Not too long ago I discussed some basics on how to build effective characters. I think some specific examples might be helpful to people trying to scribble out compelling fiction, and in the wake of NaNoWriMo, you might be looking back over your work wondering how to improve something. Hopefully, examinations of existing characters might help in that effort.

This week we’re taking a look at the brain.

No, not that brain.

No, not that brain either.

The brain I’m referring to is the character on the story responsible for explaining the science or technology behind the problem at hand. In science fiction, this is your science officer. Procedurals tend to have the brain in a lab somewhere working on the forensics to solve the case. Television is a great example with plenty of different brains on display. CSI has spun into three separate shows all about entire teams of brains working on the crime of the week. Bones counters the babble of the brains with the earthy everyman charm of Agent Seeley Booth, who affectionately calls them ‘squints’. Most other shows just have a nameless person to appear and deliver the science.

NCIS, however, is not most other shows. NCIS has Abby.

Few if any shows have given the individual forensics expert down in the lab the sort of characterization that Abby has received. She’s smart, produces results quickly and supports the team any way she can. She’s also a goth, constantly listens to happening music, gives hugs whenever she deems them necessary and drinks down Caf Pow like a fiend. Did I mention she sleeps in a coffin, has all sorts of interesting tattoos, uses ASL and occasionally cuddles a stuffed hippo that farts when squeezed? These are, individually, little quirks, which when put together make for one of the most unique characters in a television procedural, or any television show ever.

The point is, Abby is a brain without being overtly nerdy or socially inept. She breaks the mold of brains that have come before, and shows how a few small things can make a character that would otherwise be more of the same into something truly memorable. When you’re making a character, it can help to list the character’s quirks, along with likes, dislikes, goals and phobias. This works for heroes as well as villains, and is something I plan to explore in the weeks to come.

…No, I didn’t just to an Abby post because she brings in hits like mad, why do you ask?

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With it’s bright colors, animal characters and a co-protagonist nowhere near puberty, it would be easy to dismiss Up as a kid’s movie. And while there are things in the film that kids will like and cause them to want to watch the movie repeatedly, there are themes, characterizations and nuances that will fly right over the heads of children and smack the adults right in the heart. Up demonstrates that the gifted film-makers at Pixar share something with Peter Jackson besides excellent production values and directorial savvy: They have never made a bad movie. The film features the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagal, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Elie Doctor and John Ratzenberger.

The opening act of the film tells us the story of Carl & Ellie Fredricksen and, like WALL-E, is almost devoid of dialog. It’s easy to forget that these characters were generated using computers. Their expressions and actions, underscored by Michael Giacchino’s brilliant music, yank us body and soul into the experience. The end result of this unforgettable piece of storytelling has us thoroughly understanding Carl’s bitterness in the wake of Ellie’s death, and shows the house in which he’s lived his entire adult life about to be consumed by corporate construction that surrounds him like Germans surrounding the Allies at Bastogne.

A young Wilderness Explorer named Russell comes knocking on Carl’s door. He needs his ‘assisting the elderly’ badge but Carl stubbornly refuses to be assisted, instead sending Russell on a snipe hunt. It seems that the men in suits building soulless skyscrapers are about to cart Carl away, but Carl sends his “NUTS!” missive and unleashes his plan, in the form of tens of thousands of balloons that carry him and his house away from the city and towards an adventure he and his wife always sought. Just when he thinks he’s free, however, he finds Russell on his porch, and the resulting story of their journey involves the best interaction between a crotchety old man and a boy coming of age since Gran Turino.

I haven’t even talked about the mad adventurer from Carl’s childhood, the intelligent and mischievous bird I call a snipe for lack of a better term – her name is Kevin – and the sheer awesomeness of Dug. But these things are best experienced rather than discussed. Like most Pixar films, high adventure and nail-biting action are delivered at the same time as powerful storytelling and in-depth character exploration, all wrapped up in that polished, animated package that has become the hallmark of their work. While other studios employ young, handsome and butch actors to headline their big action blockbusters, Pixar continues to buck the trend and go against the grain in a brilliant fashion. Carl Fredericksen joins WALL-E, Marlin the clown fish, Sully & Mike and Buzz & Woody in the veritable pantheon of Pixar’s unlikely but unforgettable heroes. Even Mister Incredible, himself a super-hero, is surprising in the way he transcends standard comic book fare to become truly heroic when he resolves to protect his family both from outside evil and the tension threatening to tear it apart. I’m wandering a bit away from Up, I know, but there is a pattern here. And it’s a pattern of greatness.

I honestly wasn’t expecting WALL-E to be topped so quickly and in such an incredible fashion. Don’t get me wrong: I still love WALL-E, from its science-fiction motif to its social commentary to its touching love story – between robots. But Up captures a pioneering sense of adventure along with demonstrating again the sheer power of the human spirit. Carl Fredricksen, a 79-year-old man, becomes slowly less tethered to the trappings of age as the story progresses. He demonstrates cleverness, a weathered but unbeatable sense of humor and that deep-seated desire never to give up on his dreams. As myopic he might seem at some points, the difference between him and his childhood idol becomes quite clear in short order. Russell could simply exist as a caricature of annoying adolescence, but he shows a surprising depth all his own, and his spirit is a lot like Carl’s in its unwillingness to be stifled or ignored. A lot of the tension between the two comes from having positive but differing goals to which each is equally committed.

Up juxtaposes real comedy with endearing character study the way District 9 juxtaposes blazing sci-fi action with gripping social commentary. Better writing and direction is very difficult to find. I could go on gushing about Up, but suffice it to say it should be on your Netflix queue already, if you don’t own a copy of the film yourself. It is absolutely fantastic. Up is not just a lot of fun and emotionally touching – it’s superlative storytelling and one of the best films of the year.

