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By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 9/23/2016
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I give credit to an article in Parents magazine for inspiring this one. Are etiquette and chivalry truly dead? In your story world, you decide.
Tweet: Mores and manners change with the times, but everyone has a set of rules. #writingtips
From knights in clanging armor, to Victorian parlors, to the craziness of Hollywood, every story world has a set of rules for how people are supposed to behave and whether or not your characters choose to.
How comfortable Dick is in terms of asking for something depends on his personality type and whether he likes the person he is asking. The polite way to ask is, "Please may I ...". If Dick says, "Please taking a running leap off a short pier," the game is on.
How comfortable Dick is in terms of receiving things also depends on his personality type and whether or not he wants the item received.
Thank you's when used appropriately, are the oil that makes life run a little smoother. An insincere thank you can mask anger when Dick would really like to let those rude words fly and can't. "Why thank you! However did you come up with such a creative solution to our current predicament ...Sweetie." If he says, "Thank you for not breathing," the game is on.
When a character interrupts a conversation, even to tell Dick that Timmy is in the well, he is being rude.
How often do your characters interrupt each other? Is it well meant, deliberately intrusive or because the situation requires it? Is it timed to deflect an important or revealing conversation?
Cell phones are rampant. Forcing the people around him to listen to Dick's conversation is rude. Listening in on other people's conversations is considered rude. This can also have unforeseen consequences. People aren't careful when they talk on their phones in public. They aren't careful when dining with their friends in restaurants. Clues can be dropped, sensitive information revealed and a person's true colors exposed.
"It's better to ask permission than forgiveness" is a current favorite. But is it? Sometimes Dick should ask permission, like before he raids someone else's refrigerator. He'll pass on asking permission if he is raiding their safe. Taking something innocent without permission may seem harmless, but may push the wrong button. How does Dick feel about having something taken without permission? Is he amused or furious?
Jane should keep negative opinions to herself. Or between her and her friends and out of earshot of other people. In which case, they can discuss freely and at length over their favorite beverage. Refer to the previous "there's no privacy while dining" scenario. This is especially true when commenting on other people's physical characteristics, clothing, possessions and children. It isn't considered acceptable to offer an insult as a compliment: "My, those tattoos are so colorful." Or "It must have taken hours to do that to your hair." Southern women are queens of the insult/compliment smashup. "Well, bless her heart, isn't she precious? It must have taken a month of Sundays to come up with that outfit."
Jane should take a hostess gift to someone's house when invited for dinner and thank them for having her over and for the good time she had. If Jane is lying through her teeth, you have conflict. If she takes them a present intended to insult, the game is on. Is she thanks them for the most riveting evening she's ever had, the insult might fly right over her host's head.
Sally was taught to knock before entering. This could avert a potential disaster if her husband is in bed with someone else. If she is doing something she doesn't want anyone to know about, locking the door would be a great idea. If Sally never locks a door and suddenly decides to lock the door, there is conflict. Locking the bathroom door could mean the child/person knocking better be bleeding, the house on fire or someone dying. If not, the game is on.
When making a phone call, Dick should introduce himself and ask for whoever he wishes to speak to. With the advent of caller ID this is going out of fashion. The conflict occurs when Dick doesn't bother to ascertain who he is talking to before he speaks. It also occurs when Dick answers someone else's phone, particularly if he pretends to be that person. Wrong numbers and misunderstandings are rife in these situations.
What are your story world rules about profanity? It is considered bad manners to use foul language in public, particularly if sensitive little ears are around to hear them. There are still factions of society insulted by words that other factions of society use as versatile adjective/noun/verbs. Profanity is generally considered crass in business and social functions. If Dick does so, how much trouble will he be in? Is Jane offended by profanity or does she swear like a sailor?
Dick should never call other people names or make fun of them. Until they are out of earshot and can't hear him or retaliate. Unless he intentionally wants to start a fight. Even good natured teasing can be taken the wrong way.
