Awesome topic!! I personally think NOBODY is good at life. I think some people may try to act like they are and act like everything is all rainbows and unicorns, but truly... none of us are "good at life". We're all just humans trying to figure out how to survive in this crazy world. And while practice does help you grow, it never makes you perfect.
On behalf of teenagers, we are quite possibly the last people that need a 'good at life' main character. I think in our hyper-glamorized social media world, books are one of the best places to find a relatable, flawed character. For me, the inherent humanity in literature is what allows us to connect to characters from times and universes vastly different from ours (though hearing a teenage boy call Oedipus "so relatable" was a low point in my education). I imagine most golden retrievers have anxieties and insecurities of their own, and first-person narration of the thoughts behind the mask really humanizes those characters. The incredible job you did with that for SGE is what pulled me into that series so long ago. I'm so excited for the new book, and so confident it will be amazing!
Tedros is a golden-retriever character, isn't he? On the surface, he looks like he's got it all going on, and then once you get in his head, you realize he is a big, big old mess. This new protag has a lotta Tedros in him, ha ha.
I love this topic! It's so fascinating to me because I have found that the most engaging and likeable characters aren't the perfect ones, or the boring ones, but the ones that give everything their all and do so continuously even if they fail along the way. I think this is why villains are often considered favorites in certain fandoms because they might not be good, but they have a goal/purpose that they are constantly working towards in interesting ways. And, like everyone else, I am so excited for your book!!!!!
I heard Vincent Price give a lecture years ago, "The Villain Still Pursues Me," where he argued that the bad guys were always the most completely rendered character in any story, and that's why he was initially drawn to portray them. He felt it didn't take depth of character to be perceived as good. But the viewer/listener/reader always wants to know why the bad guy is motivated to do the things that he/she does.
I think if you had this discussion with some of your favorite Human Golden Retrievers, they would not see their lives in that way. Other people's lives look SO easy from the outside, because we are painfully aware only of what WE are going through inside. It's our preoccupation with our own thoughts, fears, faults, and insecurities that make us just a little bit envious of the people we idealize as HGRs. Every single one of them that I've gotten to know have just as many hangups as I do. In fact, I'll venture that I'm sure that someone, at some point, characterized you like that in their mind. It's the infernal isolation of the human mind that accounts for it. That's why fictional characters always have that kind of flaw or issue... because we ALL do... whether others see it plainly or not. ;)
You are so very right. I always wonder what it would be like to be in someone else's mind... would it be like stepping onto a different planet? Are brains organized that differently?
Sounds like something to ask Plato. Is 'reality' just a light projected onto the blank wall of a cave that we view (and each perceive differently?) Too deep for me on a rainy Wednesday morning. LOL
Interesting thought. I think that characters should have some kind of imperfection, but it doesn't have to be MAJOR to be good. Sometimes, major tragedy doesn't really fit well with someone and it can come off as dramatic and pretentious.
One of my favorite themes in literature is overcoming fear! And I love when it doesn't change the core of who they are but makes them better. For example, somebody could still be sweet, caring, and shy, but better able to face their fears.
I remember seeing ROMAN HOLIDAY, the movie, and thinking... this movie has no conflict. And something about it made me totally relax. The idea that you just sail through this lovely Roman vista for 90 mins with characters who have no problems and nothing bad happens to them... I feel like that should be a title for a novel: NOTHING BAD HAPPENS. It would be a big hit, I suspect.
Ok this idea about these kinds of opposite-of-brooding main characters is something I've been thinking about for a long time but you've put it into words. I so desperately want more of these characters! Maybe this is one reason I've always been drawn to the grumpy + sunshine trope, because the sunshine characters are treated as the source of light they really are.
But then everyone gets mad if the sunshine characters don't have an... ARC! Can't someone go through life just pure sunshine that's never clouded over?? Ha ha. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
Hahaha so true! One of my all-time favorite types of story moments is when the sunshine character has a minor breakdown and shows just how much they work at being the sunshine. I wish I could think of more examples, but my favorite is Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, particularly the Emma Thompson version. She's not exactly sunshine, I suppose, but she's the responsible, calm, always held together one, and then in those breakdown moments we see how much work she really puts into it, before she goes right back to being the put together one again.
But then also...you're absolutely right. Just the purely unclouded sunshine characters are so wonderful and refreshing sometimes.
As a person who do sports and performance and writing and the types of arts that express "myself" to the audience, sometimes it's so hard to not fear. And after doing those things for a while, I also start to wonder, is it ever possible to live without fear in life? Or do we just get better at managing those emotions?
There are so many fictional characters who I can think of that are "Good at Life". But even they struggle with their own flaws - sometimes those flaws are the ones that created their problems instead of any external factors. On one side, maybe we are drawn to certain characters because they appear confident and perfect and we want to be *them*, maybe the way you felt to Noah (or like Rhian to Vulcan - I just had to make this comparison because what you said made me think of them immediately!). But at some point, having flaws can make those characters less like written words on paper and more like human - with relatable flaws and inspirational characteristics that allowed them to just do what has to be done.
