Jedi Council Scenes - Help

Has anyone got any tips on writing scenes invlving the Jedi council in their meeting room - all the EU material I have looked at was too short.

I am having trouble writing a scene with the Jedi council debating a subject - does anyone have tips on writing big debate scenes?

Also, are there any tips on writing for Yoda? Does everybody else find his lack of Grammar and syntax UNBELIEVABLY annoying. At lest with Plo Koon you can place him in << >>.

Please Help Me!

 

Well, I don't know anything about debating scenes, but maybe I can help you with Yoda. On one of the mailing lists that I belong to, somebody pointed out that Yoda does not simply use inverted sentence structure. Rather, he puts the most important word first in the sentence, and lets the rest follow.

 

Wwwwell, if they're debating a way to ferret out the Sith, you might try having the majority of them favour a passive course of action. Ya know, like Mace saying that Qui-Gon & co. returning to Naboo would draw out the mysterious Sith. You could then have one or two of the council members favouring a more active course--going in with lightsabers blazing, or something along those lines--and it wouldn't sit well with the rest of the council. Then you might have a few members who remain undecided. That work for you?

 

For my last fic I had to write a number of NR Senate and Advisory Council debate scenes. After a while, I got the hang of it, and my readers said they flowed well. If you want, I can post a sample.

My suggestions:

* Rarely will you have a unanimous ruling. This being said, it's imperitive that you represent all sides of the argument. If Yoda stands a certain way on an issue, someone else will have to oppose him.

* Show alliances and grudges. Yoda and Mace may always tend to side together because they have a similar view of the Force. In that case, they will most likely support the other in a debate. But perhaps Plo did not agree with Yoda's decision for Anakin to be trained. He keeps that in mind and opposes Yoda yet again, in turn opposing Mace. You get the idea...remember that even though they are Jedi, politics began to play a large role towards the end.

* Support statements with motivations. Why does Yaddle oppose the situation? Are there any personal reasons? Does she want to avoid a situation further down the road? Maybe she knows something the others don't.

* Stay true to characterization. This is a must in all aspects of writing, but especially here. When I wrote the Senate scenes, I had to keep in mind the foriegn and domestic policies of the senators so that they reacted correctly to the matter at hand. Likewise, keep in mind the traits of each member as they debate. Qui-gon was rebellious, and would respond to the Coucil's decision with defiance. But Obi-wan, while independent, accepted the decision. Obi-wan would never act as Qui-gon had, and Qui-gon would never act as Obi-wan.

* Remember formalities and respect. Unless this is very informal, the members will refer to each other as Master so-and-so. Also keep in mind seniority. A new member to the Council will tend to listen and not talk as much as an older member.



I hope that helps Don't hesitate to ask other questions!

 

Thanks that does help.

The Scene is actually starts of with a debate between council members about forming an interim council on the outer-rim to help with the lack of Jedi and senate popularity (I assure you, I am trying to fit this into the canon, around -37 BSW4). I do have a split decision within the council, with each member voicing their opinions.

The other problem I have is that I have the 'interim council', who will be sent ot the outer-rim standing in the centre of the room. I have to have some way of introducing these characters. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to introduce 12 characters to the reader in a council scene. I am rather stuck with Mace Windu saying

"Master (Insert Name), please step forward" without it getting repetetive.

Ant ideas greatly appreciated!

 

How about at the beginning of the scene, you have either Yoda or Mace looking around at each member of the council? Then you could write two or three quick sentences from Yoda or Mace's POV, describing the member's race, features and background.

 

That is a good idea, but I still need to describe why they are being sent, you see they each have a different skill that is useful to this mission. Any thoughts?