Jane should sit through a play, assembly, lecture or business meeting quietly and pretend she is interested even if she is bored silly. What happens if she doesn't? We've all been in boring business meetings, school music programs or dance programs that - other than our little darling's five seconds of fame - bore us to tears. You may be at a lecture or a workshop. This is where the cell phone issue comes in. The light from the screen is distracting. Jane may be bored, but the parent/participant sitting next to her might not. What happens if Jane is forced to sit there? What happens if she breaks free? What happens if she breaks out her Blackberry?
Sally should cover her mouth when she coughs or sneezes. These days it's an act of terror to spread germs in a public place or airplane.
If he sees someone struggling, Dick should offer to help. This is lovely if an elderly person is struggling with their groceries, a mom with a stroller, or someone drops something and doesn't notice. These situations can be hilarious or deadly. What could a little act of kindness lead to? What could Dick gain by pretending to be helpful? There's the old joke about the boy scout who helped the old lady across the street only to find she was headed the opposite direction. Good intentions rarely go unpunished.
When someone asks a favor, Jane should do it without grumbling, unless the favor is inappropriate. Favors can be dangerous. If Jane asks a favor, she should preface it with, "Would you mind." If she follows that up with "Would you mind sodding off?" the game is on.
For more on crafting conflict to create tension, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 9/2/2016
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Tweet: There was a time and place when a man was only as good as his word and integrity was paramount. #writingtips
A clansman's oath was to the death. Tribesmen the world over made verbal contracts often involving an exchange of blood.
If you lived in merry old Europe during most of the regent-named eras, a reputation was considered more important than currency. A man might be poor, but he could still have his good name. Lots of citizens indulged in lascivious shenanigans, though most turned a blind eye while they did so. As long as the shenanigans took place in private and the “public” remained ignorant, all was well and good. Shift the curtains and allow a passerby to see inside the facade and the person in question was ruined.
Are honesty and integrity important in your story world? Is it more valuable than currency?
Is it important for Dick to have a “good name?” What will Dick have to do to maintain or regain his reputation? Many a tale hinges on someone trying to repair a damaged reputation. Dick’s integrity might be one of his hot buttons. Others will challenge it at their own risk.
Dick might be proud of his reputation as a womanizer and guy’s guy. Jane might look down her patrician nose at him for being so superficial. In many a love story, she finds out her initial prejudice was unfounded.
Jane might have a reputation as a loose woman with a sharp tongue. When forced to work with Jane, Dick might realize Jane has been unfairly demonized. She is really quite lovely.
How important are honesty and integrity to the characters that move about your story world?
Not all of them will value the same things. To some, virtues will be of the highest importance. To others, vices might be of higher importance.
Is it better to give than receive? Depends on who is giving and who is receiving, doesn’t it? If Dick is giving money to a charity, it’s a good thing. If Jane is giving crucial intelligence to Iran, not such a good thing. Both might have a reputation as a “giving” sort of person.
What if Dick has earned a reputation he does not deserve? What if he is held aloft and admired by millions for something he didn’t really do, or for doing something that appeared benign when it was secretly malignant?
It might be Jane’s story goal to strip him of his “good name.”
A business’s reputation is worth its weight in stocks. A single incident can trash a business’s reputation. The business may never recover. The stakes are high when a company is fighting to keep, change, or restore its reputation. Those at the top of the corporate pyramid may turn lethal if their reputation is challenged. If Dick orchestrates a coup with the sole purpose of destroying a corporation, the game is on.
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To learn more about the mannequins and how personality types create conflict for your characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book, and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook available in paperback and E-book.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 3/10/2016
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| WHO'S THE BOSS? |
I have to thank a friend for inspiring this one, though I’ll withhold names to protect the innocent. My friend, let’s call her Jane, works in an office where the boss’s wife comes in periodically to make sure things are done her way. She isn’t actually an employee, nor is she an expert in the business he conducts. She just likes to meddle and throw her weight around to feel powerful.
Tweet: Family run businesses can be an entirely different breed of viper’s nest. #storybuildingblocks #writingtips
Unlike the cogs in the corporate hierarchy that are easily removed and replaced, the family run business is full of emotional landmines.
If Dick’s father is the nominal head of the business, theoretically he should be in charge. But what if he isn’t?
