The Small and Mighty Ampersand: Creating Delightful, Messy Characters
By Sarah Callender | April 13, 2016 |
Photo compliments of Flickr’s John Bell.
Today, friends, without charging you a co-pay or forcing you to read your HIPA rights, I am going to share with you the single most important words my mechanic (AKA my therapist) ever said to me.
First though, some context. Around the time of this pivotal tune-up session (circa 2008), I had two tiny children, a mental illness, and a husband who was travelling for work, often to Tel Aviv and Mexico City, Rome and Detroit. During that particular tune-up session, he was in Bangkok, probably at a spy convention or Navy SEAL training. No one believes he’s actually in software sales.
With the time change between Seattle and Bangkok, exorbitant international phone charges, and I assume much tuk-tuk riding on his part, we weren’t able to speak to each other on the phone. It was odd, having no way to reach him, something I had not experienced for as long as we had known each other. I didn’t like it, not one bit. But I realized something surprising while he was away, and sitting on my mechanic’s couch that afternoon, I shared my news.
“You know what?” I said, “I’ve always been so terrified about what I would do if something happened to my husband. But for some reason, this trip made me realize if something did happen to him, it would be awful, terrible, horrible. I mean, it would be devastating.” I took a breath. “But I would survive.”
My mechanic, a Christian-cum-Buddhist-priest, smiled in that peaceful way and nodded his shaved head. “No . . . it would be awful, terrible, horrible. And you would survive.”
I thought about that for a moment, most likely eyeing him as I always eye wise, bald Christian-cum-Buddhists. Of course he was right. I would be devastated and I would survive. Both sides of that sentence could be simultaneously true.
Ever since, I have been using the and in other arenas: I love my children and they drive me batty. Having a mental illness is painful and it is beautiful. I like dark chocolate and milk chocolate.
There is something empowering and freeing in using and in place of but, which I suppose makes sense. But is a word that limits someone or something. And is a word that increases someone or something. These conjunctions-junctions really do have important functions.
What happens when humans embrace the and in life?
Human beings are not fixed in or limited to a single personality type. I think that’s delightful. My friend, Jane, is a passionate Christian and a skilled user of profanity. The clerk at our local organic store speaks five languages fluently and has no education beyond a GED. My thirteen-year-old son forgets that we don’t leave muddy soccer cleats on the kitchen counter and he remembers every score of every soccer game he has ever played. No one is ever one thing or another. We are messy mixes of one thing and another.
What happens when writers accept the and in the writing life?
By using the and in our writing life, we can embrace the simultaneous presence of the bumps and wheeeee’s all writers experience. See if any of these resonate: My road to publication is long, difficult and frustrating, and I will persevere. Writerly rejection is terribly painful and completely necessary. I dislike Amazon for squeezing out the little guys and I am an Amazon Prime member.
Using and as we experience a writer’s journey helps us embrace all parts of the adventure. The writer’s journey is expansive and limitless, and that’s a good thing.
What happens when fictional characters embody the and?
Consider the characters found in fairy tales: the handsome prince, the wicked stepmother, the imprisoned princess, the evil old lady who wants to cook and eat children. Fairy tales provide important lessons of good and evil, of right and wrong, but they don’t tend to offer models of rich, messy characters that evolve along a character arc.
And that’s a little boring.
In most genres of fiction, it’s the messy characters, the characters with conflicting, coexisting traits, feelings or desires, that reel in a reader. In A Man Called Ove, the grumpy, elderly Ove is cantankerous and mean and generous and endearing. In Olive Kitteridge, Olive is nasty and tough and compassionate and broken. Mad Men’s Don Draper is a dashing womanizer and a terrified, insecure little boy.
We read fiction in part because we seek and adore characters that disturb and delight us through the revelation of their whole person. Remember the surprises in the novel Gone Girl and films like Chinatown and The Usual Suspects. Delicious, right? We don’t like discovering that our partners, families or friends are not who we thought, but when we experience surprise and betrayal through characters and their stories? Our fancies are tickled.
We can create characters that surprise, tickle and poke at our readers by returning to the fleshy humanness of real people. Notice the difference between these two pairs of statements:
JFK was an adored President but an unfaithful husband.
JFK was an adored President and an unfaithful husband.
Mother Teresa was faithful to God, but at times, she doubted His goodness.
Mother Teresa was faithful to God, and at times, she doubted His goodness.
