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Riddle Game by Tim Kirk
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Ever watch The Dark Knight? When they bring the Joker in, there's a quick scene where Commissioner Gordon checks the notorious villain's pockets. What does he find?
Also, what about The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit? What does Frodo carry in his pocket, on a chain, from the Shire to Mordor? And why is Gollum so infatuated with what Bilbo has "in its nasty little pocketses?""Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint."
What our characters carry in their pockets
can say volumes about who they are and their intentions. It can either serve to affirm character traits or it can even be a fundamental object of the story. So it helps to ask: What do they have in their pockets?
Let's try a two-minute thought exercise:
can say volumes about who they are and their intentions. It can either serve to affirm character traits or it can even be a fundamental object of the story. So it helps to ask: What do they have in their pockets?
Let's try a two-minute thought exercise:
- Think of a main character, could be any protagonist. Your own. Another's.
- What do they do? Where are they from? What are they after? What makes them the hero of the story?
- Now, what situation are they in? Where's the antagonist? What's the setting?
- And now: what would they have in their pockets? (If no pockets, take an inventory of what they would have on them in a pack, purse, in their car's glove box, etc.)
- Do any of those items you've discovered have relevance in the story? How much or how little?
By taking the time to perform this simple thought exercise, we can gain a deeper understanding of your character, their motivation(s), and surroundings. It can be like writing a brief bio of a character in order to better understand who they are and why they're even in the story.
Feel free to share thoughts and comments! Got any of your own examples of thought exercises?