How about delving into another of the three elements of story: character? (The three elements being character, setting, and plot 😄) I'm not going to go in any special order with these.
Here's a provocative sentence I came across:
Archetypes are masks of a complete human being.
Last month I unpacked archetype. Let's look at the mask.
Literal masks usually represent supernatural beings, ancestors, imagined figures, or non-human beings.
Literary masks are the representation of an ideal worn by a character. As such, they keep that character separate/distanced from change, contradiction, interaction with other people, and even fully understanding themselves.
The character's mask is formed by their attitudes and actions (but not reactions) and are usually a conscious commitment to the identity of the mask.
An example of a mask: I am a truthful person. (No real person is entirely truthful.) When faced with a situation in which the truth would cause harm, I don't lie, I only embroider what I say a little. (Note the denial of reality. When this character is caught in a lie, they will deny it to themselves (action) but feel bad for some unknown reason (reaction).)
Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.
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