Writing Styles: Creating Characters Part 3 - Action

[Dementedvillian]

One of the more interesting pieces of advice was from William Goldman (the screen-writer). He said to give your character a hobby and make it very specific. So not just dolls, but 16th  Century Peruvian green dolls. Then have your character talk about it.

I don't remember the book it came from and I'm not 100% sure it was William Goldman (Stephen J. Cannell?), but I DO remember as soon as I read it how, I noticed how many TV Series had a character with an off-beat hobby, So if it's good enough for NCIS it's good enough for me!

I know this post is over two years old, but I remember watching a movie, The Stranger, where the main villain is an escaped, high-ranking Nazi war criminal- and not a repentant one either- who embeds himself into a comfy Massachusetts suburb as a history teacher, a fiancee, and a future son-in-law to a federal judge. What stuck out to me is that he has an interest in clocks and clockwork, almost to the point of obsession. Not only does it make him more three-dimensional, but it tells us that he has an obsession with order, and likes to see everything in their proper place (in both meanings of the word). It also helps ingratiate himself further into the community, personally helping maintain a large clock in the city square.

I highly recommend The Stranger btw. It's Orson Welles' only financially successful film, and though it wasn't as innovative as any of his other movies (though it was the first movie to ever use Holocaust footage), it's still a pretty tense movie.

[Kiva]

One of the more interesting pieces of advice was from William Goldman (the screen-writer). He said to give your character a hobby and make it very specific. So not just dolls, but 16th  Century Peruvian green dolls. Then have your character talk about it.

I don't remember the book it came from and I'm not 100% sure it was William Goldman (Stephen J. Cannell?), but I DO remember as soon as I read it how, I noticed how many TV Series had a character with an off-beat hobby, So if it's good enough for NCIS it's good enough for me!

I know this post is over two years old, but I remember watching a movie, The Stranger, where the main villain is an escaped, high-ranking Nazi war criminal- and not a repentant one either- who embeds himself into a comfy Massachusetts suburb as a history teacher, a fiancee, and a future son-in-law to a federal judge. What stuck out to me is that he has an interest in clocks and clockwork, almost to the point of obsession. Not only does it make him more three-dimensional, but it tells us that he has an obsession with order, and likes to see everything in their proper place (in both meanings of the word). It also helps ingratiate himself further into the community, personally helping maintain a large clock in the city square.

I highly recommend The Stranger btw. It's Orson Welles' only financially successful film, and though it wasn't as innovative as any of his other movies (though it was the first movie to ever use Holocaust footage), it's still a pretty tense movie.

Thank you. That's a classic I haven't seen yet.

[Ctfghtfan100]

Hey Kiva.

It is unreal how much time and effort you put into your characters, plots, atmosphere to tell compelling catfight stories and I've enjoyed reading them very much.  Thanks for your work.  But then you put all this effort into telling us the technical elements of your writing technique and just how much consideration you put in to your stories. There is an unbelievable amount of content on the how.  What I wonder about for you as the writer is the why!  Why do you like to write these stories with such inherently violent content between women?  I know there is an audience for it - I'm one of them. But I'd love to know more about why you enjoy writing catfight stories, reading them and what your interest in the subject matter is.

A second question, if you'll indulge me, is do you watch catfight content to draw any inspiration or pick up on specifics that the catfight fan community might be looking for?  In a way I guess we as fans are looking for community and connection. 

I do have a couple of stories kicking around in my head that stem from some online interactions and real life encounters.  I might just have to put fingers to keyboard!

Take care and please keep writing.
Cheers
CTFGHTFAN100

[Kiva]

Hey Kiva.

It is unreal how much time and effort you put into your characters, plots, atmosphere to tell compelling catfight stories and I've enjoyed reading them very much.  Thanks for your work.  But then you put all this effort into telling us the technical elements of your writing technique and just how much consideration you put in to your stories. There is an unbelievable amount of content on the how.  What I wonder about for you as the writer is the why!  Why do you like to write these stories with such inherently violent content between women?  I know there is an audience for it - I'm one of them. But I'd love to know more about why you enjoy writing catfight stories, reading them and what your interest in the subject matter is.

A second question, if you'll indulge me, is do you watch catfight content to draw any inspiration or pick up on specifics that the catfight fan community might be looking for?  In a way I guess we as fans are looking for community and connection. 

