A Necessary Torment
By Therese Walsh | April 20, 2010 |
It’s been one of those months.
A few weeks ago, my car was hit by another car; mine has been in the body shop ever since. We had water issues in our house this past weekend. I couldn’t sleep last night. The battery in my husband’s car died this morning. You get the picture.
So please forgive me if I cheat a bit today and riff off of a reader question posed to me on another blog, Donna’s Book Pub, during my blog tour for The Last Will of Moira Leahy, about six months ago.
From the Q&A.
Donna asked a batch of questions, and a few readers asked questions in comments as well. This is a question straight out of comments:
(A) manuscript is like a child and that makes me too tender with my characters. I know conflict and flaws are part of a good story, but I love my “people” so much that sometimes I have a hard time letting them endure difficulties or have negative traits. Is there a psychological trick to overcoming this block? Some mindset while writing that allows ME to get out of MY own way as a writer?
Isn’t that a great question? My response:
First, good for you for recognizing that you *may* be standing in the way of your story by coddling those characters. That’s definitely the first step to solving the problem.
Secondly, Blake Snyder–a wonderful man who understood story inside and out, and unfortunately passed away recently–wrote something that I’ll always remember. He said you must draw the arrow of story and character as far back as you can to allow the flight of that arrow the best and strongest path. I’m paraphrasing–perhaps badly–but that was the gist of his message. If you’re only allowing your characters happy times, your book (the arrow) will be meager in scope and could ultimately be unsatisfying to your readers. Don’t be afraid to draw the arrow back. Let your readers feel the tension of your storytelling. Let them marvel as that arrow arcs high in the air. Let them feel the feathers against their cheeks. And then let them cheer when that arrow hits a satisfying mark. Believe me, it’s all the more gratifying when your characters find their happy ending after struggling, just like real people do.
I still believe in that answer (even if I did re-interpret Blake’s original metaphor), but I’d like to add a little something-something to it today.
A little something-something.
Thing is, being easy on our favorite characters is a common problem. We grant them sunshine, puppies, perfect skin, and good sex because we love them. But the trickle-down effect may be that our make-believe folk act as though they marched straight out of Utopia; they say nice things, behave the way we would like people to behave, and have rosy outcomes.
But characters are not people. And being too nice to our characters may be directly and inversely correlated with our ability to sell a novel, or attract a good agent and/or publishing house. Really.
A little specific something-something.
Don’t just toss any old terror at your characters, though; hone in on their personal fears and weaknesses. If your character is struggling to cope with death, consider that someone dear to them may die. If your character is struggling with loneliness, let them be abandoned. If your character wants nothing more than to feel loved, let them experience apathy from the one they love most. If your character strives for acceptance, let her be shunned by those who have the power to hurt her.
Why? Because it will be in those moments, with your characters facing their most testing internal challenges, when you’ll find your best story moments and deliver perhaps your most poignant characterizations.
What’s the worst thing your character could possibly endure? Imagine it, all the way to the end. Now imagine what your character looks like on the other side of that challenge. Most of the time, these characters will not be ruined for the journey. They’ll be stronger. More self-aware. And more memorable for all they’ve overcome. They will be Gandalf, the White; Dorothy after her journey back home; or Scarlett after Rhett no longer gives a damn.
Do you have trouble making your characters suffer, or do you enjoy turning the screws? Please share thoughts and any writerly tricks you may have in comments.
Write on!
Photo courtesy Flickr’s (The Dream Seeker)
Therese Walsh (she/her) co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006 and is the site’s editorial director. She was the editor of WU’s only book, Author in Progress, and runs the Writer Unboxed UnConference.
Her second novel, The Moon Sisters, received starred reviews and was named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal and Book Riot.
Learn more about Therese on her website, and sign up for her newsletter to be among the first to hear about any new projects.
I’ve become known in critique circles as the lady who loves to torture her characters. You hit the nail on the head with the specific something-something. It’s not until I figure out what my characters want more than anything else in the world that I understand the best way to make them suffer. And the phrase “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” is so true. Rarely do I kill off a character, but oh how I delight in torturing them. The results are simply magnificent.
Read the first chapter of a novel and then immediately read the final chapter (preferably one that you’ve read before so you’re not spoiling anything). There should be a clear contrast in the main character on some level, a distinct change from beginning to end. If that doesn’t happen, the stuff in between is usually not worth reading.
.-= Lydia Sharp´s last blog ..The Nicest Rejection Letter I’ve Ever Received =-.
Hmm. Since I write children’s books, I don’t like to tnink of actually torturing my characters through their flaws. I often find their weaknesses only emerge as I write the novel and put them into tricky situations – it’s hard to consciously assign them a negative trait.
Lydia, I’m glad you’re a pro character-tormentor. Can’t wait to read your book.
Andrea, I almost wrote, “may not apply to children’s picture books,” then didn’t. I guess I should have! Thanks for your comment.
After reading my first book (which is still on my hard drive if any editors out there are interested), Kay told me, “You’re afraid to stress your characters. Things are too nice for them. Get mean!”
Contrast this with the advice Donald Maass gave at a seminar last year: “Think of the absolute worst thing that can happen to your character, put them there, then make it worse.”
No matter how much we’d like for everything to be perfect in our lives, we can’t grant that same favor to our characters. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but a necessary one.
