CALLING ALL WRITERS!!! Han Solo

I'm going to start writing a story w/ Han Solo in it, and while he's my favorite character in Star Wars :drools: I always have trouble getting inside his head and writing him. Does anybody have any tips, perspectives, or suggestions for me? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks guys!

 

Well, I have a useful tip for dialogue: When you read his lines in your head, try to hear Harrison Ford saying it.

 

Some things I keep in mind when I write Han:

He's an alpha male (i.e. never wants to admit he's wrong), he has the facade of being cocky and sure of himself, and also wears the mask of cynicism. Therefore, even though he acts all tough and brave, he's really an old softie inside, so his better nature will always triumph in the end. He's really the guy you depend on to get things done. He graduated #1 from his class in the Imperial Academy, so he's very intelligent - even though he acts like a scoundrel/rogue, he's also fully capable of being a gentleman.

Is that enough of a set of contradictions? I just love writing about him--he's my favorite character.

 

Thanks Daughter of YubYub- that's a really good idea! And Lady Padme, thanks a lot also- I'm a big fan of yours I LOVED "Of Spies and Sabaac"- you did a really great job with all the characters you wrote. Thanks guys!

Anyone else have suggestions?

 

I am open for them as well...I have a horrible time protraying someone elses Chrecters [especially Luke and Han] but as they are essential to my story...
Anyways thanks!

 

OOOo Han Solo. He's my all time favorite character to write.

Heres some tips:
Han is pretty complex, he seems so tough and all that on the outside, but he's really a softy, pretty sensitive, look how at the ROTJ when he thought Leia was in love with Luke he was willing to leave, just so she would be happy.
A very essential thing to his character is his love for Leia, its one of the biggest manafesations of his sensitive side, I mean, at first glance he and Leia are NOTHING alike, you wouldn't think they would fall in love, but they did, and their perfect for eachother.

Another characteristic of Han is how much he dislikes polotics and fomality, (exp: politicans, especially Borsk, and formailty, uniforms etc. ) Luxuries don't matter much to him, I mean look, he wears basically the same thing all the time! And if he believes in something, nothing will change his mind.

I guess I would describe him as a fallen idealist.

Lol, look at me rambel, anyway, I hope that helps and makes some kind of sense.


Princess1

 

"I'm Han Solo, Captain of the Millenium Falcon..."

The best advice I could offer you has already been given: imagine Harrison Ford saying the lines, acting out the situation. Remember, too, that Han has a hard time hiding it when his feelings are hurt. Remember his facial expressions, his quick-tempered retorts when he knows he's losing an argument.

And ya gotta have the quips! Han is all about the Roguish quips and verbal pot-shots! At leats, he is in the earlier years... After his time in carbonite hybernation, he seemed to mature a bit outwardly. (Personally, I think his aloof exterior facade caught up to his internal character )

 

'Fallen idealist', hmmm Princess? I never looked at it that way, but you're absolutely right. Thanks!! And Cheveyo, I think I've posted in "Rebel Cause" to say how much I love it but if not, I'll let you know now: I love the way you've written Han and Leia Thanks for the advice?

 

Your welcome.

 

Have you read the Han Solo Trilogy? I've read it about 3 times, and I have to say that those are absolutely essential to understanding him.

Han grew up in a multi-cultural 'society' and wanted to be a 'respectable' gentlemen. So he joined the Imperials after a while. But he couldn't stomach the slavery, and freed Chewbacca before he could get killed.

An integral part of Han's character is Chewie. Without that Wookie, I believe Han would be a completely different person. Before Chewie was his friend, Han didn't fully trust ANYBODY. After freeing Chewie, he got blacklisted by the Imps so he had to turn to smuggling. Chewie was the first friend he made that he trusted without question since Dewlanna. After a while, Han decided that if opening up to Chewie was OK, then opening up to other people couldn't be so bad. Without Chewie, it would have taken Han even LONGER to acknowledge his feelings for Leia. Because without Chewie he would have had no proof that love (of friendship or romantic love) could succeed, as he had no parents, Dewlanna had died, his only relation turned out to be really mean and sadistic, Bria left him etc. etc. etc.

When Chewie died, Han began to believe that love couldn't succeed again. It's like, Han has steel doors around himself, Chewie opened them up first, and Leia helped him keep the open later, as did Han's children. But when Chewie died, he couldn't hold the doors open anymore, and Leia couldn't do it all on her own because Han was trying so hard to shut himself up again. He had to leave because staying open to Leia hurt him. He believed now that openess and love was too painful to endure, so he left.

When she found him again on Duro, he had realised he couldn't go on alone. When she came to him and knocked on the doors, he opened up voluntarily.

I don't know what time-frame your doing it in, but I hope my short dissection of his life gives you some insight. I love Han. He's my first and strongest SW love, and running a close second is Jag.