I do have a couple of stories kicking around in my head that stem from some online interactions and real life encounters.  I might just have to put fingers to keyboard!

Take care and please keep writing.
Cheers
CTFGHTFAN100

Your generous remarks really made my day. Many thanks! You are correct. I spent a lot of time discussing how to craft stories. It's understandable to wonder why I'm writing in such an unusual genre.

How did I start writing catfight stories?

Several years ago, I was in a creative writing class. The instructor assigned us to write a fight scene of any kind (combat sports, street fight, gladiator event, etc.). He explained that fight scenes are challenging because they require description, pacing, action, intensity, and something at stake. I came up with the idea of writing a fight scene between two women, realizing that it takes the drama, emotion, and the action to another level. Artistically, I got hooked.

Why do I like this subject matter?

The honest answer is: I don't like it because it's violent. I think I like it because, in a strange way, it lets fictional women in ordinary life be sincere about what they want. Here's what I mean. Women negotiate power every day in real life. In offices, families, school parking lots. Women don't fight in real life, but they attack each other with gossip, backbiting, destroying reputations, and stepping on colleagues to advance a career.  Isolation from social networks, backhanded compliments, invitation snubs, and coded snipes on social media are all common weaponry. The violence isn't physical, but the pain can be much worse.

In our fantasy worlds, the catfights strip away the pretense. The women are doing exactly what their real-life social interactions do in secret. Something honest and clarifying about that. That has been the thesis behind my writing on FCF. In my story "The Poacher," a witness to a fight reflects on it:

For weeks, the fight between Katie and Paula replayed in my mind.  No doubt, it was the strangest, most incomprehensibly vile thing I'd ever witnessed.  How on earth could women treat each other like that?  But the funny thing is, that over time, I saw catfights everywhere.  Not physical fights, but in the form of gossip, lying, backbiting and worse.  At work.  At the gym.  In my neighborhood.  In my social circles.  Is spreading untrue stories really much different than slapping and scratching?  Could harming someone's reputation be worse than stripping them naked?  Is destroying a person's dignity and self-worth in the boardroom the moral equivalent of shoving your vagina in their face?  Do the people we step on to advance our careers become trophies mounted on the walls of our minds?  Perhaps Paula and Katie only personified what we figuratively do to each other every day.

In "Kiva's Fight Journal", after her old boyfriend watches her in a brutal fight, she explains it to him the same way.

I'm certainly not the first woman to connect metaphorical physical catfights with everyday behavior. Leora Tanenbaum wrote an entire book about it called "Catfight." https://www.leoratanenbaum.com/catfight All of the fight and wrestling paintings on my profile were created by women. In interviews, they have all said the same thing. Art reflects an underlying truth.

Finally, I understand the eroticism inherent in female fight fantasies. For me, it adds another dimension to the artistry, challenges, and fun of crafting a story. Because the eroticism means something different for everybody, that could be a topic for another post.

Do I watch catfight videos for inspiration?

Occasionally, depending on the story and fight style I'm writing about. It helps to have a visual reference.  For instance, I have watched several DWW/Fighting Dolls and old Festelle videos to get an idea of what a wrestling match between women wearing little or nothing would look like.

And yes, put your fingers to the keyboard and get started. You know these stories kicking around in your head better than anyone. That's the first step.

[Phoenix_Falcone]

Hey Kiva.

It is unreal how much time and effort you put into your characters, plots, atmosphere to tell compelling catfight stories and I've enjoyed reading them very much.  Thanks for your work.  But then you put all this effort into telling us the technical elements of your writing technique and just how much consideration you put in to your stories. There is an unbelievable amount of content on the how.  What I wonder about for you as the writer is the why!  Why do you like to write these stories with such inherently violent content between women?  I know there is an audience for it - I'm one of them. But I'd love to know more about why you enjoy writing catfight stories, reading them and what your interest in the subject matter is.

A second question, if you'll indulge me, is do you watch catfight content to draw any inspiration or pick up on specifics that the catfight fan community might be looking for?  In a way I guess we as fans are looking for community and connection. 

I do have a couple of stories kicking around in my head that stem from some online interactions and real life encounters.  I might just have to put fingers to keyboard!