To add to what Therese said, here’s another way of looking at this: some of the characters I love best are the ones who possess the most inner strength. And you can’t develop that kind of strength–in life or in literature–unless you overcome obstacles.
So give your characters really rough circumstances; challenge them in ways they will truly hurt. They might resolve things in ways you don’t expect, and you may find you love and admire them even more in the end.
And Therese, I hope things start looking up!
.-= Tracy Hahn-Burkett´s last blog ..Is This the End of Russian Adoptions to the U.S.? (Part II) =-.
Thanks, Tracy! Hey, maybe I’m in the process of developing some inner strength. ;-)
I totally agree. Triumphant characters are are much more acceptable to our readers…because they’re more believable.
If I’m reading a book – especially one with a character who’s gone through something similar to myself – I become emotionally attached to that character/story. And isn’t that our ultimate goal when writing?
Great post, Therese, and remember…we’re never given more than we can handle!
.-= Jamie´s last blog ..Your Chance to Win!! =-.
What a great post, Therese! That’s exactly how I outline the story–figure out the hardest challenges my characters could face and then force them to face them. It’s hard to do–but truly inspiring to watch them rise to meet those challenges, as Tracy said. You’ll learn so much from them and love them all the more.
As to how I manage to make them suffer, I bribe with happy endings, quite honestly. As in, Look where you will ultimately end up if you are only willing to endure this suffering-intensive plot of mine. So far my characters have been willing to comply! :)
First, Therese, I hope you have a much better week this week than last. The only good thing about life’s annoyances is that as a writer, you can channel your emotions onto the page.
I feel like this post is shining a search light on me, exposing me. I have a hard time giving my characters pain. I find in drafting that I’m in a hurry to tidy up all the messy relationships and situations well before then end of the book, and as a result, spend much of my revision process making my characters much more miserable than they were in the first draft. What you say is true, though. The worse it starts out for the characters the stronger they end up on the other side.
This post actually spoke to me on on a spiritual level. If God is the author, do trials make us better? Hmmm…
But I digress.
Thanks for getting me thinking this morning, and for giving me permission to make my characters miserable.
.-= Erika Robuck´s last blog ..Under Writing and Revisions =-.
I have the opposite problem in that I am too mean to them! So I really struggle with the growth part for my characters and showing positive changes.
.-= Rebecca @ Diary of a Virgin Novelist´s last blog ..This is how much I love writing =-.
“Don’t just toss any old terror at your characters, though; hone in on their personal fears and weaknesses.”
I think that’s the key. That was what I was missing, and what Donald Maass’ recent part 2 post on “awe” helped me see. He asked what the character believes most, and then told us to force them to see the opposite side. That’s similar to what you’re saying here, I think: don’t just pick something that would challenge A character, pick something that will devastate YOUR character. Push it to the limits. Then help them figure it out. That’s story, that’s character arc, that’s fun.
Even when it’s not so fun. :P
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Author Interview: Todd Newton, Part 2 =-.
ter, mercury is in retrograde. just sayin. great post – i, too, realized i wasn’t making my characters work harder for the money. in real life, i do have a hard time with this. i’m not the type of person who makes every effort to find out what someone wants, then goes out of my way to make sure they don’t get it. but i know people like that. and i know how i’ve experienced that. this is really interesting. hmmm.
I hope things turn around for you.
I make them suffer, then I bring them in out of the hurricane.
Greg Gutierrez
Zen and the Art of Surfing
Another ploy — let them have what they want, but make the consequences create yet another problem.
Great post. I’ve been working on improving the depth of my characters, and Donald Maass’ books have been a HUGE help. After reading his most recent post, I went and purchased two of his books. Money well spent.
.-= Margo Kelly´s last blog ..Who influences our children? =-.
I must say I love this blog. All the things that cross my mind, and I find out other people have similar problems…and maybe even solutions.
I’d like to say I’m a writer, too, and have a great strategy to offer, but I’m not. I want to be, though.
So I thought I’d just say thank you. Perhaps someday I’ll even manage to finish a book…short story…anything…myself.
ps. I find the characters for those stories I try to get on paper have this annoying tendency to develop a life of their own… they do things like decide not to follow the plot line, develop love interests in the most inconvenient places and similar nonesense. But hey, I guess I just don’t know what I want to write…
Thanks for all the great comments, guys!
Thea, mercury in retrograde. Should I bolt the doors? You’re scaring me.
Kristen, what you said here: don’t just pick something that would challenge A character, pick something that will devastate YOUR character. Push it to the limits. Then help them figure it out. YES, exactly. Torments custom-built for your characters.
Margo, I’m so glad you bought the Maass books. They’re definitely ones I’d want to grab in case of fire.
Tessa, characters who veer off plot are also normal. If you stick with it, they’ll show you the story — I really believe that. We’re glad you’re with us.
First, I love the word “torment.” And this column is very on topic for me. I’m dragging my heels at writing a tough scene, because while intellectually I know it’s the right thing to do for the book, and a logical evolution given the plotline thus far, it’s so hard. I actually contacted a writer I respect a few weeks ago about this. She’s written some majorly angsty books in 1st person, and I wondered if it affected her the way it does me. She told me she has to remind herself often that yes, hero and heroine will get together; heroine will be all right, and yet it’s still hard.
Just part of the process, I guess.
.-= Jan O’Hara´s last blog ..The Perplexed Prom-Parent Post, in Which I Don’t Discuss Writer Unboxed (Much) =-.
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