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Unlikely Character Friendships Strengthen Story

September 10, 2021

There’s something about unlikely friendships that hook our attention. It’s a fascination that seems to be fairly universal, because you see it virtually everywhere. Why?

The tension that emerges from the combination of the unexpected certainly creates compelling interactions between characters, but I think there’s more going on than that.

Unlikely friendships are an embodiment of the way the world can delight and surprise us. There’s something inherently hopeful in unlikely friendships that speaks to our ability to connect.

In a narrative, these unlikely companionships can do some heavy lifting, both soothe and threaten their situations, and provide a relief from the darkness of the lives of the characters. But it does more than that. It can highlight the depth and complexity of the characters for the reader.

By forcing these characters to really see each other, the reader is forced to look beneath the surface, too. They are able to see the ways the characters are different, but also the ways they are the same. Through that juxtaposition you allow the characters to be vulnerable.

That’s the power of unexpected friendships: their ability to take the reader by surprise, and force them into the story.

To write convincing fiction you need to know your characters inside out. You don’t need to let the reader know every detail, but I believe you need to know it.

This requires a fair bit of honesty, compassion and research. Reach within yourself, find the emotional truth, then dig deeper. Let your characters see and respond to each other. You can’t create a believable friendship, if you don’t know who your characters are.

What is it they hide from each other? What is it they see in each other that no one else does? How do they show care or frustration to the other? What rubs them the wrong way? What threatens them? What makes them laugh? What does this friendship give them? When and how do they feel this? How do their interactions change them?

Show the reader these aspects and you allow the reader to see your characters in a new way. This can be used not just to drive the narrative and to deepen the reader’s understanding of the story, but also to add light and shade to the emotional tide of the narrative.

Writing about an unlikely friendship, like unlikely friendships themselves, really has no rules, but I think the key thing to keep in mind is its power lies in its ability to surprise and delight the reader.

Keep this in mind when you write, and see if you don’t surprise yourself, too.

Posted in Author Review, Storytelling | 5 Comments »

Author Interview: T.W. Dittmer

May 13, 2017

Today I’m re-interviewing a fellow Michigan writer, T.W. Dittmer, the author of the interesting novel, The Valley Walker, about his new effort, Five Toed Tigress.

T.W. Dittmer, Indie Author.

Welcome to “Painting With Light,” Tim.
Thanks for having me, Ron.

I enjoyed your first novel The Valley Walker, and I’m fascinated with your new one, Five Toed Tigress.
Thanks, Ron. I’ve been hoping you’d like it.

As I recall from our interview about The Valley Walker, you have an interesting background. What were you like in school?
I grew up in Gary, Indiana. My father worked in the steel mills, then turned to preaching the Gospel. My mother was a legal secretary. I was a dreamer in high school – not a bad kid, but not very motivated, so my grades were poor.

I liked reading, though, which got me pushed into the advanced English and Composition courses. After graduating, I joined the Army and volunteered for Vietnam, then actually reenlisted for Vietnam.

When my military service was complete, I went to college and studied music. My college grades were better than high school and I really loved music, but ended up working in an automobile engine testing laboratory. I have a two-year degree in Digital Electronics and a Bachelor’s in Information Technology.

Who are your favorite authors?
Stephen King, Thomas Harris and John Steinbeck.

Where do your ideas come from?
They can come from anywhere. An idea occurs to me, then works at me until I spend a lot of time pacing the floor and imagining it coming to life.

Five Toed Tigress

Do you have an “elevator speech” for your new novel?
The Five-Toed Tigress stalks the night, gliding effortlessly through the canopied forests of Cambodia – the Tiger’s Dance Floor.

She is on patrol, her mission to protect the downtrodden from the power of the greedy. Her movements are so fluid and graceful that her prowl is a thing of beauty, a dance to the music of life and death.

The Tigress is a solitary hunter, and she dances alone on her mission. She gives herself wholeheartedly to her dance, but desires a dancing partner – a mate.

How have you evolved creatively since your first novel?
I’m not sure I have. I want to do my best, though, so I keep trying to learn and improve.

I asked you this before, but I wonder if anything has changed for you since then. What’s the hardest thing about writing?
Worrying about whether people will like my work.

