Neil Faulkner wrote:
From: Betty Ragan ragan@sdc.org
There are lots of ways, actually, to write the characters talking about emotional issues without going into long passages of amateur psychoanalysis or discussions of the "let me tell you what I'm feeling" type. As a good canonical example, there's the scene between Avon and Cally at the beginning of "Sarcophagus." They only exchange a few sentences, but there's a vast wealth of characterization behind them. The simple fact that they're talking about emotional issues at *all* is significant all by itself, in fact. We *know* they're both suffering from recent events; it doesn't *need* to be made any more overt.
Oi! You're a self-confessed Character Junkie, remember? You're not allowed to say such things.
There are, Neil, many ways of being a Character Junkie. :) Seriously, the fact that you have to unravel these people like emotional onions, as opposed to having it all handed to you on a silver platter, is a large part of the appeal to me. (Hmm, "unravelling onions" is rather a mixed metaphor. But never mind.)
Because I agree with just about everything you say in that character, so either you're not really a CJ after all, or <shudder> maybe I am...
Heh heh heh. Be One of Us! Be One of Us!
Actually, I've always thought the characterizations in your fanfic were quite good, even if they're not the main focus of the story. Perhaps there's a closeted CJ inside you struggling to get out?
I feel all wretched now <sniff>
There, there. Tell us all about it, in exlicit, emotionally detailed dialog.
;)