The but sentences limit these people’s complexity. And does the opposite, increasing their humanness as well as the potential for intrigue. How fascinating that such a beloved POTUS loved too many women! Even Mother Teresa experienced doubts about her faith? Wow. Cool.
Let’s then turn to our works-in-progress as we consider and develop contrasting elements of our characters’ personality, desires, feelings and actions. The answers to these questions might help determine the arc of a messy character and allow her to evolve (or devolve) between Page One and The End.
- In what realms (personal life? family life? romantic life?) might this character experience coexisting, opposing feelings and desires?
- How might this character’s outward, public persona disguise inner desires and feelings?
- To what extent is this character aware of these co-existing, conflicting desires and feelings, i.e, is she aware of the “richness” of her inner life, or is she oblivious?
- Why might this character keep certain desires and feelings secret? What is at stake if her beans are spilled?
- How does this character behave in response to her conflicting desires and feelings? How do these actions and behaviors intensify both her inner conflict and the external opposition?
Now you. Will you share where you see an and (contrasting feelings or desires that coexist) within the protagonist of your work-in-progress? How does this and affect your character’s actions?Outside of your work-in-progress, where do you see someone (real or fictional) who exemplifies the and? How can I figure out whether my gentle giant of a husband is CIA and not software sales?
[coffee]
A Middle Grade novelist (and Middle School English teacher), Sarah Callender lives in Seattle with her family. Because Sarah dislikes cleaning anything that will just get messy again, she tidies the house and weeds the yard only when absolutely necessary. This allows her time to focus on her true–and somewhat fraught–passions: writing, Abe Lincoln, and Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars. Equally passionate about mental health advocacy, Sarah is a member of The Stability Network. Sarah’s first novel, LUCY IN BETWEEN, will be published by Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House in 2026.
Sarah, I get what you’re saying here, but (that word again) I am also a fan of the word “but,” because it implies conflict and (that word, too) conflict is what propels the story forward and sustains reader interest. What you are saying is so true. We can draw protagonists with good and bad traits and it’s not a contradiction. We are imbued with many traits. What you are getting at here, I think, is that human beings are complicated and all of the parts make up the whole. I strive for complexity in my characters. A purely good protagonist and a downright evil antagonist make for a boring story. A real life example lies in some of the presidential candidates, who are a mess of contradictions. I won’t mention any names, but a psychologist could have a field day analyzing the current crop of presidential contenders. So, let’s do a writers’ toast to “and” (and “but”). Thanks for a great post, Sarah.
Thank you, CG. Man, you are so right about the presidential candidates. As I type, I am with my kids and husband in DC, and I feel the buzz of the election even more acutely here. Politicians are slick, shrewd AND I am glad they do the job I’d never want to do. Maybe no matter what candidate we root for, there is a savory and an unsavory element?
In my dreams, Pope Francis should run . . . He was not born here AND he is the epitome of reason and compassion. And I’m not even Catholic! I love your point that it’s the but that creates conflict too.
Thank you for your smart and kind words.
:)
Sarah Callender is so wise about the writerly life *and* she’s hilarious. She deserves a better comment from me *and* she gets a coffee.
Vaughn has a bunch of errands to run *and* he’s nearing completion of a writing project (feel the tension in that one?).
Sending you gratitude *and* well-wishes!
Dear Vaughn,
WU would be lost without you *and* you are a most humble fellow.
Seriously, Vaughn-a-rahma. You are the cat’s meow *and* the cat’s pajamas.
xo!
s
TYVM you’ve solved all my prmlebos
Ha *and* ha!
Nicely done, Sarah. Terrific advice. In my workshops we do an exercise called “closet search,” asking the question, What does my character have hidden in her closet that she doesn’t want anyone, ever, to see. It’s a way to come up with an interesting &.
Thanks for this great writing exercise, James.
Your workshop lesson is so much better than the one that asks writers to fabricate a bio of our protagonist, listing hair color, favorite food, dream vacation, political leanings, etc. Those have never resonated with me, probably because a writer can get through that whole exercise without considering the closeted &. Thank you for sharing this idea. We all have closets with closed-tight doors.
I am so glad you are a part of this WU community. You likely don’t have much time & you still find the time to guide us newer writers. Right on & write on.
Wow, Sarah, what an awesome post. Someone pointed out to me once that most people live in an ‘either-or’ world, and she suggested that I opt for the ‘both-and’ model, which you seem to be talking about here. The ‘and’ allows for paradox and for the complexity you describe, which is the complexity that lives inside our favorite characters. Amazing the difference one word can make.
