily on them in my story telling. Relationships in my book spread beyond a few romantic endeavors and often explore the affects that one human can have on others. Some of my characters are struggling to overcome pain in their relationships, while others are experiencing encouragement and love. Themes like friendship, found family, and the affects of a single act of kindness play largely into the plot. One character especially is largely influence by Jim Hawkins, along with others. Amonshek, who you were introduced to last week, is a man who is largely molded by the relationships in his life. Next week I will be releasing a short story from Amonshek's backstory to let you get a glimpse into a few of those relationships. If you appreciate deep and complicated relationships you will enjoy this character and will be particularly interested in his role in Smoke Fire and Ash Vol 1. If you haven't already, check out last weeks post.
   If you want to keep up with the progress on the book be sure to come back here every week for updates and short stories. You can also follow me on twitter, Here and on Facebook Here. I'm also working on a short story to release on Wattpad, so you can have a taste of my writing before Smoke, Fire and Ash Vol 1 is available. I will be sure to provide more information when that is available.
     Now, all of you should finish this post correctly and click Here. You are welcome.

Finn from Star Wars, One of the Best Characters in Modern Film

     Now, before you think that I am just fangirling here (Anyone else think it's ridiculous that "fangirling is a verb now?) let me clarify that I didn't actually love the latest addition to the Star Wars universe. Don't get me wrong, I liked it well enough,especially on the second go around.
  I don't feel the need to pick apart the movie. I understand every choice that was made in the movie and applaud their respectful retelling of it. It was over all a very enjoyable, safe movie.
     I only say all this to reduce the chance that anyone will think I have any biased when I say that I genuinely believe that Star Wars protagonist Finn is one of the best characters to come out of film in at least the last 10 years. So good a character, in fact, that I decided to devote an entire blog post to talking about just how awesome he is. By the way, spoiler alerts may lurk ahead, so watch your step.

