Guest Post: Subject is Variable – Character is Everything

Today’s guest lecturer is Amanda Rosenblatt:

When writing anything, whether it is an OpEd blog, a creative short story, or a fact sheet, the character put into the text is crucial. When I say “character,” I do not mean a talking rabbit that solves crimes.

People who are lucky to find careers in writing aren’t always going to be lucky enough to write about what they want to. Some are very blessed to have gotten to release the content they wanted to, or they find success in self-publishing, but there are others who write about the subject matter they are given to work with.

Any true writer is just happy to write and can work with anything they are given. The written word is their broken glass, the subject being the glue, and the final product becoming the mosaic made from materials once deemed worthless.

A great example of this concept is “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” The “My Little Pony” franchise before 2010 was successful at selling toys, but their films and TV series were lackluster in their reception, at best. Now, the fourth generation of the franchise is highly successful and noted for its depth in storytelling, as well as character building.

The people who created this generation were not the makers of the subject, being “My Little Pony.” The series was born from a toy Hasbro released in the early 1980s, so it is not new.

The writers worked with what they had to make something better. Something relevant to modern society that was educational and entertaining. Not only did it appeal to children, its target audience, but it even pulled in an adult audience, who lovingly call themselves Bronies or PegaSisters.

Were the writers for this show passionate about the subject matter at first? Likely no, since it was just another writing job and they were adults building the concept of a children’s show. But look at what they created with the subject matter given!

The moral of the story is that it shouldn’t matter if you are writing a technical manual, a satirical piece, or a feature story. Take the subject, give it life, infect it with character, and make the words work with you. You’ll give them all something to talk about, even if it’s completely by accident.

Amanda Rosenblatt is a fellow contributor to Answers.com with J.E.S. Hays, and a writer for VA Home Loan Centers. Follow the VA HLC Twitter account, or visit their site.