Been There
By Donald Maass | June 1, 2011 |
“I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“Same thing happened to me.”
“Oh yeah, been there.”
So nice to know we’re not alone, isn’t it? Shared experience holds together family, friends, community, country, alliances. Don’t you wish folks in conflict around the globe would get together and see how much they have in common?
Fortunately for us, novels can produce that effect. When they do that wonderfully well something uncommon happens…they sell big, crossing many demographic lines and sometimes international borders.
High impact fiction simultaneously does two seemingly contradictory things: On the one hand it conjures highly detailed story worlds that are entirely unique to its authors. On the other hand, it portrays universal human experiences with which millions of readers can identify.
Think about paranormal fiction, for example. It’s fun to dwell in the world of demon hunters, fallen angels and witches who text. But what is it that draws us deeply into such stories and which we remember afterward? The violence? The mystical? The spells?
What we remember are the ordinary human dilemmas, foibles, frustrations and ironies that make paranormal characters real like the rest of us. The witch’s mastery of water magic might be cool, but what truly enchants us is that her teenaged son doesn’t call home before he blows his curfew.
Universal human experiences are a foundation of highly successful fantasy, mystery, historical, literary, women’s and romance fiction. Even literature’s most distinctive protagonists may seem like no others, but in fact what they go through resonates with us all. Think of Atticus Finch’s problems as a single dad, or Forrest Gump’s feeling of not fitting in.
To widen the appeal of your work try these tactics…
What’s one thing that makes your protagonist completely unique? What also makes your protagonist exactly like anyone else? For each factor, find five new ways and spots to make those qualities concrete.
If your story is full of events that could only happen here, add two events that could happen anywhere. If your story is a rich celebration of real life, take two story events and blow them up until they couldn’t really happen.
What has happened in your own life recently that made you angry, made you cry or made you laugh out loud? Make a place in your manuscript for that exact same event, or one so close to it that your blood pressure rises, your eyes water or you can’t keep your laughter in.
Writing beautifully isn’t just about language or deft deployment of literary devices. It’s about touching a million hearts with what hurts and heals. It’s telling a story that makes us all feel, “Been there.”
-Donald Maass
photo courtesy Flickr’s Josep Ma. Rosell
Donald Maass (he/him) founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency. in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019). He has presented hundreds of workshops around the world and is a past president of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR).
Wonderful post. No matter what genre of fiction you prefer, it’s the humanness of your characters that you end up connecting to.
No matter how epic the hero of the story, we most often remember their tragic flaw(s), because it’s the thing we can most relate to as humans.
Great tips, as usual. Thanks! :D
One of my favorite writing professors/mentors always said that, contrary to what most writers think, the way to appeal most broadly is to write very specifically. It’s the details that bring a story to life, that make characters real — and so it’s details that we connect with, even if they are different from our own details.
Great post and good reminder!
I think the most crucial point I got from this was not to simply put in things that are recognizably empathetic, but to look for strong emotions that readers connect with. For example, I can have plenty of readers who have been struggling with finances, for example, but taking my character through the plot arc and really wringing them will touch on my reader’s fears. Or writing a love story and really touching on what the common emotions are there: people don’t just want the details, they want to care about it. Lot to think about here!
I think there’s no greater feeling than the “I get it” response when you’re reading. Good suggestions for getting those into our writing as well.
Terry
Being able to relate to a story or character does have a great feeling, that you for focusing on that.
Reading great prose that makes me feel like “I’ve been there” motivates me to write equally great stories. Thanks for these suggestions. I especially like thinking about what makes my main character both unique and like everyone else.
I think we all have a favorite book that we love so much because we relate to it on personal level. It’s so true that no matter what genre you’re writing you can always come back to a shared human experience.
Wow! I loved this post. Thanks Donald. I found myself back spacing a huge section of writing the other day because I thought ‘hmm, that is so “everyday” it will bore my readers.’ I had included it at first because I thought it spoke to the essence of the character but then took it out thinking I could find a more “exciting” or “unusual” way to get it across.
Today I am going back to write it back in.
I have taken your pointers to heart and will enhance my writings from now on with the common and not so common aspects of my characters.
Thanks again!
Such a great reminder . . . we writers tend to enjoy some solitude. It is, however, the act of connecting to others through writing that often brings us the most joy.
This is something I tell my writers routinely. The universal plots and stories make not for the greatest story in the world but for a great story that sells well because people can relate. I tend to relate to heroes with issues in romance novels, and heroines who want to DO something when they feel powerless. Being a romance author with character driven plots has a great appeal to me and a larger appeal to my audience. Thanks Donald for this article.
Like real life, the thing that glues us to a character throughout the story is the dichotomy of their personality. On the one hand they appear to be quiet, peaceful people who are virtually indistinguishable from their neighbors. Then again, they have a propensity for killing and maiming and recking havoc on those who stray too close and trip off the demon that makes them lash out.
If the evil people looked evil, and the good people were clearly identifiable as being kind and pure – life would be easy. But life isn’t like that, so writing shouldn’t be either.
Well written piece, Donald. Much appreciated.
Wonderful advice that I will definitely take to heart – thank you! As I think about every book I’ve ever read that has kept me glued to its pages, this rings so true.
So true, Donald. The best bits of characters are their foibles and “human” aspects. I can think of several books where I really identified with the story or characters because they were so well written in terms of how real the situations/dialogue/characters were.
Louise
http://www.facebook.com/louise.gibney.writer
Great point! I’ve finished novels outside my normal genre because I connected with the characters so personally.
Thanks, Donald!
Super points! I have had books where I really connected with the characters and it was a “no put down” book!
I will certainly take your advice to heart while writing!
Thank you!!!
Excellent point, as usual, thanks Donald.
It’s a paradox, almost, how novels can take us so far away from our own everyday lives, however dull or vivid they may be, and yet still connect with us on such a human level. Yin and yang.
Yes, to make the reader say, “I might have done the same thing in that situation!”
Great post. The “human aspect” is exactly what keeps me reading a book. One book that comes to mind is The Seance. The MC was nothing like me, but I connected so strongly to her that I would have continued reading the book even if the plot wasn’t great. What’s more, I also connected to the other three MC’s – not a small feat. When the story was over, I felt like I knew all four of the MC.
Thanks for the reminder!
I’ve sometimes wondered about the old James Bond movies – how they were so successful, as he didn’t seem like a very relatable hero. The new Bond has changed that.
Thanks for an awesome post. Good stuff!
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