Activity

Hey Guys,

I’m going to do a slightly more in-depth post about disposition for this week’s theme discussion topic. If you missed it, here’s my first post on disposition: https://storyembers.org/forums/topic/disposition/

This being a relatively new idea for me, I’m still learning about it and I did a lot of that learning over the past week. The first thing I want to do is define disposition deeper, then I’ll try to give a real example from what I’ve been working on.

In my last post, I said disposition could be stated as a statement of how the current state is viewed followed by a basic emotional reaction. Example: life is full, I can’t get enough of it. I’m going to call this a basic disposition. There is also a full disposition.

A full disposition dives into these details:

• What from the previous scene (or backstory) has led the character to their current disposition? (Example: Their best friend arrived at their birthday party.)
• What are the finer details of how they view their current state? (Example: life feels so full except for the fact that one of their friends can’t attend.)
• How does their disposition affect their goals/plans?
• What influences the disposition to change over the scene? How does the disposition change? (Examples: the friend that couldn’t come ends up showing up and now life is even better, they get a call that Grandma is very sick — now life is okay but it’s hard to get any satisfaction knowing what could come, someone the kid doesn’t like shows up and the kid decides to love him anyway — now it’s not just life with friends that’s full, but life in general.)

That last point is very important. If the disposition doesn’t change at least somewhat during the scene, the scene probably won’t be very interesting. Stuff may happen, but it’s not affecting anything. Also, if something truly important does happen, it’s important to carefully show the change of dispositon, because that if you’ll recall from my last post is the only ground upon which the reader can stand to establish an emotional connection with the scene.

As a bonus point, I think it’s best if a disposition can tie into your character’s yearning. Sometimes you may be able to draw the connection in their basic disposition, but other times you may need to dive into their full disposition to find the connection. If you can make this connection in every scene, then you will have a very emotionally resonant story. Each scene will be emotionally resonant and each scene will work toward a common emotional/spiritual theme.

Now for a practical example. The following selections are from the beginning of the second chapter of a story I’m working on editing. #1 is what my first draft said, #2 is what I revised it to. Let me know if you can tell how version #2 does much better at focusing on the disposition. If not, I can clarify.

#1

The question every human asks is “what?”

The liars say they want to know the “why?” of everything, but if they knew what , then the why behind it would follow naturally. It was no coincidence that after asking many “whys”, Mortristan found himself headed toward a practical encounter with a physical garden and a real woman. If not at his mother’s bidding, he would have sought the real world in some way himself.

Through rolling pastures and forest gardens and gardens thick as forests, he spent the time looking out his carriage window. Perhaps it was a trick of the mind after seeing the shadow at his father’s passing, but he thought he detected shreds of the same presence here and there, always out of the corner of his eye. Was the shadowy film real? Had it been there all his life, or was he only now imagining it? These were questions of “what”. Mortristan had stepped on the slippery slope.

His mother was insistent that she was not coming with him. He must, she said, be able to talk freely one on one or he would never be cured of his stiff melancholy. Mortristran shrugged and bid her farewell at his destination.

#2

As they rumbled along the road toward Eliysha’s, Mortristan sat with his chin propped in his hand, glued to his window. The light from outside made the inside of the carriage feel like a mobil prison cell, but not everything was bright. Perhaps it was a trick of the mind after seeing the shadow at his father’s Passing, but he thought he detected shreds of the same presence here and there, always out of the corner of his eye. Was the shadowy film real? Had it been there all his life, or was he only now imagining it?

Something like glue ate at his stomach.

For a man whose father had died, who realized that everything he had could be taken away from him, he had a right to ask ‘why’.

Mortristan asked ‘what’. What had he to look forward to?

As he thought about it, he was able to digest the glue in his guts. He even closed his eyes. His dreams put him to sleep until they arrived at the destination.

Mortristan got out at the roadside stop. His mother was insistent that she was not coming with him. He must, she said, be able to talk freely alone or he would never be cured of his stiff melancholy. Mortristran shrugged and bid her farewell.

@cindy @kate @elizabeth @r-m-archer @literatureforthelight @m_corinnemusic @j-parkhurst @gabbyj @sierraret @cassandraia @chalice @noahlitle @julianne @germaine-han @maddiejay @ssesi @r-j-karas @arrethtraen @rosemarylouise @msqueen8 @samuel @eden-anderson