Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors
Read Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors Online
Authors: Brandilyn Collins
Tags: #Writing
Cover Photos by WEN WEN and Alesandro14
Author Name Logo by DogEared Design
Author Photo by Angela Hunt
Getting Into Character, Edition 2
Copyright © 2015 Brandilyn Collins
All rights reserved
Challow Press
212 W. Ironwood Dr., Suite D
#316
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
PRAISE FOR NOVELS
BY BRANDILYN COLLINS
“By far one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
--
RT Book Reviews 4 ½ stars Top Pick, Cast a Road Before Me
“Excellent novel … beautifully written … well developed characters.”
--Publishers Weekly, Color the Sidewalk for Me
“Strong writing … the characters are interesting, and Collins pens some worthy descriptions.”
--Publishers Weekly, Capture the Wind for Me
“Heart-pounding suspense … exciting, highly original plot.”
--RT Book Reviews, Sidetracked
“A nail-biting thrill ride from start to finish.”
--RT Book Reviews, Dark Justice
"Collins has written another taut, compelling tale of psychological suspense that weaves a twisty plot with threads of faith."
--Library Journal Starred Review, Double Blind
“Moves along briskly … the popular novelist’s talent continues to flower.”
--Publishers Weekly, Gone to Ground
“A taut, heartbreaking thriller … Collins is a fine writer who knows to both horrify readers and keep them turning pages.”
-
-Publishers Weekly, Over the Edge
“
Solidly constructed … a strong and immediately likeable protagonist … one of the Top 10 Inspirational Novels of 2010.”
--Booklist, Deceit
“A hefty dose of action and suspense. Superb conclusion.”
--RT Book Reviews, Exposure
“Intense … engaging … whiplash-inducing plot twists.”
--Thrill Writer, Dark Pursuit
“A harrowing hostage drama.”
--Library Journal, Amber Morn
“One of the Best Books of 2007 … Top Christian suspense of the year.”
--Library Journal Starred Review, Crimson Eve
“A chilling mystery … not one to be read alone at night.”
--RT BOOKclub, Coral Moon
“A sympathetic heroine … effective flashbacks … Collins knows how to weave faith into a rich tale.”
--Library Journal, Violet Dawn
“A master storyteller … Collins deftly finesses the accelerator on this knuckle-chomping ride.”
--RT BOOKclub, Web of Lies
“Finely crafted … vivid … another masterpiece that keeps the reader utterly engrossed.”
--RT BOOKclub, Dread Champion
“Chilling … a confusing, twisting trail that keeps pages turning.”
--Publishers Weekly, Eyes of Elisha
BOOKS BY
BRANDILYN COLLINS
Southern Contemporary
Bradleyville Series
Cast a Road Before Me
Color the Sidewalk for Me
Capture the Wind for Me
Dearing Family Series
That Dog Won’t Hunt
Pitchin’ a Fit
Suspense
Stand Alone Novels
Sidetracked
Dark Justice
Gone to Ground
Over the Edge
Deceit
Exposure
Dark Pursuit
Rayne Tour YA Series
(co-written with Amberly Collins)
Always Watching
Last Breath
Final Touch
Kanner Lake Series
Violet Dawn
Coral Moon
Crimson Eve
Amber Morn
Hidden Faces Series
Brink of Death
Stain of Guilt
Dead of Night
Web of Lies
Chelsea Adams Series
Eyes of Elisha
Dread Champion
Non-Fiction
Getting Into Character:
Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors
Table of Contents
Introduction: Why Should A Novelist Care About Method Acting?
Secret #6: Restraint And Control
INTRODUCTION
Why Should a Novelist Care about Method Acting?
[The artist’s] job is not to present merely the external life of his character. He must fit his own human qualities to the life of this other person, and pour into it all of his own soul. The fundamental aim of our art is the creation of this inner life of a human spirit, and its expression in an artistic form.
—Constantin Stanislavsky, An Actor Prepares
The “Secrets” or characterization techniques in this book can open a whole new world of thinking for you as a novelist. I’ve adapted these techniques from the “System” or “Method” of acting attributed to the great Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavsky (1863–1938).
When I started my career in fiction I automatically used these adaptations from Method Acting in my writing. I soon saw from reader feedback that the techniques were working. Readers would comment how they didn’t just
read
the scenes I wrote, they
felt
them. To this day that’s the highest praise I can receive from a reader.
But when I would mention these techniques to my colleagues, many of whom had been published far longer than I, they gave me blank looks. I came to realize that my understanding of Method Acting wasn’t standard knowledge to most novelists. Why should it be? My first major in college had been theater. Without those studies I wouldn’t have been aware of the various Method Acting concepts myself, much less having discovered how to tweak them for my own use as a novelist. I also began to realize the “Secrets” I’d come up with needed to be written to help other writers. Since then I’ve taught these Secrets countless times at writers conferences—and have seen how helpful they are to novelists, both aspiring and multi-published.