Contradictions Are The Secret To Writing Complex Characters - Jonathan Blum

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In this Film Courage video interview, Author/Instructor Jonathan Blum emphasizes the complexity of humans, dismissing the notion of simplicity. He suggests exercises for writers to develop lifelike characters, emphasizing the need to build from scratch and gradually reveal facets. Blum compares characters to thousand-sided objects, explaining that while not all characteristics can be conveyed, readers can infer and imagine the rest. He advocates exploring a character's mystery through techniques like writing their life story and asking probing questions.
Jonathan Blum grew up in Miami and graduated from UCLA and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He is the author of two books of fiction: The Usual Uncertainties (Rescue Press, 2019), a story collection, and Last Word (Rescue Press, 2013), a novella. Both were named one of the best books of the year by Iowa Public Radio, and The Usual Uncertainties was named one of the 15 Best Short Story Collections of 2019 by Electric Literature. Blum has twice appeared on KCRW's Bookworm. His short stories have been published in Gulf Coast, Kenyon Review, Northwest Review, Playboy, and Shanxi Literature, among others. His short story, "The White Spot," which was published in Electric Literature with an introduction by Deborah Eisenberg, appears in the award-winning anthology The Best Peace Fiction (University of New Mexico Press, 2021). He has taught fiction writing at The University of Iowa, Drew University, and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and is the recipient of a Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, a Hawthornden Fellowship in Scotland, and a grant from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation. He has also been a guest writer at the Tianjin Binhai New Area International Writing Program in China. He lives in Los Angeles.
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[@theshizl4400]

A thousand-sided object is a jagged circle in my mind, each individually side labeled as an aspect of a character i.e. Life outlook, how self-aware he is, Career, dreams, opinions, experience, etcetera.

[@jimjo8541]

I sorta few a character as a stone that’s been knocked around, thrown from place to place, eroded by rivers and streams. No two stones are alike.

[@schm00b0]

All D&D players can imagine a 20-sided object :D

[@intellectually_lazy]

right, and they make 100 sided dies too, even tho' we all know 2d10 will do the same thing

[@schm00b0]

@@intellectually_lazy Oh, boy - do I agree with you! But my comment was for fun. If we are talking about writing - know what you are writing about, let that dictate your characters, let your characters paint what you're writing about, let your characters drive your plot. If it doesn't work, your characters aren't good for your theme. P. S. Theme = Charactes = Plot

[@AnnoyingMoose]

Most diamonds are cut to have 58 facets but we only need to see a dozen or so points of light scattered by one in order to be dazzled.

[@johnphares3358]

You are good, never stop writing.

[@RocketKirchner]

Aristotle said that in Greek Tragedy that motive is not important but rather what will a character do next . That is narrative drive .

[@StepbyStepPhotographyandVideo]

Yeah, well, Aristotle is dead, this fella's alive. I'll take the live one.

[@feandil666]

Aristotle was an idiot. He thought everything could be explained by reasoning and refused to experiment, and he was wrong on pretty much everything.

[@RocketKirchner]

When it came to his poetics he laid the foundation for aesthetics in the arts . That has never been outdated like his metaphysics and physics .

[@bravelittleroomba]

When you said thousand-sided object I thought of a disco ball, a big one

[@intellectually_lazy]

ja, am i the only one who's sick of being told what i can't envision? has anyone ever heard of speak for yourself? don't dictate my experience to me?

[@MFJLabs]

A thousand-sided object -- excellent. Thank you.

[@greggh]

5:24 - This very same plot device was used in The Verdict with Paul Newman. It was a very powerful part of the film.

[@filmcourage]

What did you enjoy most about this video?

[@RocketKirchner]

Confidence man by Melville

[@dinsfire8489]

the genius at work

[@snailbait]

That visual of the 1000-sided object is great! Character development can generate a LOT of information, too much to put into a story, and this helps me trust I can pare down in a smart way.

