In general, the characters that 'stick' are the ones that come to full life in my mind. The characters that I wonder about myself. I figure that if I'm captivated by them then I've struck onto something and readers will respond. It's my job not just to tell stories but to make you care about the people in them. As James Brooks told the Simpsons writers early in, "Don't be afraid to have these character have heart."
And pay strict attention to what the fans like about those characters and that world. Don't turn Luke Skywalker into a miserable schlub.
No. The plan is to give readers what they want but not in the way they expected it. If a writer responds to much to the fan's wishes then he's boxing himself in and lowering expectations rather than raising them. I'm sure if they took a poll back then, X-Men readers would have voted not to have Phoenix die.
I still work the way I've always worked. Once i have the general story worked out in my head, the MacGuffin, the Big Scene and the main conflict i start thinking about how the story will open. Then it's straight to script! Basically, the same for prose.
The hero can have flaws but not at his core. At the core, the hero just be resolute and able to overcome any challenge in the end. I mean, Spider-man makes a lot of bonehead choices in his life but always comes out on top in the end.
The character Lew Dollinger in my Levon Cade novels. I created him to be an irredeemable louse but he kept getting smarter and smarter and more engaging. He's still a louse but a high-functioning louse.
Well, you have to have the fight scenes, right? That's when all the talking in the world isn't going to work it out.
