theticklishpear:(Find the others in the things I want to see tag.) Things I Want To See More Of: P
theticklishpear: (Find the others in the things I want to see tag.) Things I Want To See More Of: Part Two Visible Religion: I want characters who believe in something. They see a value in the community that comes from religion and they find a stability in having something to fall back on. No, they don’t have to be the poster child for their religion–it’s rare that religious individuals believe in and practice every single tenant or teaching within their religion, but they do find that they can get behind most of them. I want to see characters that question, sure, but that also believe. They don’t have to proselytize; they don’t have to preach; they don’t have to constantly talk about it. I want to see how it impacts their life. I want to see some of the ways they practice their faith outside of going to a church service. I want to see holiday traditions and family traditions and daily or weekly traditions. Show me how they tackle problems with the courage it gives. Show me how they remember parts of history better than others. Show me their stories and their turns of phrase that aren’t just retooled versions of Christianity’s. More strongly religious characters whose religion bleeds into daily or annual traditions. Unforgotten Wounds: I want characters whose injuries stick with them. Specifically, I want the smaller physical injuries that writers seem to forget about to linger throughout the story. I want injuries to have an impact on the plot. Show me characters who feel the weather turn in their bones, those who force themselves to keep walking despite the click in their hip from a misaligned nerve or tendon. Show me characters who limp after walking for a long time because they once broke their foot–it doesn’t bother them from day to day except when they have to walk long distances. Show me injuries whose consequences don’t fade away just because the emotional impact is no longer necessary to or interesting in the story. Show me characters in rehab and characters who need help from friends, characters who can’t always go 100% like others and characters who know their limits as established by old wounds. More characters dealing with the residual of wounds. Different Stakes: I want to see story stakes that are more than just worrying about the Bad Guys winning. Similar to last time’s plots that focus more on people, but with the added emphasis on showing stories that don’t showcase the typical stakes: Their families dying, the world ending, the Bad Guys taking over the world. I want to see characters striving to hold their families together, working toward achieving a dream, building up dying communities. Show me characters who are terrified of losing something, or for whom the worst thing that could happen is losing a job. Show me characters whose enemies aren’t some nebulous human-shaped shadow, who aren’t polar opposites, good or evil. Bring me what lies beyond that, to the edges, and beneath: all the different things that motivate people. More types of stakes. -- source link