My protagonist is a teenager who wants to fit in and also be accepted, although in her case, authenticity equals alienation. This is probably true for most of us, but in her case, magic is involved. Oh, and dragons. But who doesn’t have personal dragons? I love your honesty and your humor, Sarah. And I love your questions at the end of the post. I’m printing them out for my teaching wall.
Oh, thank you for sharing your protagonist’s and, Susan. Yes, that is something that really resonates with me . . . probably most human beings as well. Add a little magic and five or six or a million dragons and I am sold!
Your comment about the power of one tiny word also resonates with me. That’s part of the magic of writing, right? We get to play with words, big and small, that determine the course a character takes on her journey.
Thank you, Susan. I am always so inspired by this amazing community of wise writers. You are one of them!
Excellent post!
“But” is a word that blocks and subtracts. “And” is a word that unblocks and adds. In writing terms it not only allows characters to be messy and contradictory, it allows them to be altogether more.
Improv actors have a rule. When another actor introduces a new element to a sketch (an “offer”), the actor never says no. The actor says, “Yes, and…”, adding something new to the offer.
Your prompts are great. Simplifying: My protagonist is highly aware of his resistance to admitting love. There’s a plot reason, his ex is no longer available. Indeed, she is dying. The inner reason is that he’s avoiding shame. He blew it with her–in a way that involved a gun.
What can I add to that, I wonder? AND, he is…let’s see… something new … his regret is an exquisite feeling, knife-sharp, clear, purposeful and far easier than the void that would follow being forgiven. Loving her from afar is easier than loving himself up close.
AND…add more…in letting go he will hurt *and* also heal a heart other than his own.
We have a pillow with an ampersand on it. Adding is fluffy and restful, I find. That’s a wise therapist you have there, and a brave husband, too. The CIA folk I’ve met have an uplifting sense of mission and an unshakeable faith that we can make the world a better place.
Like you. Thanks.
Dear Benjamin,
I smiled all the way through this comment. I am not kidding when I say that, based only on your simplified sharing of the “and” in your story, I am dying to read it. It sounds like a delicious and wonderful (heartbreaking too . . . I can feel the ache!) mess. Perfect.
I have a friend who gave me a cool, metal “&” and I smile every time I see it. It reminds me to be compassionate and gracious to others (myself included). I am a hot mess AND I am doing the best I can.
Please keep writing your story. I’m going to want a signed copy.
It will be my pleasure.
Oh, and I forgot to mention your comment about improv! Yes, I wanted to include details about that technique in this post and I ran out of room.
I LOVE the idea of that because of how it relates to storytelling. Without the “and” in improv, the skit comes to a screeching halt. It’s also so awkward for the audience. Thank you for adding that application of the “and!”
Haha! Sarah, you always strike the right chord and make me smile. Great post.
AND, you are so right with everything you’ve said here.
Almost six years after a chat with a fellow writer about character complexity, I still remember our discussion. He felt that my quiet character was, or should be, shy.
“She isn’t shy,” I said. “She’s just quiet.”
He insisted this distinction wasn’t possible, as if these two characteristics coincide. But people are more complex than that, often contradictory, and never black-and-white.
What I should have said was, “This character is quiet, a thinker, AND not shy, AND how great is that?”
Dee Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Yes, brilliant, Dee. I love this example. My husband is one of those quiet-but-not-shy types. I think folks like that often fit into the still waters run deep camp, and I LOVE those people. When a quiet person does speak, people notice, and usually the words are beautiful and true.
Maybe your friend (and many people) find it easier to interact with people when others have a set, fixed, black and white label? I suppose that strategy is how we disenfranchise and silence others. Republicans are X. Democrats are Y. Muslims are Z. Christians are A. I suppose it’s easier to stuff humans into tight boxes, but what a loss and what a waste.
Thank you, sweet Dee!
Wonderful article. I think most great writers, without analysing it, have perceived the strength of *and* in creating complex characters. The *buts* certainly seem to limit the depth of not only characterisation, but also of subtext.
(See? BUT ALSO is the opposite of BUT)
Furthermore, if we were to include the ampersand in our daily lives as ordinary people, writers or not, we would find life a lot smoother than having to fight every step of the way.
Beautiful.
Yes! Thanks for this, Lyn. Our roads would be much smoother, and we’d make the lives of others smoother too. It’s such a shame that we don’t use the “and” more consistently, especially with those who seem different. Each human is unique AND each human has shockingly similar needs, dreams and desires.
Sigh.
Thank you for these words!