    Finn is one of the main characters presented in Star Wars: The Force Awakened. He is brilliantly played by young English actor John Boyega. And honestly Boyega's portrayal added so much to my appreciation of this character that I don't think I would have been able to appreciate him at all had another actor been cast.
   Finn is the nick name given to defecting storm trooper FN-2187. I wont bore you with all the details. If you've seen the movie you already know what happened and if you haven't you shouldn't be reading this because, spoilers.
   So, why Finn? Finn's character has an interesting story, and one that, while not especially original, is rarely done well. Finn was taken as a very young child and essentially brainwashed to become a Storm Trooper.  While most characters with this type of broken past are presented as hardened or bitter, the writers took a very different approach with Finn. Finn comes across as sheltered and almost naive. Instead of being a hardened warrior Finn is often confused and frightened. This is often portrayed in very subtle ways, such as how he seems to be the only one who doesn't understand any foreign languages, or in how Finn doesn't seem at all bothered by his lack of a real name but is overjoyed when he first gets his nick name. This aspect of his character makes him not only original, but accessible. These characteristics are painted on with light brush strokes however, and Finn never seems to come across as stupid or cowardly.
  While Finn's life before the events of the film seems to have formed some of his personality quirks his unusual amount of empathy is not on that list. Most protagonists are expected to have some level of empathy. Narcissistic characters are hard to connect with. However, not only is Finns empathy a defining trait, it is a trait that would have been specifically targeted by his brainwashing. If Finn was to be an effective soldier it would be necessary for him to obey without thought or feeling. We see how this empathy effects the entire First Order in the first few minutes of the film. We are also given the idea that the fact that Finn had survived the rigorous training with any hint of empathy at all was at the very least rare and probably unheard of. When in any of the films did you look at a storm or clone trooper and expect anything from them but complete obedience?
  However, had Finn not had this resilient and powerful empathy he never would have left the First Order. The entire plot of the movie hinges on this one, unusual and tenacious trait that would normally be the first thing to go in a hostile situation. Most people tend to very quickly put up walls and retreat away from empathy when placed in a situation like Finn might have been in.
  The fact that this empathy managed to survive such specific abuse and in such purity is especially intriguing to me. I have always been interested in the concept of nature verses nurture and it is a theme that I like to explore in a lot of my characters. How do things around us effect our natural state...our soul so to speak...to form our personality? Some of us have more resilient souls, some weaker,  and some completely break under the pressure. Finn is a character who's personality is completely contradictory to expectations under the circumstances, both for an generic "enemy" soldier, and for a tortured hero character. While we see during the course of the movie that Finn is not unaffected or unchanged by his experiences while in the hands of the first order, he doesn't allow it to change in in such a way to make him cruel or bitter. This makes the fact that Finn has been through so much even more potent for the viewer. The effect is similar to watching a child suffer, because Finn comes across as so innocent and pure.
   On that note, I especially appreciated that the film left Finn's past such a mystery. While we are given a few generalities we are not given any real details about the way the order treated Finn. He could have been horribly abused, or simply raised in a slightly more strict environment. Finn indicates that it wasn't a pleasant experience, but he seems to be more effected not by the harm done to him, but by that done to others. Either way we know what a storm trooper is and we know Finn. We don't need to be told much to have a working understanding of what Finn's life could have been like as a Storm Trooper. While this could change in future movies, for now the intentional ambiguity accomplishes two essential things without wasting any of our time. Firstly, it allows us fill in the gaps ourselves, and gives us a chance to more fully connect with the character. Secondly, it avoids unnecessary drama that would drag down an otherwise light and enjoyable character.
   The final effect of all this is that Finn's sacrifice in the final chapter of the movie is not out of character and fits simply into the story. The sacrifice is subtle enough that it doesn't detract from the story or from the other characters, and yet powerful enough that it gives us a great respect for Finn as a human being. All through the movie Finn displays a very real fear of the First Order. He makes it clear that all he wants to is to be out of their reach. However, from the moment Finn met Rey he has been actively protective of her. When Finn returns to the enemy base for Rey despite the risk to himself and later stands between Rey and Kylo Ren despite the fear he feels, Finn is displaying a huge amount of personal sacrifice. That sacrifice is not shoved in your face or even dwelt on for long. It is simply backdrop for the greater drama of Kylo Ren's betrayal and the return of the force through Rey. Finn's actions shape the story without overwhelming the rest of it.
   All over Finns character is one that is both novel and familiar. He feels real, not like a being that was simplu dropped into existence for the 2 or so hours of the film. He feels as if he has a life, has been effected by his environment and has developed through those experiences. He is not the weak "blank page Character" that is just waiting for the story to fulfill him, and yet he still carries a lot of promise for the future.
  Finn is a refreshing hero figure in a culture that seems ever more enamored with the anti-hero. He has the feel of a classic mythological Greek hero, to me.
  Many stories, when choosing an unassuming hero might choose a poor or misunderstood member of the "good guys". I love the touch of finding an soldier, like the ones that are so often over looked and killed in the every day story, to form the basis for an unlikely protagonist.
  I like that Finn is not hated and shunned for his past, by the resistance, but is instead trusted and accepted based on the quick friendship he formed with Poe and the bravery it took to turn against the First Order. This avoided a lot of heavy drama and time-wasting political nonsense. They kept the attention where it belonged and Finn's character did just as much as he was expected to do. Once again, he doesn't overwhelm the plot.
   None of these themes are entirely new, but they are remixed to form a refreshingly genuine, reluctant and empathetic character.  What makes Finn such a diamond in the rough is not that he is an original character, but the fact that he is everything that has exemplified a protagonist for as long as there has been story telling. Despite all that he doesn't feel at all contrived or forced. He acts in a way that is consistent with his character throughout the whole film.
   So what is my take away after watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens and essentially falling in love with this character?
   While I have been writing I've been struggling to write original characters that appeal to modern taste and don't feel fake. I find this especially hard because most modern Young adult or Fantasy books just don’t appeal to me. If I am going to enjoy a book I don’t mind a few mistakes or bad choices, but I don’t want to hate my hero more than my villain. If the hero keeps pushing the package eventually he will do something I just cannot identify with and I loose interest.