And now I'm also curious about the muscle shirts =)))
I think that's the thing -- the characters with flaws are the ones we relate to and ache for... but the ones without them are so COMFORTING to read. Like there's nothing to worry about because they'll solve it all in the end... I wonder if that's why detective mysteries like Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie are so soothing too!
I’m only fifteen, but since I was a kid I can remember feeling like everyone else had some sort of map to being effortlessly cool, collected, and smart. I was a loud, abrasive elementary school kid, and I didn’t know how to hold onto friends because I assumed everyone disliked me anyway. Then we got to the age where we actually started to talk about how we felt, and when I found out that everyone felt EXACTLY like me, life started to be less scary. I still got anxious, I still felt judged, but at least everyone else felt that way. Then I read Adam Grant’s ‘Hidden Potential’ a few months ago and HOLY crap I swear it changed my life. No need to go into detail, but suffice to say, I don’t know if I’m ‘good’ at life, but I DO think I’m better at being almost fearless than most people my age.
P.S. these diary entries are one of the best parts of my week; it feels like I’m reading the words of a friend. Plus I am SO hyped for the book UGHH!!!!
Okay, I better read this book! It sound wonderful and I'm a fan of Adam Grant. I wish I had the fearlessness. I have so many skills, but fearlessness is not one. When it came time to choose a partner, I picked the biggest, sturdiest one I could find ha ha. And I'm excited that *you're* excited about the book... It's a fun one :)
Truly I think the book made me better at being okay with making mistakes, or knowing that the more mistakes I make, the more I’m actually growing (which is something the tell you in elementary school but not something you believe). With practice, I think that’s what turns into fearlessness ;)
For the longest time I felt like I was awful at life and got to a point where I really didn’t want a life anymore. I’ve been on the road of recovery and I’m trying to learn what being “Good at Life”means to me
I really love your definition and that is effectively what I’m striving towards day by day
But you have to take in baby steps :)
You have to learn to be good at life one day at a time
I wonder if you don't really get good at life until the very, very end... and right as you get there... it's over. Kind of like a roller coaster where just like when you're finally having fun on the ride... you're back at the beginning. (Poor Noah. His life is just perfect without me, ha ha.)
Awesome topic!! I personally think NOBODY is good at life. I think some people may try to act like they are and act like everything is all rainbows and unicorns, but truly... none of us are "good at life". We're all just humans trying to figure out how to survive in this crazy world. And while practice does help you grow, it never makes you perfect.
On behalf of teenagers, we are quite possibly the last people that need a 'good at life' main character. I think in our hyper-glamorized social media world, books are one of the best places to find a relatable, flawed character. For me, the inherent humanity in literature is what allows us to connect to characters from times and universes vastly different from ours (though hearing a teenage boy call Oedipus "so relatable" was a low point in my education). I imagine most golden retrievers have anxieties and insecurities of their own, and first-person narration of the thoughts behind the mask really humanizes those characters. The incredible job you did with that for SGE is what pulled me into that series so long ago. I'm so excited for the new book, and so confident it will be amazing!
Tedros is a golden-retriever character, isn't he? On the surface, he looks like he's got it all going on, and then once you get in his head, you realize he is a big, big old mess. This new protag has a lotta Tedros in him, ha ha.
I love this topic! It's so fascinating to me because I have found that the most engaging and likeable characters aren't the perfect ones, or the boring ones, but the ones that give everything their all and do so continuously even if they fail along the way. I think this is why villains are often considered favorites in certain fandoms because they might not be good, but they have a goal/purpose that they are constantly working towards in interesting ways. And, like everyone else, I am so excited for your book!!!!!
I never thought of villains as Good at Life, but you're right! They just plow ahead with no self-doubt. Ha. Great, great point.
I heard Vincent Price give a lecture years ago, "The Villain Still Pursues Me," where he argued that the bad guys were always the most completely rendered character in any story, and that's why he was initially drawn to portray them. He felt it didn't take depth of character to be perceived as good. But the viewer/listener/reader always wants to know why the bad guy is motivated to do the things that he/she does.
I think if you had this discussion with some of your favorite Human Golden Retrievers, they would not see their lives in that way. Other people's lives look SO easy from the outside, because we are painfully aware only of what WE are going through inside. It's our preoccupation with our own thoughts, fears, faults, and insecurities that make us just a little bit envious of the people we idealize as HGRs. Every single one of them that I've gotten to know have just as many hangups as I do. In fact, I'll venture that I'm sure that someone, at some point, characterized you like that in their mind. It's the infernal isolation of the human mind that accounts for it. That's why fictional characters always have that kind of flaw or issue... because we ALL do... whether others see it plainly or not. ;)
You are so very right. I always wonder what it would be like to be in someone else's mind... would it be like stepping onto a different planet? Are brains organized that differently?