Hi Sarah,
Love this post. As Susan pointed out, up above, there is both an “either/or” world and (see what I did there?) a “both/and” world. I am practicing living in a both/and world. Difficult work as that makes life messy and unpredictable and…did I mention messy? And it’s hard to escape the either/or world.
My protagonist? She is both courageous and prefers to withdraw from explosive emotional situations.
In my life? As most all beginning writers, whose stories/non-fiction are not earning money enough to live off of, I am both a writer and a professional working woman at another job. Oh? Isn’t that what you meant!
Ha! Yes, what a perfect example of the writer’s life! I am a writer, editor, tutor, mother, dog walker, mental health advocate . . . frankly none of those brings home much bacon.
Thank you for the laugh AND for spreading the both/and attitude. It’s a good one that does a lot of good.
:)
Awesome post Sarah AND I took notes to see if I might use AND in my query letter. Thanks, Beth
Oh, I love this! And gosh, best of luck in crafting your query letter. I find those terrible and challenging. AND I am glad that my writing partners are masters of The Query.
Three cheers for you for being at that point! Thank you for sharing.
What a marvelous post for AND. Thanks Sarah. This reminds me of something my son passed on to me about critiquing films. He used to critique movies by saying the film was either good or bad. He no longer uses either word because it doesn’t encourage discussion. Now he says the film is either “worth seeing” or “not worth seeing” Because… When you say something is worth it or not worth it there is a much better implication that the WHY for your statement is going to happen from either yourself or the person you’re talking to. AND we know how important WHY is when we’re writing. Writing is all about the WHY of behavior, And I’m going to let that thought carry me back to the page. Happy Writing!
Oh, that is so good Jocosa! Thank you for sharing this idea with the WU gang. I hadn’t considered the importance of the Why in this context and it makes great sense. I guess the “and” could also generate a How (How can this person contain such opposing, conflicting elements? How is this person going to navigate this journey? etc.)
Even that comment: It’s worth seeing (or reading) is so important. It makes us wonder, What makes something worth reading? Time is limited, life is short, so whatever we write better be worth a reader’s time and energy (even if it’s not her favorite novel ever).
Thank you, generous Jocosa.
:)
What a marvelous post for AND. Thanks Sarah. This reminds me of something my son passed on to me about critiquing films. He used to critique movies by saying the film was either good or bad. He no longer uses either word because it doesn’t encourage discussion. Now he says the film is either “worth seeing” or “not worth seeing” Because… When you say something is worth it or not worth it there is a much better chance the WHY for your statement is going to happen from either yourself or the person you’re talking to. AND we know how important WHY is when we’re writing. Writing is all about the WHY of behavior, And I’m going to let that thought carry me back to the page. Happy Writing!
Hot damn, loikong pretty useful buddy.
I love this article! I also became aware of using the word “but” too liberally in my conversation and have tried to replace it with “and”. My reasoning was that “but” sounded quite negative, almost as if I was undercutting what I had just said. For example, “We had a lovely holiday, but the flight was very long.” In this case, though, I think splitting the sentence into two separate thoughts would be more elegant than using “and”. What you have said about characters possessing contrasting yet equally interesting qualities is fascinating, and I will certainly try it out, especially where minor characters are concerned.
Such a great point you make here, Leanne . . . and perfect example. If you said the sentence about the good trip BUT a long flight, I as the listener tend to focus on the big but in the second half. The first part (which I imagine warrants more discussion than a discussion about the flight) disappears because the “but” almost negates it.
I knew “but” could limit people and things, but your example shows just how much power a but can have. It’s a silencer!
I’m so glad you took the time to share. Thank you!
Hi, Sarah:
I want your mechanic. Not for my car.
My working title for The Art of Character was Secrets & Contradictions, precisely because I saw these elements as crucial to any complex and compelling characterization.
I sometimes refer to them as the Depth and Contrast knobs on the inner TV screen. Secrets conjure depth — there is automatically a (hidden) inside and a (revealed) outside. Contradictions provide contrast: I am this but (sorry: and) I am also that.
Contradictions intrigue because we’re instantly compelled to wonder what connects these two seemingly irreconcilable aspects of a person’s nature.
Contradictions therefore both ask a story question and create suspense.
Wonderful post. That simple “and” is such a powerful observation. Thanks.
Such a great (and beautifully written) comment, David. Thank you. The concepts of depth and contrast on those wonderful old television sets is a great visual analogy. Without depth and contrast, there’s only a flatness. Flat scene, flat characters. Zzzzzzz.
