I haven't been able to glean much information on how he became the writer he is. I don't know why-he appears to be an okay guy. In my research (lurking through social media), people seem to either hate or love John Green. How’d He Do That? Author highlight: John Green (and his brother Hank) A character that hasn't had a drink in days needs water, so does a sick person trying to swallow a horse pill. Just kidding, of course, Vonnegut right, he's a literary master.īut I'd like to provide a humble addendum-desire should be character and plot-driven. I, in all my vast wisdom, am here to tell you that Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse-Five, is wrong! The constantly regurgitated advice from the famous literary master Kurt Vonnegut is for characters to always want something, even if it's only for a glass of water. She wants a future that she knows she won't have. She wants to know how An Imperial Affliction ends. She doesn't want to hurt her parents or Augustus by dying. The Myers-Briggs or 16 Personalities style tests are popular.
#How does the fault in our stars end how to#
That’s how to make a build a character.Ī great way to create cohesive characters with both strengths and flaws is to take personality tests for each of your central characters. A chef without taste buds ( true story), an ultra-shy comedian, a singer who hates the sound of her voice. The more conflicting those preferences, the more complex the character seems. How do you tell my sister and me apart? She’s the one with the weird phobia about wet cigarette butts.Īnd she’s also the one who used to smoke. A character who likes plain (gross) yogurt, but hates ice cream is suddenly a person with preferences, and really, preferences are what make us.us. Characters need personality-flaws and all. Hazel is realistic without being a cliché. It was supposed to be a joke, but it isn't a half-bad idea. It says John Green flips coins and rolls dice to create characters. I remember reading a Tumblr post that I cannot locate.
I know I keep harping on verisimilitude, so I'm going to break down how John Green creates verisimilitude using characterization and motivation. Uh, can we get back to writing now, please? What to Steal
He hopes that she was happy with her choice and, in the last sentence, she says she was. He further says that people can't live without hurting each other, but that you get to choose who hurts you. In it, Augustus explains that most people leave ugly marks-scars-on the world, but Hazel is different because of her observant nature. From Houten's assistant, she later learns that Augustus mailed an obituary for her to Amsterdam. Van Houten shows up at Augustus' funeral to apologize, but Hazel doesn't forgive him. He, Isaac, and Hazel spend the rest of the novel together, and Augustus dies. On the way back to the States, Augustus admits that his cancer is back and that it is likely terminal. It's okay, though, Hazel and August still enjoy their time in Amsterdam, confessing their love for each other and having sex for the first time. The author, Peter Van Houten, turns out to be a jerk, a jerk who is mean to kids with cancer, so.yeah, the worst. Eventually, Augustus gets a "make-a-wish" style opportunity and decides to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the mysterious author. There she meets Augustus Waters, a boy her age with bone cancer in remission, and his friend, Isaac, who has eye cancer.Īugustus also gets obsessed with the ending of the novel and tracks down the author of the book, Peter Van Houten, and corresponds with his assistant in Amsterdam. Hazel, at the suggestion (demand) of her mother, starts going to a support group for teens with cancer. Plot-wise, this is a coming-of-age story. You never forget she's sick, but the characterization is complex enough that every page doesn’t make you want to cry (just some of them). She's an “average” teenage girl-connoisseur of reality television, snarky to her parents, wants to be left alone- her illness is just the dagger hanging over her head. Let's just say this book wraps an emotional bungee cord around your heart. So, let’s take a look at what writers can learn from The Fault in Our Stars.īut, I still say the genius of the book is that it doesn't make you feel sorry for the protagonist, 17-year-old Hazel Lancaster, who is dying of thyroid cancer. I thought kids with cancer falling in love would be a bummer, but The Fault in Our Stars was charming and, dare I say, funny-in a heartbreaking sort of way.