 

I'm so honored to have so many authors I love posting on this thread Thanks TBF!! I'll definitely have to read the Han Solo Trilogy I guess I liked your steel doors analogy- a great way to think about it. The story will either be Alternate Universe or will take place a few years before A New Hope...I haven't decided yet but I'm leaning toward the latter. Oh, and btw I loved your J/J and H/L stories

 

Hey, I know I already came and gave a suggestion, but I figured this might help. Han Solo is my all time favorite character in the world, I just love him to death, so I like to help people write him.

So heres a litte clip from one of my stories, (NJO AU era) of one to write him (this scene is more serious, so less smart aleck remarks, but that just this scene) Maybe it will be of somehelp to you.



*******

Han lay back in the bath tub and sighed, running his hands through his hair, scrubbing out the sand.


After what had happend in the crowd, Leia had hurried them off to a hotel. She was worried, and he couldn't blame her, what had happend had scaird him to.

He just didn't understand it, one minute he was feeling perfectly normal, just a little tense, and the next he exploded! Compltely losing control.

He shivered a little at the memory, despite the warmth of the water. He'd acted enraged, turning on innoccent people, for no real reason what so ever. Even he didn't know why.

In fact, he hardly remembered any of it. He remembered feeling angry, so angry he thought he would burst, and then just bits and peices, flashs. He remembered shouting, being hit by small objects,dust everywhere, terrorified crowds....But it was all in somesort of haze, unclear, unreal, somehow disconnected.

But then he had been abrubtly brought back to reality, by Leia's shout.

He'd heard her voice, and had stopped in his tracks. Her expression was shocked, almost frightend. And then he had looked around and seen what he had done.

He was shocked to.

So he'd let her lead him away, in a numb haze, what had actualy happend not quite sinking in.

He was covered in dirt and rotten vegetables people had thrown at him, fithly from head to toe. So Leia had ordered him into the bath, and here he was.

Even though it haden't sunk in at first, it definitly had now. Leia's stunned expression, which she had carefully controled had said it all. That and the looks on peoples faces as he had left the market. They were scaird of him.

He'd gotten angry before, but never like that, never losing control, despite the many things in his life time he had done that he regretted, he had never hurt a innoccent person before.

Until today. What made it worse was he didn't even know why it happend. It made him want to lock himself away, or run away, somewhere where he couldn't hurt anybody.

There was a knock on the door, pulling him out of his grim thoughts.

"Han, can I come in?"

It was Leia.

"Sure princess." he said, attempting to sound as if nothing was wrong.

Apparently it didn't work, because Leia came in, a worried expression creasing her brow.

"Are you alright?"

"Yea..."he trailed off,so quiet she barely heard him,"I hope."

But she did hear him, or at least knew him well enough that she guessed at what she didn't hear.

She knelt beside the tub. "Han, I don't know what happend today, but whatever it was, it wasen't your fault."

"But it was!" Han interject,"It was! I was the one out there going crazy, I was the one throwing innoccent people to the ground,I was the one caused all that. Me! Not someone else. How is it not my fault?"

This all came out in a rush, in a angry confused torrent.

Leia was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. In a way Han was right, at least thats what logic said. But her heart didn't beleive it.

Han stared at Leia, and she averted her eyes, and his heart sank, afraid she would agree with him, but yet knowing it was so. The drip drip of water from the facut seemed unaturallt loud, echoing in the refresher.

At last, Leia spoke, looking strait into Han's troubled blue eyes. "Alright Han, I admit it, you did do all those things. Not someone else."

Han clenched a fist under the water, looking down, avoiding Leia's eyes. So even she agree'd with him.....

But then she spoke again, her eyes filled with conviction. "But I also know, although you may have done those things in body, you weren't really there. I could almost see

 

That was so cute Princess!! I'm definitely gonna have to read that story Thanks!!

 

So you're a lurker, are you Miska? Or did I just forget you replied like the ditzy thing I am? whichever one it is, thank you for reading them.

 

Miska: Awwww thanks. And your welcome.

You like it? Hey cool! Anyway, heres the name for my story if you should decide to read

"The Sacred Silence"

 

I like it!

 

Is the link posted in your bio?

 

Well......(blush) I admit it, I'm the worst possible person at doing links: I'm incapable at it, I always mess up.

But heres the URL, you can just copy and past it into the address bar.

http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=7948994&replies=0

Glad you liked what you read.

 

OK, warning, shameless plug:

Since we're talking about stories, I'm just gonna encourage everyone to check out my Anakin/Padme fic- the link's in my sig. Leave me a comment- I'm desperate!!!!

 

If your going to write Solo then just keep in mind that he's a laid back kinda guy. He doesn't talk if he's got nothing to say and those who chatter or fret all the time get on his nerves (3PO for instance).

