How is it that some stories endure far beyond the lifetime of their author? Shakespeare is a prime example. His plays not only endure, they adapt to modern settings, and yet people still recognize Romeo and Juliet even when it’s called West Side Story because the idea behind it is unchanged. Ideas are the questions the story raises, and the answers it chooses to provide. In Romeo and Juliet the idea centers around two people who wish to be together, but social/cultural forces oppose them, man vs. society.
.creative writing
Using Relationships 105-03
“No man is an island, whole unto itself.” People are always part of a network of relationships, a community. For most it’s a web of familiar faces, with individual relationships growing or fading, much like the tides of the ocean. Characters can even engage relationships without interacting with the other person, through memory and imagination. Similarly, some characters may personify an animal, object, or force of nature. A character struggling to endure a storm may come to regard that storm as a rival, with a will and personality of its own.
Personal Relationships 105-02
Social Relationships
Most relationships include a social aspect, but a true social relationship is rooted in coming together to share an experience. Social relationships are based on a common interest or shared experience. A social relationship can be casual, two strangers meeting at an event, or they can be intentional, two friends who specifically gather to meet each other.
Limited Relationships 105-01
When people hear the word relationship, most think of a romantic and/or sexual relationship, but it’s important to recognize that this represents a small fraction of the relationships that influence every character. In the context of this post, a relationship is any time that one character applies opinions or expectations onto another, whether the other person knows it or not.
Surprise 104-06
One of the most basic forms of engagement is curiosity, what’s going to happen next? Surprises, judiciously used, can keep a story interesting, and prompt audiences to reconsider what they’ve previously read or thought. A surprise can either be a surprise for both audience & character(s), or a surprise for the audience alone.