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Sir Terry Pratchett had several characters who, like Jack Sparrow, were used sparingly in the stories of others, but had a strong presence both in terms of their impact on the story, and in terms o...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T21:57:27Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38989 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T09:50:06Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38989 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Sir Terry Pratchett had several characters who, like Jack Sparrow, were used sparingly in the stories of others, but had a strong presence both in terms of their impact on the story, and in terms of the way the audience saw them. Pratchett wrote: > Like Death and the Librarian, I tend to use Vetinari sparingly, lest he take over every plot. (_The Art of Discworld_) So what is it that gives a character such a presence that they have a strong impact on the story without having a lot of presence, and in their brief time in the limelight they attract a following easily comparable to the main protagonists'? - The first thing, I think is charisma. They are compelling personalities. In fact, if you think about it, Jack Sparrow is particularly known for his outrageous charisma. - Second, they are extreme in some way, compared to the more balanced protagonist. They are not bound by rules that most characters in the same story consider binding. They stand out. - Third, they're badass in whatever it is they do. Such characters are "too much" for the focus of the story - they are too big, too outrageous. So they are used sparingly, like strong spice.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-09-17T20:30:31Z (about 6 years ago)
Original score: 35