Sounds like something to ask Plato. Is 'reality' just a light projected onto the blank wall of a cave that we view (and each perceive differently?) Too deep for me on a rainy Wednesday morning. LOL
Interesting thought. I think that characters should have some kind of imperfection, but it doesn't have to be MAJOR to be good. Sometimes, major tragedy doesn't really fit well with someone and it can come off as dramatic and pretentious.
One of my favorite themes in literature is overcoming fear! And I love when it doesn't change the core of who they are but makes them better. For example, somebody could still be sweet, caring, and shy, but better able to face their fears.
I remember seeing ROMAN HOLIDAY, the movie, and thinking... this movie has no conflict. And something about it made me totally relax. The idea that you just sail through this lovely Roman vista for 90 mins with characters who have no problems and nothing bad happens to them... I feel like that should be a title for a novel: NOTHING BAD HAPPENS. It would be a big hit, I suspect.
Ok this idea about these kinds of opposite-of-brooding main characters is something I've been thinking about for a long time but you've put it into words. I so desperately want more of these characters! Maybe this is one reason I've always been drawn to the grumpy + sunshine trope, because the sunshine characters are treated as the source of light they really are.
But then everyone gets mad if the sunshine characters don't have an... ARC! Can't someone go through life just pure sunshine that's never clouded over?? Ha ha. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
Hahaha so true! One of my all-time favorite types of story moments is when the sunshine character has a minor breakdown and shows just how much they work at being the sunshine. I wish I could think of more examples, but my favorite is Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, particularly the Emma Thompson version. She's not exactly sunshine, I suppose, but she's the responsible, calm, always held together one, and then in those breakdown moments we see how much work she really puts into it, before she goes right back to being the put together one again.
But then also...you're absolutely right. Just the purely unclouded sunshine characters are so wonderful and refreshing sometimes.
As a person who do sports and performance and writing and the types of arts that express "myself" to the audience, sometimes it's so hard to not fear. And after doing those things for a while, I also start to wonder, is it ever possible to live without fear in life? Or do we just get better at managing those emotions?
There are so many fictional characters who I can think of that are "Good at Life". But even they struggle with their own flaws - sometimes those flaws are the ones that created their problems instead of any external factors. On one side, maybe we are drawn to certain characters because they appear confident and perfect and we want to be *them*, maybe the way you felt to Noah (or like Rhian to Vulcan - I just had to make this comparison because what you said made me think of them immediately!). But at some point, having flaws can make those characters less like written words on paper and more like human - with relatable flaws and inspirational characteristics that allowed them to just do what has to be done.
And now I'm also curious about the muscle shirts =)))
I think that's the thing -- the characters with flaws are the ones we relate to and ache for... but the ones without them are so COMFORTING to read. Like there's nothing to worry about because they'll solve it all in the end... I wonder if that's why detective mysteries like Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie are so soothing too!
In the end, we all need that sense of comfort knowing that everything will work out I guess!
I’m only fifteen, but since I was a kid I can remember feeling like everyone else had some sort of map to being effortlessly cool, collected, and smart. I was a loud, abrasive elementary school kid, and I didn’t know how to hold onto friends because I assumed everyone disliked me anyway. Then we got to the age where we actually started to talk about how we felt, and when I found out that everyone felt EXACTLY like me, life started to be less scary. I still got anxious, I still felt judged, but at least everyone else felt that way. Then I read Adam Grant’s ‘Hidden Potential’ a few months ago and HOLY crap I swear it changed my life. No need to go into detail, but suffice to say, I don’t know if I’m ‘good’ at life, but I DO think I’m better at being almost fearless than most people my age.
P.S. these diary entries are one of the best parts of my week; it feels like I’m reading the words of a friend. Plus I am SO hyped for the book UGHH!!!!
Okay, I better read this book! It sound wonderful and I'm a fan of Adam Grant. I wish I had the fearlessness. I have so many skills, but fearlessness is not one. When it came time to choose a partner, I picked the biggest, sturdiest one I could find ha ha. And I'm excited that *you're* excited about the book... It's a fun one :)
Truly I think the book made me better at being okay with making mistakes, or knowing that the more mistakes I make, the more I’m actually growing (which is something the tell you in elementary school but not something you believe). With practice, I think that’s what turns into fearlessness ;)
I really love the concept of being good at life
For the longest time I felt like I was awful at life and got to a point where I really didn’t want a life anymore. I’ve been on the road of recovery and I’m trying to learn what being “Good at Life”means to me
I really love your definition and that is effectively what I’m striving towards day by day
But you have to take in baby steps :)
You have to learn to be good at life one day at a time
Ps. Noah really missed out ;)
I wonder if you don't really get good at life until the very, very end... and right as you get there... it's over. Kind of like a roller coaster where just like when you're finally having fun on the ride... you're back at the beginning. (Poor Noah. His life is just perfect without me, ha ha.)