So, I started watching "Highlander"--yes, the hokey, old series, and started thinking about the fun I could have toying around with a setting like it, and that got me thinking, strangely enough, about archetypes. I know I touched, briefly, on writing characters before, but mainly focused on what Jim Butcher had written in his blog of advice for aspiring writers. I think that characters deserve to be touched on again, and not just because I need to churn out another post for class ... promise.
I think that in a story/screenplay/whatever, no matter the genre, characters can really be boiled down an archetype, or even a role that they fill in the plot. This isn't a new concept, and one of my favorite authors as a teen explored it quite a bit.
Anyway, I think that this could be another way to approach creating characters, especially for me. I tend to get way too bogged down in my characters, rather than applying the necessary focus to my storylines. I get attached to the character, and sometimes, heck, often times sacrifice the story when I should sacrifice the character. If I could instead keep this view in mind, I would have an easier time of things.
Funny thing, though, I haven't read this book for at least five years, and as I started blathering out this post, I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned that there's a bunch written about the very concept I've been trying to form in my head. I feel a little less clever, now. But I also want to read these books, now.
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