This made me think about parenting more than writing. Sometimes my daughter reacts to something in a way that makes no sense to me until I stop focusing on the behavior and start wondering what she’s feeling underneath it. That doesn’t mean every reaction is okay but understanding where it’s coming from changes how I respond. The same idea seems to apply to characters. Thank you Idris Elijah for continuing to provide quality content that can be applied to our relationships and daily lives!
You’re most welcome, Maria! Thank you so much for showing up for me every week and sharing your insightful perspective. I’m not a parent, but when I am, your many anecdotes will be remembered. Priceless!! 🤗🤗🤗
I can relate to the line about writers judging characters before understanding them. I’ve caught myself doing exactly that. The moment I decide a character is “the bad one,” they immediately become less interesting on the page. The more curious I become about their internal logic, the more alive they feel. This felt like a writing lesson disguised as a lesson about people. Great storytelling and character building tips here, Thank you Idris Elijah for another valuable writing newsletter!
What stood out to me was the idea that everyone is operating from a story. I’ve started noticing that in songwriting too. The most compelling songs aren’t usually about heroes and villains. They’re about people trying to justify themselves, protect themselves or make sense of something painful. That’s where the tension lives. Thank you Idris Elijah, this has given me an idea for a song I’ve been thinking about writing!
Love to hear it! So glad you got a lot out of this one. I like the point you made. Compelling songs are about people trying to justify themselves, protect themselves or make sense of something painful. Pure gold! 🤩🤩🤩
I loved the point about curiosity creating depth. When I’m painting people, the portrait gets stronger when I stop trying to decide who they are and start observing them. The moment judgment enters, everything becomes flatter. Observation always reveals more than assumptions. I can definitely apply character creation and storytelling to my visual work so thank you for sharing this with us Idris Elijah!
One thing I appreciate about your newsletters is how often they come back to interpretation. Whether you’re writing about memory, assumptions, relationships or now villains, the theme is surprisingly consistent: people don’t respond to reality directly. They respond to the meaning they’ve assigned to it. This felt like another piece of that puzzle and I think one of the strongest examples yet. Thank you for another interesting read Idris, I very much enjoyed this topic!
This made me think about parenting more than writing. Sometimes my daughter reacts to something in a way that makes no sense to me until I stop focusing on the behavior and start wondering what she’s feeling underneath it. That doesn’t mean every reaction is okay but understanding where it’s coming from changes how I respond. The same idea seems to apply to characters. Thank you Idris Elijah for continuing to provide quality content that can be applied to our relationships and daily lives!
You’re most welcome, Maria! Thank you so much for showing up for me every week and sharing your insightful perspective. I’m not a parent, but when I am, your many anecdotes will be remembered. Priceless!! 🤗🤗🤗
I can relate to the line about writers judging characters before understanding them. I’ve caught myself doing exactly that. The moment I decide a character is “the bad one,” they immediately become less interesting on the page. The more curious I become about their internal logic, the more alive they feel. This felt like a writing lesson disguised as a lesson about people. Great storytelling and character building tips here, Thank you Idris Elijah for another valuable writing newsletter!
Thank you so much, Chloe! You’re too kind. You made several valuable points here. Especially the one about curiosity. It’s the key to a lot. 🤗🤗🤗
What stood out to me was the idea that everyone is operating from a story. I’ve started noticing that in songwriting too. The most compelling songs aren’t usually about heroes and villains. They’re about people trying to justify themselves, protect themselves or make sense of something painful. That’s where the tension lives. Thank you Idris Elijah, this has given me an idea for a song I’ve been thinking about writing!
Love to hear it! So glad you got a lot out of this one. I like the point you made. Compelling songs are about people trying to justify themselves, protect themselves or make sense of something painful. Pure gold! 🤩🤩🤩
I loved the point about curiosity creating depth. When I’m painting people, the portrait gets stronger when I stop trying to decide who they are and start observing them. The moment judgment enters, everything becomes flatter. Observation always reveals more than assumptions. I can definitely apply character creation and storytelling to my visual work so thank you for sharing this with us Idris Elijah!
Ayyyye, I love it! Would love to see some of your work one day. 🤩🤗🤩
One thing I appreciate about your newsletters is how often they come back to interpretation. Whether you’re writing about memory, assumptions, relationships or now villains, the theme is surprisingly consistent: people don’t respond to reality directly. They respond to the meaning they’ve assigned to it. This felt like another piece of that puzzle and I think one of the strongest examples yet. Thank you for another interesting read Idris, I very much enjoyed this topic!
You’re welcome! So pleased you enjoyed this one and the breadcrumbs. 🤩🤩🤩
Judge not lest ye be judged.
So what's your story?
How do you mean? Don’t want to keep you here forever.lol