Your idea about our desire to connect another’s seemingly irreconcilable traits is also dead on. Lisa Cron’s great book, Wired for Story, as I am sure you know, addresses our brain’s desire to make sense of the world based on past experience and knowledge. When something doesn’t fit–a pot-smoking seventy-five-year-old nun, a convicted felon who loves loves 16th century poetry, a bombastic, narcissistic presidential candidate with terrible hair who weeps when he hears the a choir of children–our brains say, WHOA, NELLY!
Yes, it’s the Whoa, Nelly! that causes us to want to reconcile the two. I love the way you explained it here.
And as you know, I think The Art of Character is fantastic, David. Thank you, thank you for sharing your ideas with all of us.
My current protagonist is a boy who is passionate about studying the ocean and is terrified to step foot into it.
The best way to tell if your husband is a spy or software salesmen is to check his expense reports. If it’s done on an Excel spreadsheet and emailed to his supervisor, he’s a software saleseman.
If he has to type it on a 1982 Royal typewriter with carbon paper between ten copies, he definitely works for the government.
Ha! Brilliant, Ron. What if he types his reports and prints them out with a dot matrix printer? Half-spy?
Thank you for the laugh.
I am equally grateful that you were willing to share an “and” in your work-in-progress. I love the idea because it makes me wonder WHY does he love and fear the ocean? And why does he study it if he’s so scared of it? Is he forcing himself to overcome his fear? Does he fear it because he knows too much about it? What terrible thing took place that made him so desperate to master the waves, depth, tides?
Please write it. I will buy many copies and give them to people whom I know love a great story.
Going to go check my husband’s invoices . . .
Thanks, Sarah, for a wonderful post. Two words I wish politicians (I’ll get to writers in a second) would banish from their vocabulary are “but” and “fight.” I don’t want to hear a positive statement of what can be done followed by a negative (but statement) wiping out the good of the original thought. Don’t get me started on “fight.” I want you to work for me. I can fight for myself.
And now to my WIP. I wrote a serial killer novel (how boring) from the first person POV of the killer. I wanted her to be evil and interesting, not likable. I wanted her to “fight” evil in her own way by doing more evil. I tried to keep “but” out, because her profession was fraught with negatives. Hell, she kills people, for cripes sake.
So, yes, using & instead of “but” makes for a more desirable read. And why don’t we have a symbol for “but?”
I love the timing of your comment, Betsy, as I am currently in DC with my family, and we (and a room full of others) had coffee and Q & A time with one of our state’s senators. I marveled at her command of language; obviously the ability to use rhetoric has always been a politician’s most powerful skill. But sometimes, the skill becomes tired and frayed. And so empty. This particular senator was actually quite good at using the “and.” I’m not sure the results will be any different, but it sure sounds more hopeful to those question-askers in the audience!
There should be a “but” symbol . . . though it’s hard to beat that ampersand in style and cuteness.
:)
A symbol for ‘but’ might be B
Which includes a different kind of Butt. aka Butt end.
Or being even more tacky
Butt &
Sorry. My brain just ran away with it.
Brilliant! My two most over-used words are “but” and “just”. I blame the but-ness on a Libra’s need to see both sides of darn near everything. I like your solution! And hereby promise to try using “and” more often in place of the b-word.
Barbara,
I am an over-user of the word “just” too! And I am working on it because it diminishes my writing and the confidence behind my sentiment. As I have become more aware of it in my own writing, I have wondered where I picked it up. It’s irritating!
I do know this: Together you and I can just knock it off!
Thanks for the empathy.
:)
Sarah, I never knew the power of AND until now. The best characters are definitely a complex jumble of contradictions. In the end though, when a character is put to the test, he or she has to choose between values that previously seemed equal. Like Schrodinger’s cat, one choice excludes the other. To take Ron’s example, when the boy decides what is more important, whether to step into that ocean or investigate it safely from shore, we know what is at his core.
Thanks for making me think today :) I’m experiencing post-retreat syndrome wherein I realize that other people have NOT make a retreat AND they’re testing my resolutions.
Oh, the post-retreat reentry is the WORST. It’s so blissful and then it’s so difficult. I try to remind myself that nothing gold can stay, AND I find I get irritated at anyone who demands or expects me to suddenly transition into the other facets of my life. I will be thinking of you and cheering you on via my empathy!
I really loved your example of Ron’s ocean boy. You are right; when we see a character choose one side or the other, we understand (for better or for worse) the course his journey may take. We understand the core of this person–what a refreshing thing to glimpse.
