The Importance of Character

Characters. They are what make a story worth reading. They are what make us emotionally invested. Without them, there usually is no story.

The importance of character came up when my husband and I were discussing Castle. What makes Castle work is the characters. If Caslte wasn't a mischievous man with the sense of humor of a 12-yr old and an ego the size of Manhattan and Beckett wasn't a no-nonsense, driven, strong woman, the show would be a flop. It would be a pale imitation of Law & Order and other crime procedurals currently on the air.

Really no story is complete without characters. And so often, they are passed over by writers, actors and even audiences. Too often characters are cliche, two-dimensional and uninspired. Even some of my favorite shows are suffering from a lack of growth and development.

It is incumbent upon the writer to make sure that their characters continue to be interesting and never stagnant. This is something that too few writers take seriosuly anymore.

If you're a writer, make sure you tend to the needs of your characters. Make them interesting. Most importnatly, make them real.

David Eddings was a master at this. His powerful wizard, his Gandalf if you will, was respected throughout the world, and a drunk, womanizing thief that isn't above murdering someone who is inconvenient. All of his characters were similarly flawed. It them fun. It made them real.

Go forth, then. And write characters that are real. Not just characters that get the job done.

Dungeons & Dragons: A First Timer's Experience

Today was a special day in any gaming nerd's life. I played my first Dungeons & Dragons game. Last night was spent pouring over my character sheet, trying to make sure I got my character just right.

Picking my race/class was a real challenge. I wanted something that I was fairly familiar with. I originally thought about an elven ranger (my main in WoW, and an easy favorite). But I've been there, done that. I finally settled on an Eladrin wizard.

Though I will admit the Player's Handbook 4th Edition was a little hard to understand for a first-timer. A lot of the phrasing the editors seemed to take for-granted. There was a lot of sections that described a particular value, but didn't clearly talk about where to put it.

However, Wizards of the Coast has put a wonderful character builder program on their website that helps noobs like me put it all together in a way that is easy to understand, and gets you out the door with a workable character.

As a fan of RPGs (namely WoW and Dragon Age: Origins) it was truly fascinating to see the mother of them all, and recognize how much these modern games draw from this paragon of gaming.

As far as the actual game went, my little Leshanna did quite well, and I'm slowly becoming comfortable with tabletop gaming. A truly great experience, and one that I'm only sorry that I've waited this long to check out.

My New Favorite "Writer"

I have found a new writer I'm absolutely in love with. Too bad he's not real.



Castle is ABC's new hit crime show that debuted last year mid-season. Richard Castle is a wealthy best-selling crime author (26 best-sellers, so think John Grisham or James Patterson) who uses his connections with the mayor and other such high-rollers to gain access to the NYPD shadowing Detective Kate Beckett as the inspiration for a new lead character to replace his recently fallen creation.

Richard Castle is charming, witty, handsome, suave and thoroughly fun to watch. Nathan Fillion puts forth a great perfomance that truly reels in the audience. From the opening of the episode where he is almost giddy with excitement to be cheking out a new crime scene to interactions with his mother and daughter, he's believable, fun, and always on. Despite a lack of (police) professionalism, he has a knack for solving crimes, bringing fresh eyes to the scene. Though his antics are often dangerous, cause problems on occasion, though naturally it all works out in the end.

Stana Katic stars opposite as Det. Kate Beckett. She's a very by-the-book officer who is good at what she does. Though usually very serious, she does banter with Castle in a way that feels real. Plot-wise, their relationship is complicated by the fact that she is a huge fan of Castle's novels (a fact that fuels Castle's ego to no end). It is amusing to watch her try to set that aside and deal with him as he is: far more annoying than she could have imagined.

The chemistry between these two is perfect. Castle has a blatant attraction for Beckett that he pursues every chance he gets, but Beckett rebuffs him. As an attempt to try to win her over, Castle works on the case of Beckett's mother's murder on the down-low.

This show takes the standard crime procedural and adds a depth many of the others avoid. Not only do we see a great deal of the personal interactions and personal story that shows like Law & Order leave to the side unless they're pulling it out for sweeps. It also brings in a lot of humor and banter, again more-so than its more dramatic counterparts.

It has its occasional lapses, primarily in that Castle gets his case-solving epiphany via his family (primarily his daughter and live-in mother). Whether they provide it in conversation or through action that sparks an idea, it can be occasionally forced and unnatural. But, usually it isn't painfully so.

Great fun, great characters, great mysteries. If you haven't watched it yet, give it a go. I've only only watched the second half of the first season (in one day) and I have rarely been so hooked on a TV show.

As a side-note, the novel that Richard Castle is writing during the first season of the series Heat Wave has been published by ABC using the pen name (of course) Richard Castle. I plan on checking it out soon.