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lagilmanOne of the signs of a good convention panel is when everything someone says triggers another thought-thread, and you come away with your original notes scrawled over with additional comments. Here, for my use and your possible entertainment/eddification, are my notes from two of my panels at Balticon.
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The Wild Card Character
The character whose motivation is not clear, or is still in flux, someone who cannot be counted on to be within the established plotlines. This is the character who allows the plot to not be predictable but still remain within the internal story-logic.
Not always the hero or heroine, but a motivated character.
Unreliable narrator = wild card as narrator.
Not Han, but Obi-wan.
Wild card works best as a secondary lead; If the wild card becomes the primary lead, they need to follow the 'quest' and therefore need their own wild card.
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Is Humor essential in UF/PNR?
Humor is a great way to encourage an investment or trust in a character. If they can crack wise at their own expense, they can be trusted in other areas, too.
Noir + humor = survival.
Humor-in-fantasy is a modern construct - both in terms of era and style (not so much in historicals).
The darker the story, the more humor is essential, in some way, to the characters, and the reader. "Laugh until you cry" and "need something to make me laugh" -- human nature to seek balance between pain/sorrow and laughter.
"When you do sexy, snarky, and evil*, you've got something there. (pause) It's what I aspire to."
*I've already laid claim, in font of witnesses, on that title. It may be for a short story...or I might be coaxed into doing an anthology. We Shall See.
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The Wild Card Character
The character whose motivation is not clear, or is still in flux, someone who cannot be counted on to be within the established plotlines. This is the character who allows the plot to not be predictable but still remain within the internal story-logic.
Not always the hero or heroine, but a motivated character.
Unreliable narrator = wild card as narrator.
Not Han, but Obi-wan.
Wild card works best as a secondary lead; If the wild card becomes the primary lead, they need to follow the 'quest' and therefore need their own wild card.
--------
Is Humor essential in UF/PNR?
Humor is a great way to encourage an investment or trust in a character. If they can crack wise at their own expense, they can be trusted in other areas, too.
Noir + humor = survival.
Humor-in-fantasy is a modern construct - both in terms of era and style (not so much in historicals).
The darker the story, the more humor is essential, in some way, to the characters, and the reader. "Laugh until you cry" and "need something to make me laugh" -- human nature to seek balance between pain/sorrow and laughter.
"When you do sexy, snarky, and evil*, you've got something there. (pause) It's what I aspire to."
*I've already laid claim, in font of witnesses, on that title. It may be for a short story...or I might be coaxed into doing an anthology. We Shall See.
