Please welcome author Rosemary Clement-Moore, the award winning author of supernatural mystery novels for young (and not so young) adults. Her books range from scary and funny (the Maggie Quinn: Girl versus Evil series) to spooky and romantic (The Splendor Falls). Today Rosemary will be discussing character reactions. Enjoy!
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That way hysterical! I’d have to say you illustrated your point because I was definitely laughing as hard as you were. On a more serious note, you gave some great advice. I’ll make sure my characters are demonstrating motivated reactions to the situations they’re in.
That was hilarious xD
Good points here.
Love it! LOL!! The Pie in the Face is a great method and one I won’t forget . . . plus, I think there may have been some subliminal (or not so subliminal) messages in there because now I want pie!
I love her brothers reaction. He freezes then sibling revenge!
And now I’m hungry! What a great sport your brother was. I like this method of reminding myself to keep my character’s motivated reactions at the front of my mind.
Great illustration here and what a great brother to take the pie in the face for your video!
Nice video!
*wiping tears of laughter and going to add some internal dialogue to manuscript after eating a piece of pie*
Your brother seems like a good sport. I hope you picked his favorite pie.
I’m so glad you shared these thoughts (and slices!), Rosemary. I can’t tell you how much your points have helped me in my own writing and revisions. Without that second step involving interior emotion and thought, action is just heartless choreography.
Thanks!
LOL. This was hilarious. I love how your brother reacted, before you could get out that your brother would react in some way. And that wasn’t staged was it? If it was staged you guys are brilliant actors. Either way. Too Funny.
But informative too. An Under 4 minute video, and I know how to approach my characters’ internal dialogue.
Now, where can I go find a piece of pie?
That whole “What just happened?” explanation is just what I needed. And the pie aspect reminds me – we only have one piece of Key Lime pie left here at Chez Wheedleton, so I’m off to go lick it and stake my claim before somebody else does…
The pie-in-the-face demonstration was… priceless.
Although it has made me want pie (just not in my face).
That was hilarious! You sure did look like you were enjoying smashing the pie in your brother’s face! He’s a great sport, and thanks to you both for this fun video.
The pie in the face method is now forever in my brain!
(so, what flavor was it?)
Love it!
Entirely too much fun!
Haha, I love Rosemary! This video was hilarious. I loved the cutaway, “mmm pie” moments.
On a side note, I went to clown school a couple years ago (yes, clown school)…and we had an entire class on taking a pie to the face. That was a really FUN day.
That was hilarious… and so much help. I’ve been having trouble dealing with my character’s reactions lately so this was right up the alley of what I NEEDED.
I’m certain I will not forget this lesson.
A+
Rosemary, you are amazing. And props to your brother.
That was hilarious! Definitely a spew monent! I had just taken a drink of tea and almost drenched my keyboard when your brother got his revenge. I loved the last shot as you still had some whipped cream in your hair. : )
Can I borrow your brother? I need to see that over again
Great analogy, and great fun!
Okay, that was a riot! Who knew research could be so fun and tasty? *searches for something sweet to eat*
Best writing lesson ever!
Mmmm. Pie.
I’m a very visual person, so the demonstration helped a lot. What kind of pie was that? It looked fruity.
OMGosh! That was the funniest writing lesson ever! Not only was it funny, but enlightening — and yummy!!
Fantabulicious demo. I especially loved that little yelp of surprise when he hit you back. Priceless.
That made me smile! Thank you!
Okay, that was darling! Mmm…pie!
Internalize and react! Got it. I will never forget it now!
Thank you!
Hands-on visuals are the best. I can’t wait to try this method out on my brother:-)
What a funny way to teach this. I loved it. it was so professionally done too. I’m guessing that you could produce a great book trailer too.
Fantastic! And honestly, it’s a great way to look at character emotion. Now where have I heard that music before? FoodTV? HGTV? Travel Channel?
Thank you, Rosemary! This was great…:)
Great job, Rosemary! You are always so clever–and this was a memorable lesson!
This was great! I found it to be very helpful, and it certainly will make an impact on my writing.
I especially like the point that their action needs to be a reaction to the event rather than simply a way to move the character to a new setting. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Funny and informative
Thank you!
Haha! That was a great demonstration. Thanks for the advice, Rosemary.
LOL! Will remember this lesson.
Thanks, Rosemary
That was hilarious and a good lesson. Thanks, Rosemary!
Hi guys! I couldn’t log on yesterday, so I’m just now seeing your comments. Thanks! I’m glad the video was actually helpful. That ‘pie in the face’ moment seems so simple, (and sometimes it’s really small) but when it’s missing you know it. If I go: something is flat here but I don’t know what, it’s usually the internalization moment.
Some people think this adds a lot of word count, or slows things down, but it absolutely doesn’t have to. You’re replacing empty gestures with meaningful responses.
Oh, and my brother was GREAT. We didn’t plan anything other than “I’m going to throw a pie in your face.” (I had to bribe him by making him a (different) pie to eat. It was lemon icebox, by the way. The eating one, I mean. The one we threw was just whipped cream.)
What a fantastic way to get the point across and help us remember to always use the 5 senses in our writing! I wont be forgetting that anytime soon.
Wait, where’s my brother, he needs a pie in his face now just to ensure I never will forget that method!
This was a brilliant visual display of how characters need to react with all of their senses. Thank you so much Rosemary, (and Rosemary’s Brother!)
mmmm, pie. Now I’m hungry for pie and will need a piece every time I’m writing.
Yes, your brother was GREAT! You gave him a chance to react, and he played right along! Hee, hee! Glad he got some good pie in his tummy, too!
[...] If you want a video explanation of the pie in the face method, you can see me explaining it here. [...]