Take care and please keep writing.
Cheers
CTFGHTFAN100

Your generous remarks really made my day. Many thanks! You are correct. I spent a lot of time discussing how to craft stories. It's understandable to wonder why I'm writing in such an unusual genre.

How did I start writing catfight stories?

Several years ago, I was in a creative writing class. The instructor assigned us to write a fight scene of any kind (combat sports, street fight, gladiator event, etc.). He explained that fight scenes are challenging because they require description, pacing, action, intensity, and something at stake. I came up with the idea of writing a fight scene between two women, realizing that it takes the drama, emotion, and the action to another level. Artistically, I got hooked.

Why do I like this subject matter?

The honest answer is: I don't like it because it's violent. I think I like it because, in a strange way, it lets fictional women in ordinary life be sincere about what they want. Here's what I mean. Women negotiate power every day in real life. In offices, families, school parking lots. Women don't fight in real life, but they attack each other with gossip, backbiting, destroying reputations, and stepping on colleagues to advance a career.  Isolation from social networks, backhanded compliments, invitation snubs, and coded snipes on social media are all common weaponry. The violence isn't physical, but the pain can be much worse.

In our fantasy worlds, the catfights strip away the pretense. The women are doing exactly what their real-life social interactions do in secret. Something honest and clarifying about that. That has been the thesis behind my writing on FCF. In my story "The Poacher," a witness to a fight reflects on it:

For weeks, the fight between Katie and Paula replayed in my mind.  No doubt, it was the strangest, most incomprehensibly vile thing I'd ever witnessed.  How on earth could women treat each other like that?  But the funny thing is, that over time, I saw catfights everywhere.  Not physical fights, but in the form of gossip, lying, backbiting and worse.  At work.  At the gym.  In my neighborhood.  In my social circles.  Is spreading untrue stories really much different than slapping and scratching?  Could harming someone's reputation be worse than stripping them naked?  Is destroying a person's dignity and self-worth in the boardroom the moral equivalent of shoving your vagina in their face?  Do the people we step on to advance our careers become trophies mounted on the walls of our minds?  Perhaps Paula and Katie only personified what we figuratively do to each other every day.

In "Kiva's Fight Journal", after her old boyfriend watches her in a brutal fight, she explains it to him the same way.

I'm certainly not the first woman to connect metaphorical physical catfights with everyday behavior. Leora Tanenbaum wrote an entire book about it called "Catfight." https://www.leoratanenbaum.com/catfight All of the fight and wrestling paintings on my profile were created by women. In interviews, they have all said the same thing. Art reflects an underlying truth.

Finally, I understand the eroticism inherent in female fight fantasies. For me, it adds another dimension to the artistry, challenges, and fun of crafting a story. Because the eroticism means something different for everybody, that could be a topic for another post.

Do I watch catfight videos for inspiration?

Occasionally, depending on the story and fight style I'm writing about. It helps to have a visual reference.  For instance, I have watched several DWW/Fighting Dolls and old Festelle videos to get an idea of what a wrestling match between women wearing little or nothing would look like.

And yes, put your fingers to the keyboard and get started. You know these stories kicking around in your head better than anyone. That's the first step.

Fascinating.  Especially the part about you watching videos.  I've considered doing that recently.  You know...For science...But seriously though, I'm interested to know how it helped you craft the action in the story, and how much of a reference point is was.

[Kiva]

@Phoenix_Falcone: I'll occasionally look at videos to refresh myself on little things in a story I tend to leave out: sweat shining on skin, hair plastered to faces, grunts, the thud of bodies falling. Sometimes, I'm not sure how to end a fight, so I might scroll through images of submission holds.

A useful writing exercise might be to put a video into your words. That is, describe the fight/match focusing on pacing, describing the action without bogging down the narrative, knowing what to highlight and what to truncate.

You can also add your own literary embellishments to create fictional drama to the video. "Having been dominated for the past ten minutes, Lisa felt a heaviness in her chest, her lungs starving for oxygen as she rose to her feet. She stepped forward to face off again with the heavier Sarah, feeling like a battered ship dragging an anchor through the surf. She couldn't quit. Not now. Not with her boyfriend watching." Well...you get the idea.

Thank you so much for the shout out for my writing series index!

[Kiva]