You told me before you don’t have a favorite quote, but almost everyone has one that sticks in their mind. What’s yours?
“All these negative waves.” – from the movie Kelly’s Heroes.

Do you have anything else in the works right now?
I have my next novel in mind. I’m doing research and tossing around some thoughts, scribbling on the whiteboard.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot / avatar / spirit animal?
The coyote. I know he’s a trickster, but I seem to get along with him.

Do you base your characters on real people?
Bits and pieces of people I’ve met find their way into my writing. Colonel Nguy, from The Valley Walker, is based on a Hoi Chanh I worked with in Southeast Asia. He joined our unit as a Kit Carson scout after coming over from the North Vietnamese Army in the Chieu Hoi Program.

What kind of research do you do?
I do a lot of reading, some travel and conversation.

What did you edit out of this book?
Not much. I thought about editing out the sex scenes, but was advised against it. A lot was changed as it was written and rewritten, but not much was actually cut.

How do you select the names of your characters?
I don’t have a real system. I just try to come up with a name that sounds cool.

What was your favorite childhood book?
I think White Fang was my favorite. I was a big fan of Jack London and Jim Kjelgaard.

Have you considered entering your books in any review contests? If so, which ones?
I’ve considered the Readers’ Favorite contest. I used them to get some initial reviews for The Valley Walker and was pleased with their service. It was nice for me to get some feedback from someone that I wasn’t related to.

Good luck, Tim … and thanks for doing the interview.
Thanks for having me, Ron. It was a pleasure.

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I’m just about finished reading Tim’s remarkable book, and I already know what I’m going to say in my review:

Five Toed Tigress is one of those rare stories that grabs you by the lapels and forces you to keep reading. The character of Preston Hawke is so totally believable he will keep readers turning the pages to find out how his story ends. Well done! 5-STARS!

Five Toed Tigress is available as an eBook on Amazon, and you can discover more about this interesting author at these locations:
Facebook … Twitter … Website … LinkedIn … Goodreads

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Visit my web site to hear the remarkable interview about my novel “Blood Lake” by The Authors Show. By the way, “Blood Lake” was recently selected as a 2016 Forward INDIES Book of the Year Finalist!

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I plan to attend the next Freelance Marketplace Writers’ Group Meeting at Barnes & Noble on May 16, 2017. I also plan to attend the 10th Rochester Writers’ Fall Conference at Oakland University on Saturday, October 21, 2017.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:author interview, self-publishing
Posted in Author Review, Independent Publishing, Self-Published, Storytelling | 7 Comments »

What’s the Main Task of a Storyteller?

March 27, 2015

I recently came back from Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic (I know … tough duty, but someone’s got to do it).

My bride and I met our eldest son and his family there for a week. I enjoyed seeing them all and relished the opportunity it gave me to recharge my batteries. Now, back to business.

In my last post you heard me grouse again about my writer’s block. It’s safe to say most of that has passed. But I’m still struggling to get my latest novel written and edited by the end of May.

Why? Because I want to submit it to this year’s Readers Favorite contest for review.

Why Do I Bother?
I watched the movie “Birdman” here at home on Tuesday with my wife and youngest son.

Michael Keaton plays a former movie star/action-hero (Birdman) named Riggin Thomas, who opted out of the franchise and hasn’t had much movie success since.

The Thomas character has supposedly adapted the Raymond Carver story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” for Broadway; writing and directing the play in the hopes it will revitalize his career.

One of my favorite scenes featured Edward Norton, who plays an actor named Michael Shiner, a not-so-very-likable-character. In this scene he defends Thomas to Tabitha Dickinsen (played by Lindsay Duncan), a smarmy theater critic he sees sitting in a bar.

“He’s taking a chance. He’s willing to lose everything for this. What are you willing to lose?”

I think Tabitha, a character name undoubtedly chosen for its witch-like associations, serves a twin narrative purpose.

The first is to serve as a convenient antagonist. Her character has apparently decided in advance to give the play a lousy review, so she embodies evil incarnate.

The second is to highlight the purpose real critics have served for as long as there has been a creative process: the need for validation. It’s something the Michael Keaton character desperately needs to preserve his own creative sanity.
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