The future of warfare in UC.
It's the trope where thinking in tropes messes up your writing.
Nous restons ici.
Aussie Tolkien freak
I don't know, I think in tropes quite a bit...
The road goes ever on. -Tolkien
Which is not, strictly, evidence countering Night's claim*.
Normally I might mention that it's possible to strip out all mention of tropes in the original post and come up with the fairly valid request for characters similar to this leader guy, since it can be useful to know what others have done that might be similar to your plans, but... the original post really is filled with warning signs.
That said, an answer fitting the question itself was surprisingly easy to find: Supporting Leader.
You will not go to space today.
The time is now,
Please be reassured I don't think in Tropes - I didn't think of "troping" the MS until quite a long way in. I described it in tropes in the OP, as this site is full of posts describing things in tropes- I was using it as shorthand in the context of the post.
As it happens I mention this site (though not by full name) in the story as a shout-out to you all! The guy (Rich) I'm talking about says
“I thought you wouldn’t touch old Sigmund Fraud with a bargepole?”
“Well, obviously I wouldn’t, but it’s not him I’m talking about. There is this thing on the internet called ‘Tropes’, sort of conventions used in fiction, that’s where Richard got ‘adorkable’ from. In a Freudian Trio, each man represents one of the three parts of the psyche. So in ‘The Three Musketeers’ there is Athos as the superego, Porthos being the id and Aramis as the ego.”
“Ah, a man of thought, a man of action, and the one who keeps them together,” Gabe said. He paused. “So I’d be the superego, and I suppose you think Jase was the id. You know real people are more complex than that, not some stereotype to fit into the story line?”
“Yes, of course I know that. Superegos don’t take off at the drop of a hat to help a friend in trouble. However it is useful shorthand for this particular conversation. You do know Jason wasn’t your best friend, it is Richard? He’s the one who kept you and Jason from going too far..."
Anyway, back to the post. Thanks for the try Greedling, but I don't think Supporting Leader is what I'm after He's more of a safe haven, its him that is telling Gabriel when he has been an idiot, he's the one who organises the group of friends, but in an effortless way, so you actually think its his wife that has done all the organising. I'm just interested to find out if there are any other secondary characters like that, so I can see how these characteristics are brought out without being too heavy about it.
(EDIT- Just found a typo in the original, or at least a proof reading error - I accidently described Rich as the Id (as well as Jason), when he should be the ego- I've fixed it)
edited 26th Nov '12 6:49:56 PM by LastHussar
Do the job in front of you.
So, been writting away, got 105k words in my romance, almost there. However I'm always looking; see if I can develope any character tighten things up. Wandered into the tropes looking for groups of 5, and read the '5 man band' one.
Now because its a romance the correlation isn't as strong, however there is a correlation. I found the 3 male characters were a classic Freudian Trio, with the main character, who is the 'literary' hero - ie he is the one who the book is about, and undergoes the change of characterisation as the Superego (over thinks stuff)
The ego, one of his best mates, would be the 5 man band 'Leader'. He is calm where as his wife, would be the Lancer - outgoing, tendency to say the wrong thing. Lead character is the Smart Guy, his other mate the Id/Big Guy (Royal Marine), and his wife most definately the Chick. They have been friends as a group for the past 25 years- since they were 16.
Although the 'Leader' is a secondary character, I've noticed within the world of the M/S (ie they don't see 'lead characters' they all have their own stories), he and his wife are the anchor of the group. They are the 'official couple' and have been since the age of 15. It is they that provide the calm point when the others are stressed, host the new year's eve party, and act as the centre around which the others orbit.
Now, some of you may have grown bored of my rants that you don't make characters from tropes, that's because I'm right, and you're wrong :)
, so this may seem an odd request - I'm looking for more examples of him so I can write him. Not so much I am trying to develop him from a trope, but more, which trope whoul he be, so I can see how others have written this type of person.
So. Secondary character who is actually the leader of the group. Which Trope?
edited 26th Nov '12 6:48:40 PM by LastHussar
Do the job in front of you.