 As far as real life heroes, history brings a whole new set of issues. Heroes, or what we would call heroes, in a historic sense, were usually no more than cruel men with great power who commanded respect through fear. They are only sometimes remembered well because they controlled the written history.

 There has to be a balance between the two. A hero that is too good will be just as hard to connect with as one who is too evil, or too stupid or any other flaw.

  While I have enjoyed some of the darker new shows that have been offered, such as "Walking Dead" and "Vikings"  there is something to be said about a hero that you can sit back and cheer for without questioning their morality or your own.

  I will be heading into edits soon on my  manuscript, and into the first drafts of the second and third book. I have included a lot of dark themes in my books, and a lot of dark characters. I do have a empathetic character, like Finn. But unlike Finn, my character is heavily affected with PTSD and depression among other issues because of his empathy. I don't feel the need to change those characters. I am, after all, not trying to write Finn into my book. What I can take from this character to include into my books is that I can feel free to have moments of real, uncomplicated heroism in my stories without feeling foolish. Good versus evil isn't outdated, and it will never be. While I can have complicated and realistic protagonists and antagonists, I don’t want to have to second guess that dynamic. Writing is too exhausting as it is.

 On the other side of the coin, I need to learn to be ok with making my character look bad and in an embarrassing way.  It's good if he or she is clumsy, sheltered, or easily frightened.These characteristics were some of the most endearing about Finn, and part of what made his such a great character.

  What about you? Who was your favorite character, and why? Do you agree with my observations? Please leave a comment below and be sure to check out my FB page at Jill E Purrazzi and my twitter account at @J23hawkE.

 Come back next weekend for an in depth look into another character in my Fantasy Trilogy: Amonshek. I am excited to introduce him to you, as Amonshek is one of the characters who I've put the most of myself into. And be sure to keep following as I update on my progress. As I write this I am well into what I believe will be the final full chapter of Vol 1. I am so excited to start on edits and start polishing it up for beta readers. I hope you will consider being one of those for me.

The Consistent Character

         I know I promised the next portion of the Oren short for this week, and I hate to keep you all in suspense, but with family in town for the holidays, I haven't had a chance to polish the story to my liking. That being said, I have chosen to release a previously written blog post in it's place with the hope that another week will help to polish up the next portion of the Oren Vow short story : "The Hunter." I hope you can forgive me the bait and switch. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this entry into the blog and are looking forward to next weeks short story, which I intend to get back to work on as soon as I have published this.

                                      