Thank you, Vijaya!
Sarah, I was particularly delighted with your championing of the ampersand, a broad-shouldered yet reflective mark not given to multi-letter self-aggrandizement. I very much like your “and” concept and usage, which Benjamin pointed out as being such a tale-moving tool in improv comedy.
My protagonist in an old novel (which I continue to tinker with, since I can’t find the bathroom) is a horndogging lust-bucket and also a tender soul who spends deep sympathetic time with his housemate, who is dying of AIDs. He has many “ands” that bridge “you lout!” with “you lionheart!” and those layered elements give him some measure of depth.
And just because I like ampersands, &&&&&&&&&&&&& (and &)
Hi, dear.
My husband and I were going to name ALL of our children and our puppy “Ampersand” but we got cold, cold feet because it would have been really confusing. That said, I do love the word. I guess there’s always the option that we spring a “name changing ceremony” on them. As my son just turned thirteen, I am sure he’d be right on board. Imagine what a cool signature he would have!
You should probably find a restroom at some point because I think that’s not healthy for your bladder. I’m no doctor, but it’s just what I have heard. That said, I LOVE the messiness of your characters . . . and I know I already love your writing. Make a quick trip to the loo, then return to your writing desk and keep going. You can dedicate the finished novel to me (or to your mighty bladder).
When we write ‘but’ we’re actually writing ‘and yet…’
Hmm. Yes, Veronica, I sort of see it. I want to go out but I’m waiting for a phone call…
I want to go out, and yet I prefer to stay home…
Not quite equivalent, would you say?
Both are definitely negative, and yet slightly different in intent.
English has such tricky nuances. Love playing these little games with it.
Great example, Lyn. Aren’t words such fun little things to play with? Not-writers don’t understand the beauty that we writers see.
Thanks, Veronica, for sharing this idea . . . it’s a cool one to consider. I think “and yet” suggests some conflict or wishywashyness while “but” feels definitive.
I’ll be curious to hear what others thing. Ah, the joy of words!
Sarah,
Wonderful and well-written.
For me, “but” puts a negative spin on the trait. Yes, we are multifold, with each element making the whole person. Without one of them — good or “bad” — the person wouldn’t be the same.
When we use “but,” we infer weakness and victimize ourselves (or our characters). We put a “woe is me” on that aspect or give it negative connotations. Using “and” gives it — and you (& your characters)– strength.
As in your “The road to publication is long, difficult, and frustrating, and I will persevere” example, had you said, “The road to publication is long, difficult, and frustrating, but I will persevere,” you would have made yourself out to be a victim. Your head is down, body slumped, feet slogging through the muck (and I know sometimes it feels like that), BUT the use of “and” gives you strength. It gives you that sense of your head held high, body erect, practically sprinting down this damn road of publication.
And speaking of which…loved the passionate Christian and skilled cusser. :D Thanks, Sarah!
Yes, Mike! I feel the same is true. There really is something empowering in that little three-letter word. More mighty than even some of the four-letter words artfully used by my friend, Jane. I think God likely gets a big kick out of her.
How about this: let’s you AND I persevere AND we will celebrate successful novels with peanut butter AND jelly sandwiches. Or cheese AND crackers. Or Mike & Ikes. Or all of that together! Sound good?
Maybe chips AND salsa too.
I most enjoy the thought that goes into each of these Unboxed articles to begin with. Every one of them adds something vital to the secret and solitary life of many a writer.
I never realized what a powerful word “and” is. Your examples show how that simple word brings inspiration to the first and empowerment to the second. Simple and brilliant.
But sometimes there’s no ifs or ands and only a ‘but’ or a ‘yet’ or an ‘although’ will do. Yesterday, in writing a blog post promoting my novel about Titanic (it’s sinking was 104 years this April 15th) … ‘A few steerage passengers survived BUT most were locked behind a steel gate that kept them from stampeding the boat deck – the departure zone of first class’s women and children’.
I will try this with my characters, but right now I’m staying at a relative’s house. He is extremely anal about how to load the dishwasher AND he leaves his stuff all over the house. Thanks for helping me understand him. AND now I’ll think about my characters. Great post, Sarah
Carol (smiley face) it’s HIS house…. AND his dishwasher.
But I know what you mean.
:)
Lynn, truly novelists must be psychologists, right? Your comment hit home. Now to apply that wisdom to my WIP!
Great post, thank you! :)