By Cara Putman, @cara_putman
One of the classes I have taught at Krannert is Persuasion & Communications, a class for Masters of Marketing students. One lens I use as I teach these students is the Story Wars by Jonah Sachs. He uses the mythological construct of the Hero’s Journey for marketing purposes. You can watch a short video on it here.
Then I transition to talking about how great stories have great characters. Usually I can connect with my students, no matter where they are from, by talking about superhero movies. There is so much we can learn, good and bad, from those movies.
Why mention this here? Because characters matter deeply in novels. We have to give our readers a reason to connect and want to know what happens to our hero and heroine.
So what can we learn from movies that will help us build great, richly layered characters?
- Always layer darkness with light. No one is 100% evil, just like no one is 100% good.
Why do we love Marvel over DC? Because the movies on whole aren’t as dark. There’s a good v. evil that is clear…most of the time. Last summer we watched the Marvel movies in order, and the kids teased me because I had a notebook where I jotted details about how the characters developed over time. In the Marvel universe they managed to take a character I really didn’t like…I almost despised him in the first couple of movies, and turn him into a hero who has me sobbing each time I watch End Game. Have you guessed who I mean? Yep, Tony Stark and Iron Man. At the same time they can take a character I adore (Captain America) because he represents everything that is good…justice, self-sacrifice, truth, etc.…and make him much more multi-layered and complicated as he confronts the realities of a world that has changed so much while he was on ice.
- Character arc and transformation is key. How will your character grow?
Think about the last movie you watched that gripped your heart. One that had a character you rooted for and cared about. What was it about that character that gripped you?
One I come back to over and over is Wonder Woman. The No Man’s Land scene is at the halfway point, and it is a scene I can literally watch over and over. It is the point where Diana has to choose who she is going to be in this new world she finds herself in. You watch her transform from something of an ingenue, into the Amazon warrior. She chooses to step into that identity and it is powerful. So powerful, that when I need to be inspired, I will turn on just that scene and watch it to be reminded of how gripping that character transformation can be. Sidenote, I didn’t like DC movies until they added Wonder Woman. Interesting, no?
- The most touching characters may battle aliens, but they are about relationships and the complexity that resides there.
Over the weekend we watched The Mitchells v. the Machines. It was a powerful story about family and challenges we can go through to understand each other. We all laughed and then I may have teared up with some of the scenes between the father and teenage daughter. It was relatable and touching, and the characterization rolled back in a slow fashion adding layers as the movie progressed. It touched on deep themes on multiple levels. How can we add those layers of depth to our characters?
Then we could talk about some of my favorite classic movies. The Thin Man. You Can’t Take it With You. It Happened One Night. Or some of the more recent classics like Titanic. But the next time you watch a movie have a notebook nearby to jot thoughts in as you watch the characterization.
If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.
Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home.
When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda?
Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her?
This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.
“Intriguing characters. Romantic tension. Edge-of-your-seat suspense. And a fast-paced ending that will leave you exhausted (in a good way!).” —Robert Whitlow, award-winning author of Promised Land
Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently marketing book 36 and dreaming up future books, not hard when she sees what-ifs everywhere.
Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW and gives back to the writing community through her service on Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.
Cara is also an attorney, full-time lecturer at a Big Ten university, and all-around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.putman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cara_putman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caracputman/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cara-putman
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/939004.Cara_C_Putman
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cara-C-Putman/e/B001T2AM3I/