Josh Loomis can’t always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it’s unclear if this week’s film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain… IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

PREVIOUSLY ON CANNED GOODS!

Part 1 & Part 2

AND NOW, THE THRILLING CONCLUSION:

Not necessarily for kids.

Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Critics

Criticism isn’t something you should fear.

Even if it’s not meant to be constructive, criticism can be used to shore up your work. There will always be someone out there who will test your work for flaws and point them out for you. Some even manage to make a pretty good living doing it. Roger Ebert and Yahtzee come to mind.

Critics aren’t just educated sadists, either. More often than not, they’re tearing something apart to uncover its flaws so that consumers who agree with their points of view won’t end up wasting their money on a product that will disappoint them. Legitimate criticism, even when it takes the form of an angry rant, is more a force for good than anything else. As much as you might disagree with a given critic – Lisa Schwartzbaum giving New Moon a B+ for example – they are operating as a consumer advocate.

Criticism serves another purpose, however, one that might not be intended by the critic themselves. If the creator of the subject of criticism is aware of the critic’s viewpoint and can see the merit in their arguments, it can be the impetus for the creator to review their previous work and, rather than simply doing more of the same to milk the same cow, build on the established strengths while discarding or paring out the weaknesses. As much as I think the man’s lost his mind, George Lucas was at least somewhat aware of the criticism leveled at his prequels. Jar Jar was watered down to a few blissfully short lines, the story took a darker and more mature turn and we were given more insight into Palpatine’s rise to power and the last days of the Jedi. Too bad it continued to be poorly written and badly acted, with a few exceptions.

If you’re at all involved in a creative process, be it writing or game design or sculpture or movie production or basket weaving, know you’re going to have critics. Some of them will be fully invested in helping you improve your work, and some will be complete strangers who make what are, to you, baseless accusations. While you have the option of completely ignoring your critics and instead looking to your bank accounts for validation, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that just because something is a financial success doesn’t mean it’s work you should be proud of. Some people are just in this business to make money – and as much as I might disagree with that mentality towards things like writing, I can’t begrudge someone for being successful in a field that’s very difficult to break into.

However, I know that I am not alone in not wanting to be merely a successful writer, but a good one as well. So I’m open to criticism. I know it’s going to come sooner or later, and as long as it doesn’t make my work unpublishable, I’m willing to consider the points being raised if they’ll improve the overall quality of the work. This is something that has only come with time and experience. If you’ve never tried to get published before, the rejection and criticism can be devastating. It’s a hard lesson to learn, and it can’t really be taught, only experienced: being criticized and rejected should not make you quit.

As I said in my Changeling review, quitting is the only way we truly fail in our endeavors. Critics should help you do the opposite of quitting: a constructive argument, even if it’s not phrased as one, should provide you with impetus to not only continue creating, but to improve the creation. After all, if you quit, more than one of those critics will simply be laughing at you for being a coward. Carrying on in the face of adversity and rising to even greater heights in a subsequent effort, on the other hand, is a surefire way to shut those critics up.

So expect criticism. Take it with a grain of salt. Sprinkle that salt into your mix to make it tastier. Before you know it, you’ll have the creative equivalent of a culinary masterpiece, and even the trolls will be begging for seconds.

Kicking around in the back of my head as I work on novels, video entries and freelance gaming submissions, the sci-fi tabletop project continues to slowly but surely take shape. Assisting that is a few pieces of music. I’ll list them for you, talk about their merits & nuances, and what they mean to this project.

Holst – “Mars, the Bringer of War”

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This is the opening movement to Gustav Holst’s famous suite on the planets. To me, there are few pieces of music that capture the excitement, pioneering attitude and downright scariness of true science fiction. It moves with a purpose, shifting between almost militaristic cadences and long, sweeping passages.

It fits this project for a variety of reasons. There’s the spectre of impending war that hangs over the interplanetary landscape, the feeling that mankind is teetering on the edge of something it doesn’t quite comprehend even as it quarrels with itself and the knowledge that the machinations of ambitious or even insane men are at work behind the scenes to drive the fate of humanity in one direction or another. “Mars” captures all of these feelings pretty well.

VNV Nation – “Sentinal”

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The first vocal track from their latest album, VNV Nation’s music has always captured a mood somewhere between revolutionary and soulful. Behind the strong beat and cascading note sequences, there’s a feeling of weariness. While there’s a desire for change, to better one’s self, there’s also the impression that a lot of time has been spent dreaming of a better tomorrow while greater forces in the world work against that goal.

In the future envisioned with this project, battles have been fought both great and small, with no clear victor in the end equation despite accolades and propaganda on both sides. The players, in a way, begin somewhere in the middle, where they can either move to an overarching view of the volatile situation or choose an allegiance with one side or the other. The reason for doing this, on any scale, is to usher in better days, be it for a particular faction or humanity as a whole.

Tool – “Lateralus”

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Incorporating the Fibonacci sequence and featuring a refrains scored in a rotating 9/8,8/8,7/8 time signature, the title track from Tool’s third studio album talks of man’s desire to explore himself and his interpretation of the world around him. The idea is to be unafraid of the unknown, willing to explore beyond the boundaries of what we know and learning to accept the things we do not. If someone can do that, if they can move across the borders between the everyday and the singular, one just might “go where no one’s been.”

To me, this song encapsulates the mentality of the foolishly brave men and women willing to hurl themselves headlong into the void of space. It fits perfectly with the dark sci-fi nature of the project. Also, by seeking to be different and transcend the particulars of their origins, players can move into new territory for them, influencing struggles of power between entire planets and possible redefining the destiny of mankind itself.

It may sound a bit ambitious, but I’ve never been accused of thinking too small.