Walter White Part II
So we are in season 3 of Breaking Bad. We've watched about 20 episodes in a couple of weeks, and let me tell you, I'm still pretty fascinated with the whole story.
One of the problems in developing characters is being able to sustain them for the entire piece. I taught creative writing for a few years and let me tell you, that was the biggest problem that many gifted writers had.
Yet when you get it right, in your mind, as a writer, the story sort of writes itself. But those characters must be alive.
I wrote Waldorf & Juli back in 1993. 21 years later I would still be able to pick Juli out of a crowd at a Buffalo Bills game.
She was alive.
I was Waldorf, of course, in the story so it was easy to stay true to his character, but as I was writing, I followed the path of the story by knowing what Juli would say in any given situation.
"That's a little crazy," my beautiful wife told me at the time. "She's only in your head."
I bring all this up because I know that the writer of Breaking Bad most likely struggled with plot points, and then was able to punch through them because he had really delivered Walter White.
He made him come alive.
Yet I am still very uncomfortable watching.
And I'm uncomfortable because I find myself imagining our relationships in the characters.
"What if I turned bad?" I asked my wife.
"You don't have it in you," she said.
"That's what they thought about Walter," I answered.
"You bring home that kind of money I'd be telling you to get your ass in the RV and cook."
But that's what makes you uncomfortable.
Doesn't an intelligent person see all the sides of what they are doing?
When you're caught up in something wrong, don't we look for the way to make it right?
Sadly, a lot of people don't.
Walter White is a whole person in the series.
His wife is also conflicted.
His child loves him.
What is odd about my timing with the series is that a lot of people are preparing for the last episode of the entire series, and I'm still trying to meet the new characters. I have to switch the station quickly when the conversation turns to the final episodes.
It's been a helluva' ride so far.
And one of the things about it is that it is really getting my creative juices going.
Will I look for a new character to carry a story?
No offense to the people who smoke crystal meth, but forming the perfect character is a wonderful high.
I still love Juli.
One of the problems in developing characters is being able to sustain them for the entire piece. I taught creative writing for a few years and let me tell you, that was the biggest problem that many gifted writers had.
Yet when you get it right, in your mind, as a writer, the story sort of writes itself. But those characters must be alive.
I wrote Waldorf & Juli back in 1993. 21 years later I would still be able to pick Juli out of a crowd at a Buffalo Bills game.
She was alive.
I was Waldorf, of course, in the story so it was easy to stay true to his character, but as I was writing, I followed the path of the story by knowing what Juli would say in any given situation.
"That's a little crazy," my beautiful wife told me at the time. "She's only in your head."
I bring all this up because I know that the writer of Breaking Bad most likely struggled with plot points, and then was able to punch through them because he had really delivered Walter White.
He made him come alive.
Yet I am still very uncomfortable watching.
And I'm uncomfortable because I find myself imagining our relationships in the characters.
"What if I turned bad?" I asked my wife.
"You don't have it in you," she said.
"That's what they thought about Walter," I answered.
"You bring home that kind of money I'd be telling you to get your ass in the RV and cook."
But that's what makes you uncomfortable.
Doesn't an intelligent person see all the sides of what they are doing?
When you're caught up in something wrong, don't we look for the way to make it right?
Sadly, a lot of people don't.
Walter White is a whole person in the series.
His wife is also conflicted.
His child loves him.
What is odd about my timing with the series is that a lot of people are preparing for the last episode of the entire series, and I'm still trying to meet the new characters. I have to switch the station quickly when the conversation turns to the final episodes.
It's been a helluva' ride so far.
And one of the things about it is that it is really getting my creative juices going.
Will I look for a new character to carry a story?
No offense to the people who smoke crystal meth, but forming the perfect character is a wonderful high.
I still love Juli.
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