True, he is a smart guy but he doesn't always 'get it' but that's not really a big deal if he doesn't need to get it.

He's very goal oriented. What I mean is that he picks out one goal and goes for it without getting too distracted. He won't just dive in recklessly (all the time) but he is flying by the seat of his pants. Harrison Ford plays a lot of characters like that so keep in mind the Indy quote "I dunno, I'm making this up as I go along."

He does wear his emotions on his sleeve unless he's got his poker face on. But don't expect him to let such things get the better of him or to have wild mood swings. Keep in mind what he did for a living. He's probably heard every name in the book and a few the book doesn't know about.

To be honest he really isn't too complicated. Personally I think Luke was a more complex character. Han was just a guy who didn't really know what he wanted to do with himself and found his calling in the Rebellion. He'd rather live the good life but he knows he cares to much to not be the hero.

He likes it simple. Which is probably why he and Leia had such a rocky start. But then again that's probably why he was attracted to her in the first place. Sometimes it's nice, in an odd way, to have something come along and make things difficult, especially if it's cute.

 

He graduated #1 from his class in the Imperial Academy, so he's very intelligent - even though he acts like a scoundrel/rogue, he's also fully capable of being a gentleman.

Han graduated first in his Academy class? I thought he'd been expelled! Which books/source have I missed?

 

Thanks Various!!! You guys are a huge help to me

 

Mako Spince, Han's best friend, got expelled. Han was court martialled after he graduated for saving Chewbacca's life from a sadistic slave master. I think he reached the rank of Lieutenant or one higher.

I disagree on the Han being a simple character though. It may just be that I'm being me, but I don't believe Han is two-dimensional or easy to write. I think he's a 4-dimensional character, with a lot of complexity.

I don't think he wears his emotions on his sleeve either. I think there are some people who can read his emotions better than others. Smugglers wouldn't survive for long if they had obvious emotions, and he grew up being trained to be a con-artist, a thief and a pick-pocket. Con artists have to be able to lie, hide their emotions and change their persona as much as possible. And in the Han Solo Trilogy, it says that Garris Shrike used Han a lot in his scams because he was a good pilot and a good liar.

Yes, Han is a very smart guy. I think that in matters of tricks, scams, piloting and double cross he 'gets it' quite quickly. And he understands the underhanded tricks of senators quickly as well because a lot of the time they relate almost directly back to the tricks of some of his seedier friends from the early days. But when it comes to matters of emotions and social movements, he does take a little longer to realise things than other people.

 

For what it's worth, I think that on the outside Han seems to be a simple character: he knows what he wants and like you said, Various, he is pretty goal oriented. That's the Han that we see in the movies, and that's cool. But like TBF said, I like to think there's a deeper level to him- a level that wasn't written into the movies and that Harrison Ford and some really talented fanfic writers have been able to bring out in his character. The difficulty, now, is being able to balance them so it comes out realistic. But again, I want to thank everyone for their help

 

I don't think I agree with the statement that Han is a simple character.

He is really one of the more complicated one's, after all, his best friend was a Wookie, that takes a depth, to see past the surface like that. Of course, that could have had something to do with the Dewlanna pratically being his mother. And you have to admit it, if Han had been by himself in Bespin, he would have just tried to blast his way out of there, to hell with the consequences. He would prefer death in a fight to the fate of just simply submiting to Vader. But Leia was with him, and he chose to protect her, to stay with her instead. Even to the point of being frozen in carbonite. That takes great strength of will, and strong complex feelings. He's complex, I just think sometimes he tries hide it under his courage and smart mouth.

Nor does he wear his emotions on his sleeve. How could he with the life he's lead? Dealing with Shrike, Dewlanna dieing for him, finding Bria, losing Bria.... All those things and alot more would teach him rather quickly not to wear his emotions on his sleeve.


Nor is he slow to pick up on things. How could he be such a smart aleck if he was? He obviously perceives things very quickly in order to pull off so many spur of the moment plans.The only time he's slow to pick up on things is when he doesn't want to. I think he's very good at being in denile. If he doesn't like something, he ignors it.

When Chewie died, at first he didn't accept his death, he even left Chewie giant chair in for ages. When Isodler showed up, he denyed that he was even a threat for awhile. Or tried to. But then he finnaly faced up to it, and then kidnaped Leia. In other words, he did something about it. And thats just the way Han is. He's a very action orientated kinda guy, if theres a problem, he goes and does something about, not worrying about the nitty gritty little details.

Its when theres nothing he can do no matter what, Chewies death, etc. where all he can do is run it over and over through his mind, thats when he gets confused. He feels lost.

I guess he's a complex,sensitive kinda guy, but who has had enough hard knocks in life that he tries to hide that complex sensitivity in order to protect himself.