In my last three blog posts, we discussed Building Character: How to Bring People (and Aliens) to Life Through Words. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. This month, I thought I’d share a characterization game my daughter and I used to play.
Hmm...first we had to decide who the sidekicks were. Disney movies tend to have a bunch of them. For example in The Little Mermaid, Ariel has Flounder, Scuttle (the seagull), and Sebastian the crab. This got us into a fun conversation about sidekick characters and mentor characters. The writer in me was totally geeking out! After explaining what a mentor was, we decided that Flounder was Ariel's friend-sidekick and Sebastian was her mentor-sidekick. In Cinderella, Jacques and Gus are Cinderella's sidekicks while Fairy Godmother is her mentor.
This game was fun for a number of reasons. The writer in me enjoyed talking about what made good heroes, heroines, villains, and sidekicks. The mom in me enjoyed learning more about my daughter and why she liked certain characters over others.
I challenge you to play this game at home with your family or maybe with your writer friends. You don’t have to use Disney princesses. Why not make a list of 8-10 starship captains? For example, in no particular order…
James T. Kirk (Star Trek)
Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager)
Han Solo (Star Wars)
Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly)
Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Lone Starr (Spaceballs)
The Doctor (Doctor Who)
The catch is that you cannot simply list the characters in the order you like best. That's too easy. You must discuss the reason WHY you chose one over another. You'll learn more about each other, plus, if you're a writer, it's a fun way to discuss something you love--characterization--without boring your family.
So who was my favorite Disney heroine? Well, it was a toss up between my two favorites: Beauty and the Beast's Belle and Mulan. Belle is adventurous. She sacrifices herself to save her father (very heroic). She stands up to the beast (a pretty kick-butt thing to do). And she loves to read!
Mulan is not a princess. She's better. She's the hero of China! She pretends to be a man to save her elderly father from going to war (again heroic). She trains hard in the martial arts and fights the Huns (very kick-butt). She uses her wits to solve problems (smart heroines are awesome).
But there can only be one winner. I chose Belle over Mulan because, like me, she loves books. :)
Who was last on my list?
Snow White - a woman happy to cook and clean for seven men. Is she crazy? I can't relate.
If you'd like to play this game in the comments section, these are the nine Disney "Princess" movies we used: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tangled.
Or play using the starship captains named above.
Or feel free to make your own list and tell us about it in the comments.
Stay safe out there,
~K.M. Fawcett
Author and Martial Artist
That sounds like a lot of fun - and (as you say) interesting from a writer perspective.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greta! I thought so. :) Let me know what you think if you play.
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful exercise for writers!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I gotta play the Starship Captain Game. There are three ways I'll rank favorites, and each will probably have a different outcome. But I did have to make a few changes. I replaced Dr. Who with James Holden from The Expanse. My knowledge of Dr. Who is limited-to-none. I'd also dropped Lone Starr and the Star-Lord, because they'd be at the bottom of every list. Just not my cup of space tea. So I'm left with six that rank sooo close in many ways. Really made this an exercise.
The Coolness Factor
Ranked in order of entertainment value & IMHO.
1. Han Solo (tie)
1. James Holden (tie)
3. Malcolm Reynolds
4. Jean-Luc Picard
5. Kathryn Janeway
6. James T. Kirk
"Which Captain Would Provide the Greatest Adventure"
Ranked by most heroic, highest stakes, tries to do the right thing, charismatic, risk-taker. (Wow, this is tougher than I thought!)
1. James Holden - Never heard of crisis management. Ha!
2. Han Solo - A total rogue, but in a fun way.
3. Kathryn Janeway - Hopelessly lost is always a great time.
4. Malcolm Reynolds - Frequent run-ins with Reapers. Ugh! Just no.
5. Jean-Luc Picard - A bit too safe and pragmatic on the fun scale
6. James T. Kirk - Can't believe Jim Kirk came out last, but considering the company... (Donna don't hit me.)
The "Will I Reach My Destination?" Factor
Based on who would be the safest and most reliable captain with the most spaceworthy craft.
1. Jean-Luc Picard - Great ship with a level-headed captain
2. Kathryn Janeway - Great ship/captain, but lost in space
3. James T. Kirk - Had to go with the 3 Federation ships first
4. James Holden - Roci is amazing, but she gets shot up a lot...and then there's the protomolecule.
5. Han Solo - Tends to overtask his vessel. Often.
6. Malcolm Reynolds - Ditto the above & with parts falling off.
LOL That was fun, but wow...some very tough decisions. Who'd have thunk Mal would come out at the bottom of ANY list! :)
These are Great lists! And a fun exercise, too. I love the thought and explanations that went behind each decision! Thanks for playing along!
DeleteWell, any discussion of Disney characters with my granddaughter would quickly leave me in the dust—Lana is an expert! And, yes, Laurie, have to argue with you on several points. Picard over Kirk in coolness factor?? Never!
ReplyDeleteYour granddaughter would love this game. :)
DeleteI'd love to see your captain list, Donna!