Plotting, Planning, World-Building and Head-Hopping

[Alec Worley]

I'm taking reader questions over at Agent of Weird. Here's the first batch of answers...

https://alecworley.substack.com/p/plotting-planning-world-building

If you lot want to ask what works for me when writing stuff about vampires, aliens and wizards, then feel free to head over and drop a query in the comments. I'll get onto it in a few months or when I can't be bothered to think up a topic for myself. Thanks to EVERYONE who's been reading and sharing these posts. Hugely appreciated. People seem to be getting a lot out of them.

Hope you're enjoying Durham Red at the moment. Cheers!

[broodblik]

Hope you're enjoying Durham Red at the moment. Cheers!

Enjoying it thank you. So far I find your Durham Red interpretation as the best so far. Keep it up 

[Alec Worley]

Thanks so much! Great to know. I try* not to read reviews/forums as it's like gazing into the eyes of Medusa.
*and usually fail

[Funt Solo]

Your article made me think of the strong characterization in Aliens. Each of the marines has a personality, which (along with their physical traits) allow us to think of them as individuals. It's frustrating for Ripley that they're gung-ho and over-confidant - and they come across to the viewer as obnoxious as well. They are brilliantly written though - given the number of them and (for the most part) their short screen time.

I feel like each movie after that failed to individualize the (always large cast of) characters well enough.

Or - compare it to Red Planet - another relatively large cast, but with such poorly drawn characters that the audience doesn't care when Terence Stamp dies. Terence fecking Stamp! And then another guy gets pushed off a cliff, but it's no biggy because who the fuck is he anyway?

[Alec Worley]

Totally agree! Weirdly, I did another piece on the 'mission briefing' scene from that movie, which demonstrates exactly what you're talking about there...
Aliens: How to Write a Mission Briefing Scene That Doesn't Suck

[Barrington Boots]

Really great read this. Interesting point about communal thought in Dune, I always thought Frank Herbert was just confusing in that regard. I'd love it to be the former instead.

[Colin YNWA]

Loved this and great example. That 'briefing' scene is really about the characters establishing them so much more than the actual mission brief - which is what feels tacted on here rather than the other way around.

To be honest its a bit like that with the 'breakfast scene in Alien, after they have just woken up as well. So much character work with the building blocks of what's going on slipped in to facilitiate that and progress the movie.

[Alec Worley]

Cheers, Barrington! The 'communal thought' thing was really me just spitballing. Loved the book overall, but found it really uneven and the head-hopping didn't help. First third was riveting, second third on Arrakis with his mum really dragged and the final third just zipped over these epic battles without really going into anything. Loved the knife-fight, though! Brilliantly written combat-scene.

[Alec Worley]

Colin YNWA: And the best thing about that mission briefing bit AND the breakfast scene is that you - the viewer - just doesn't realise all that work going on. It's invisible, which is just amazing. Not sure Cameron has ever bettered his scripts for this and Terminator.

[Funt Solo]

Totally agree! Weirdly, I did another piece on the 'mission briefing' scene from that movie, which demonstrates exactly what you're talking about there...
Aliens: How to Write a Mission Briefing Scene That Doesn't Suck

Oh - that is funny. I guess that cements it, though - people bang on about Aliens because it is really good. I was thinking about Predator - another tight actioner, but it doesn't really succeed in the characterization stakes (while doing quite well at caricatures). I only remember Dutch's name from Predator, but in Aliens I can name multiple side characters.

Now I'm remembering what a great job Rebellion did on AvP - recreating that sense of tension from the movie with the motion detectors. I read a review of the game that was right on the money when it said you should just switch the motion detector off - all it does is shit you up.

[Barrington Boots]

I actually think the characters in Predator are pretty well defined, but I must have seen it a hundred times so my perspective is likely off. There's certainly nobody as good as Hudson in it.

The Aliens stuff is bang on, and reading a proper analysis of it shows you how cleverly written (and portrayed) it is. And speaking of breakfast scenes I remember citing the start of Reservoir Dogs as pretty good for establishing characters, but I've not seen it for years and years.

First third of Dune (book) is 100% the best bit.