  In the time I've been writing, I have found one of the hardest things about creating a character-driven story is character consistency.
In order for a character to feel real they need to be constantly changing. They need to be fluid to react to different situations with real thought and depth. Character development is often a huge factor in Character driven stories, and often a character may react to a similar situation in a variety of ways throughout the story depending on where they are in their development and where they are going. In fact, often stories will deliberately place characters in situations that are echoes of early situations in order to create a contrast and show their development.
  With all this in mind, how can you keep a recognizable character through a story. I will share my method for building a consistent character from the ground up.  I've seen a few different tricks to forming characters. It is a relatively straight-forward process, but one that seems to go wrong often.  My trick is to identify pivotal personality traits in my characters.
   For every character who has any notable role in the Smoke,Fire and Ash trilogy I have identified two or three character traits that form the core of the character. These character traits do not change, no matter the changes the characters themselves change and these traits form the motives under almost every word or action attributed to the characters. I find the most interesting pivotal character traits are either negative characteristics, or those that can motivate both negative and positive responses in situations.
 These characteristics form the "skeleton" so to speak, of the character which is then fleshed out by all the various motives, thoughts and changes that effect us all as humans. They work as a fulcrum around which every part of these characters personalities function.
If you were asked to describe a favorite character, how would you answer? Would you talk about their character development through the story? Often we might fall to backstory or plot to describe a character, but those things only describe what happened to a character, not who he or she is? While background may effect character, it is not in and of itself a character trait.
  What if someone asked the same question of you about a friend or family member? Would you give them a run through of personal history, talk about what they do for a living, or divulge secrets? Most of us would make a list more like "Kind" or "Considerate" or maybe "Obnoxious". Even if you don't describe your characters to others in so many words, it's useful for an author to have a short list of these types of qualities. The more concise and fundamental, the better.
  Once I identified these traits in my own characters I began to notice them in other well developed characters as well. Let me give you an example I noticed recently.
   The Walking Dead is a hugely popular show. It follows a character driven plot so while there is action and tension to drive certain things forward, the majority of the reason why we are so eager to follow what happens next is because of the fleshed out characters and their relationships with each other. The show spends a large amount of time on backstory and character motivation throughout the course of the show.
  Rick Grimes, the protagonist of the show,  is a character who experiences a dramatic change in character through the course of the show. The Rick we see in Season One is still very civilized. He avoids taking life wherever he can, he doubts himself often, and he weighs decisions based on the various voices in the group. In opposition to this, the Rick Grimes in Season Five is far more feral. We can see it in his physical appearance alone. While Rick may be less vocal about his thought process in later seasons, we can clearly see that his priorities have changed. He is determined, violent and unrelenting.
  While in the early seasons we wonder along with a slightly unhinged Shane if Rick has everything it takes to survive in the new reality they find themselves in, later seasons show Rick willing to do some truly horrendous things for the sake of his group. It would be easy to loose track of the character in the course of the changes, however, Ricks motivation has never changed. Rick feels a sense of responsibility that causes him to take leadership roles in whatever place he finds himself. He takes that role in the group as soon as he walks onto the scene, on the farm despite Hershel's obvious authority, and finally in Alexandria in spite of a fully developed authority structure. The other immovable characteristic in Rick's character is his familial love. Rick is a family man. In the first season that family was Shane, who he viewed as a brother, his wife and his son. Loosing those people drove Rick nearly to the edge until we see him adopt the group he is leading as his family. Even still, Ricks sense of family love is stronger with a few individuals. His son and daughter are obviously part of that group, and Daryl, who he has repeatedly called a brother...much like Shane had been.
   If we analyze Ricks actions through the show I feel like everything we see from his character flow from these two motivations. This of course disregards things like hunger, exhaustion and the like. If we were asked to summarize Rick's character, without the benefit of describing his change though the season, what words would you choose?
  I have developed these pivotal traits for each character in my book that has any significant role. For each of these characters I know their base-line character traits, so that I can extrapolate how events in their pasts and in the plot might effect them, and in turn how they might react to those events and set in motion other events.
  I will give you a short example from my own writing process. I identify two or three major components in each of my characters.
  Oren Vow, my main protagonist, is very instinctual but also very curious.
 Another major character, Amonshek is probably the most like me. I gave him all my worse characteristics. He I would call Arrogant (spoiled, more accurately) and loyal.
Akharis, one of my most fully developed characters at the time the book begins, could be described as Compassionate and Responsible.
  Dedkhira, Akharis's little brother was the most difficult to pin down. Honestly he kept hiding in the shadow of his brother and it took almost the whole novel to pull him out. He's given me quite the chore for my second draft. He can be described as Reserved and Independent.
  Dred, the pirate and freed slave is probably the most complicated, although I haven't gotten into the women yet.  Him I would call "Joyful, Violent, and Honest" An interesting mix there, and a lot of fun to write.
   I could probably continue here, but you get the point.
Using these traits I can begin to form my characters reactions to the world around them. Amonshek is both arrogant and loyal, so how would he react if he was put down by someone he loved.
  Oren is instinctual, so he wouldn't hesitate to act if surprised by someone.
Akharis is compassionate and Responsible. Are there times when he has to chose between taking care of someone he loves and keeping a stranger from death and suffering.
  Dred is joyful. Is there a difference between being optimistic and being happy in spite of circumstances, and if so what would that look like.
   What about some of your characters? What are some of their strongest character traits? Do you have a different method to creating consistency in your character?  Please, comment and share your experience. Keep an eye out next week for the conclusion to the Oren Vow Short Story: The Hunter.