[@vashstampede4459]

I like gaining insight into character development. It's been a big help with my own series, "D-Storm Journals".

[@Mrsschamain]

Great advice!

[@filmcourage]

Can you think of an example of a character contradiction?

[@recoveringintrovert717]

One of my characters wants independence from her family because she views herself as being morally superior to them, but she is also too afraid and reluctant to leave the luxuries of her wealthy household because she sees what the world is like for the poor outside her family's estate. Her stalemate of wants makes writing her character development hard, but your videos have been helping

[@davidhayden4743]

I'll go to TV world (forgive me). Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. He has open distain for government and does not think his department should exist. But he treats his workers well and helps them become better workers. So his core decency won't allow him to treat his workers poorly even when they are engaged in a business he hates.

[@Account.for.Comment]

Vito Corleone. A great, intelligent father who was unable to deter his children from entering the life of crime. Instead they entered crime due to him, resulting in one son being gun down, one son being killed by his brother, one son died alone and a daughter who suffer by the son-in-law. Such a great father. A crimelord that was deeply respected by almost all.

[@BD76EandM]

Ricky Phitts' Dad in American Beauty Colonel Phitts played by Chris Cooper. He was so anti-gay, but turned out to be gay.

[@aarkmish8087]

Dr Hannical Lecter. A Psychiatrist who understands the minds of serial killers and he is himself a cannibalistic serial killer.

[@rogerfurlong1535]

This man appreciates the music of Alannis Morissette I'd wager.

[@wexwuthor1776]

Don't we all?

[@intellectually_lazy]

@@wexwuthor1776 not the newspaper editor in reality bites... or bender

[@BD76EandM]

I'm guilty of calling myself simple🤣

[@filmcourage]

Same here!

[@intellectually_lazy]

@@filmcourage i'm one of those complicated women like howard moon is into

[@ComicPower]

I want the Skylar and IT worker story. Can we crowd source to make this happen?

[@intellectually_lazy]

i have a character who has real byronic hero energy, another that's pure id, and i think they're both analogous to relatable in their over-the-top ways, but the third character is real co-dependant, comparatively sensible, reliable. i think a lot more people can relate to the third, not so much me, but i do know a lot of people like that

[@intellectually_lazy]

when i catch my characters acting uncharacteristically, i ask myself why - i've developed plot and character like this - sometimes it just needs to be changed, but sometimes it turns out there's a reason, it might be the conflict to which you referred, or a motive hidden from the audience, other characters and/or the character themselves, or maybe something else altogether. i know where to look because it nags me, even before i can identify it

[@intellectually_lazy]

oh yeah, and i give serious consideration to what rare feedback i do get too. i don't always take the advice, but i seriously consider all of it

[@claubarreira508]

Yes, I'm a simple person!

[@intellectually_lazy]

i heart the hell out of duncan idaho, and half-cocked jack, and "jerk-ass" homer. i don't have to like everything they do or agree with their worldviews to love them as great (over-the-top) characters

[@intellectually_lazy]

i can envision an object with one, and yet infinite sides facing in all directions it's called a sphere

[@intellectually_lazy]

ja, i keep thinking how much lisa from the room's friends all suck

[@intellectually_lazy]

i really don't think that's what wiseau intended, but who can really tell about that?

[@intellectually_lazy]

and dr. frankenstein is a deadbeat dad, but eh, that might be what mary intended. idk

[@wexwuthor1776]

This fellow seems to be making things more complicated than they have to be.

[@filmcourage]

How do you develop complex characters?

[@wexwuthor1776]

@@filmcourage I take the more zen approach. Be still and let the muse do what she does best. That's the flow where the story writes itself.

[@wexwuthor1776]

@@jonlittle5032 A story can be complex. The road to writing it doesn't have to be.

[@milkflavored]

Agreed. I’d appreciate more examples if they’re unable to simplify the concept

[@e.matthews]

He takes his craft seriously and puts in a great deal of thought, and asks others to do the same. That is a feature, not a bug.