This week: Character Expectation vs Experience Edited by: Dawn Embers  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
Taking a recent experience and making it relevant to fantasy stories. How characters experience a situation might not be in the way that is expected. The same goes for how things might happen in real life for our own experiences. |
Today's newsletter is inspired by a recent visit that I had to the ER when I went for a routine IV treatment. Might seem a strange connection for fantasy but we'll get there. Due to my condition (cancer), I got to the doctors often and recently had an immunotherapy treatment. Every time I have one of them, there are tests done in relation to iron, blood counts and such. Well, this time, my treatment for April, the tests came back where one was very low. Immediately, the nurse that I was seeing who works with the oncology specialist started asking how I was feeling and prodding about whether I'd felt like I might faint/pass out at any time. I had to go to the ER next door after my treatment to get a blood transfusion from the ER. Literally, every nurse, medical assistant or doctor that I saw during the 12 hours I was at UCLA that visit asked about how I was feeling in relation to concern that I might pass out. The odd part is: I felt fine. Like to the point where I was the one who had driven through LA traffic to the visit even though my sister was with me for it all. Their expectations was I should have been dizzy, or faint, just feeling something or that it would actually happen where I would fall to the floor. it was serious enough they fast passed me in the ER where I only waited an hour to be seen. Yet I felt fine.
What I am pulling from this experience to talk about today is that here are times when the point of view person, main character and/self might experience something that is very different than what other people around might expect. There are times when expectations are different than the experience even in a fantasy setting.
Main Character POV and Experience
This is the important point because this is where the reader gets to know exactly what the character is experiencing in a given situation. One big thing here is going to be the type used for this point of view. It will be an influence depending on whether you use first person or third person (even second person but that is far less common) as to how the experience gets written. This will influence the types of words used, the style of approach and how the experience can be conveyed to the reader. Once that is all settled then comes in the big question: what happens.
Medical is one type of experience and with battles and such that can occur, that might be a situation that comes up in your story but there are many options for things to happen and questions of physical, mental or emotional experiences/expectations. How does the character feel during the situation or experience? Does this include sensory (touch, taste, scent, etc) details?
Tension and anxiety are other things that characters might experience or need to experience when it comes to some of the crazy things that happen in a fantasy story. Mental experiences might be shareable, if characters have those powers or abilities, but the rest of the time, the mental side might be hidden or different compared to what other characters would expect someone to experience. If there is some type of backstory that the reader knows (or doesn't) that some character don't know, it can be easy for them to think one thing but the main character experiences something else.
Other Characters and Expectations
Now with this one, first have a precaution that if you do inside different character's minds for the point of view, be careful with how you write things so it doesn't become head hopping since readers don't like that. However, through dialogue, one can share different opinions and expectations that they might have in relation to the main character and what is happening. One might ask questions or make statements. If there is an inquisitive, or nosey character, that could be fun to play around with how they try to get information from someone.
Plus, we have some questions about those other characters and their expectations too. Do they have a reason for wanting the information? Is it a personal reason or will there be a possible betrayal, which is why someone might want more details. What will happen if the expectation is for something important and it doesn't match the reality. Why is it important? This factor could be helpful to consider because you don't want to put many words into something that doesn't matter in the long run.
Does your expectation of what you will get from writing on WDC match with the actual experience? Expectations and experiences are common elements whether we really think about them or not. What we do, how we write things, it all depends on the story, the characters, and the writers (us). How are you going to write your story and will you make it so that your characters are have a dissonance between what they feel, things they experience and what other ones are expecting to see.
What do you think? Let me know.  |
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Does your character find expectations for them differ from what they experience? Have you ever had an experience that differed from what other people expected you to feel?
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. - Steve Jobs
Social media, unfortunately, just makes it a lot easier to be jealous. It sets up false expectations of reality, so it's really easy to look at someone else's life online and assume that they have everything going great for them and that their life is perfect. - Franchesca Ramsey
In the egoic state, your sense of self, your identity, is derived from your thinking mind - in other words, what your mind tells you about yourself: the storyline of you, the memories, the expectations, all the thoughts that go through your head continuously and the emotions that reflect those thoughts. All those things make up your sense of self. - Eckhart Tolle
 |
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Fantasy: April 16, 2025 Issue [#13082]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
