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Characteristic Entry Action vs building on the mundane

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Adam:
From JB's blog:

--- Quote ---3. INTRODUCTION

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. When your reader meets any given character for the first time, it is critical to make sure you get the bare bones of your character into his head immediately. By establishing your character firmly, you'll make the whole process of virtual-story-world-creation move more quickly and easily. There are multiple techniques for planning a strong introduction, but I'm only going to hit on the strongest one: CHARACTERISTIC ENTRY ACTION.

A solid CHARACTERISTIC ENTRY ACTION consists of introducing your character to the reader by bringing him into the story in the course of an action which clearly, sharply typifies who and what he is.

Lethal Weapon 2 starts off in the front seat of a stationwagon during a police chase, with Mel Gibson howling in excitement and pounding on the ceiling while Danny Glover fumbles for the siren, tries to talk on the radio, and tries to convince Mel that they don't really need to be doing this. It strongly establishes both characters as cops. It demonstrates Mel's love of wild action, Danny's cautious approach to his work, and the relationship dynamic between the two. (I liked it so much that I borrowed shamelessly from it to start off Grave Peril.)

Every Bond Pic that opens on the "opening mission" template does the same thing: it shows you Bond being a heroic spy and engaging in lots of danger and action.

Your character is a frustrated high school nerd? Then have him come on stage late for his school bus, which promptly drives away even though the driver obviously saw him coming. (IE, Spider-Man.) Your character is a titanic lumberjack? Then start him off towering over the north woods and felling fifty trees with each swing of his axe.

Make the introduction count. This is something you can't afford to screw up.

--- End quote ---
Thus far I'm finding the tips there very helpful.  And I do realise the reason for the quoted suggestion.  However, I'm curious about what you all think of building a story about a normal person put in an extraordinary situation which compels the normal person to become extraordinary himself.

For example, in Star Wars we have a moisture farmer who initially displays nothing very interesting, apart from a powerful ability to whine a lot.  At the start, there's no flashing special effects, no groovy sword-play, no crushing throats with his mind.  Just a farmer.  He tinkers with some droids, drives a speeder (car), and whines.  Did I mention he whines?  However, he's plunged into an extraordinary situation, and develops into something more than the mundane farmer kid.

So I'm interested in your opinions on two matters here:

1) What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of starting with a mundane character and developing the character through extraordinary adventures, as opposed to plopping an initially interesting character in the reader's lap from the start?

2) If going with a regular person at first, what sorts of things can you suggest to make that regular, normal person worth reading about from the start?

Adam:
Actually, to use the quoted example: If you were reading Spiderman, and it started with a nerdy kid getting left behind by the bus, what would make you interested in that nerdy kid?

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: Adam on May 05, 2008, 03:38:42 PM ---Actually, to use the quoted example: If you were reading Spiderman, and it started with a nerdy kid getting left behind by the bus, what would make you interested in that nerdy kid?

--- End quote ---

That someone thought he was worth focusing a book on. I read too fast to give up on things if I don't like the first scene.

If he doesn't turn out to be Spiderman after all, and stays a nerdy kid the whole time, you could still end up with something close to Adrian Mole. Who has been a best seller for half a dozen books now, and who is fascinating to keep reading because we see his POV, we see how much there is that he does not get but that is obvious to the reader anyway, and the mismatch between what happens to him and how he interprets it is funny as hell and also at times sad to the point of tragic.

AverageGuy:

--- Quote from: Adam on May 05, 2008, 02:35:24 PM ---For example, in Star Wars we have a moisture farmer who initially displays nothing very interesting, apart from a powerful ability to whine a lot.  At the start, there's no flashing special effects, no groovy sword-play, no crushing throats with his mind.  Just a farmer.  He tinkers with some droids, drives a speeder (car), and whines.  Did I mention he whines?  However, he's plunged into an extraordinary situation, and develops into something more than the mundane farmer kid.
--- End quote ---

You also have the things he whines about.  He thinks he's a good pilot, and he wants to get out and see the galaxy.  Establishes the character as one who would listen to a message from a droid and try to go save a princess with three other people, as ludicrous as it sounds.

If you're going to use an everyman, do the hero's journey thing, the character normally is established as wanting something more out of life.  This is normally established either through whining, long looks at something s/he doesn't have, or a mention of how the character tries things the people around him don't (in fantasy, the cliche common version of this is visiting The Curséd Hills).

meg_evonne:
JB quote:  "Make the introduction count. This is something you can't afford to screw up."

Repeat the above comments.  Your 'normal' character still has to have the qualities that makes them capable of handling and learning what you challenge them with.  Stop thinking 'mundane' because they are 'normal' and start thinking the character traits that make you want to write about this individual.  Perhaps the questions that the reader has about this 'normal' character so the reader wants to know more about this kid.

I'm working on a festy young girl in the foster care system that is normal in every sense--except she's learned to be scrappy.  She's bright, she's gothy, she's a general pain in the butt,  her language is horrid, she's funny, and she can't connect emotionally with anything but animals. 

She's also got I also gave her a tragic background that makes her sympathetic--but she's not a door mat and never would whine, and tends to take too much on her young shoulders. I think she's terrific and if I'm doing it right--the reader will enjoy meeting her and be pulling for her to climb over her 'relationship' problems.  She's 'chosen' (in the classic sci fi/fantasy way) to be extraordinary---but it's her grit and obstinance that was inside her all along that qualifies her.  That she succeeds and overcomes those same problems is what clinches the selection.  As you can tell, Abby has me excited.  I'm half-way through the first draft.


Re-read your blasted posts, Meg.  *knocking my head on my desk, yeah I do that a lot.*

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