What if Dick’s Mom wears the corporate pantsuit even though she doesn’t actually work there? It will cause aggravation if not outright abuse for all who work for them. It is a very uncomfortable work environment. The rules can be disregarded at whim and the hierarchy ignored when the untitled boss gets involved. The changes she makes are implemented without warning or consideration for those who actually have to show up and do the job every day. They are enforced even though they create headaches for those who have to perform the tasks.
Jane will go to the office every day primed with anxiety. When will the saboteur show up next and what impossible demands will she make? Because the reward system is illogically skewed, Jane won’t be certain that her hard work and dedication will be appreciated, so how hard should she try? Should she stay or go? Depends on her situation and how good the pay and benefits are. How much is Jane willing to sacrifice for material reward when every day feels like a swim in a shark tank? How much abuse is she willing to endure before she quits or pulls out a revolver?
How does the uncertainty affect the son Dick? How frustrated will he grow with his spineless father when he witnesses his mother’s torture of the employees? How firm can he get with his impossible mother? Will Dick grow and learn to stand up for himself against the female bully or will he repeat the enabling pattern?
What if Dick’s sister Sally also works at the firm? They have grown up being pitted against one another. Who is the favorite child for which parent? The dynamics shift depending on the answer. If Dick is Dad’s favorite and Sally is Mom’s favorite, then Dick has a real problem. His succession as head of the business isn’t assured. Mom may choose Sally to take over. If Sally is Dad’s favorite and Dick is Mom’s favorite, then Sally has a problem. She can have Dad wrapped tightly around her little finger, but if Mom wields the power and isn’t too fond of her simpering daughter, Sally is in a no-win situation. If the parents continually play out their antagonism toward one another through their son and daughter the waters get hurricane choppy. If Mom dies, then Dad is free from her oppression and the work environment can become an entirely different place. If Dad dies, and Mom takes over or the business is turned over to Sally instead of Dick, the situation can disintegrate further. If the siblings enter a turf war over it, the conflict heats to a boil.
How many employees will abandon ship? How many will stay? How can the company survive if the internal structure is unstable?
The addition of sibling and parent dynamics to any story situation raises the stakes and changes the playing field significantly.
The conflict could be a mild distraction while Dick is trying to save the planet or find the kidnapped girl.
The conflict could be the core of a literary tale of deadly dysfunction.
The conflict could be the source of an intense thriller or suspense.
The parent/child scenario could be a factor in a YA novel. The parents could be running a gas station, a major corporation, a village, a country, or a wolf pack.
In your story, who is the boss? Who are the powers that be? Who makes the ultimate decisions? The more dysfunctional the situation, the higher the story stakes.
For more on crafting conflict to create tension, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book.
Tweet: In your story, it is highly suggested that your main character undergo some form of change by the end. #storybuildingblocks #writingtips
The change can be life-altering or subtle. It can be a change for the better or worse.
It is open for debate if antagonists or secondary characters undergo change of their own.
If one person shifts, it creates ripples in the people around them.
Dick is going along, minding his own business, when - Wham - life throws him a curve ball (i.e. the inciting incident) and his life will never be the same.
Along the way, as he battles obstacles to achieve the overall story goal, he undergoes some form of change: from arrogant to humble, naive to wise, weak to strong, cowardly to brave, misunderstood to understood, adolescent to adult.
These changes result in an up ending if they are positive.
If Dick changes for the worse, you have a down ending.
What makes Dick willing to change?
Depends on the story stakes, the types of obstacles he will face, and the genre you are writing in. The change may be subtle in a Literary tale and overt in a Fantasy tale.
Some endings are a little bit of both.
Dick can be compelled by an authority figure or social group to change, but he himself was not really motivated to change. For instance, he may be court ordered to do community service that opens his eyes to the plight of the underprivileged. He might be ordered by a commanding officer or boss to do something that transgresses his value system and he fights against the order, but eventually gives in because he isn’t willing to endure the price of the alternative. This results in an up-down ending.
Dick might change to escape criticism or banishment from people he cares about, a group he belongs to, or a corporation he has built. At his core, he may never agree to what is being asked of him, but he does it because he must to maintain the status quo or obtain the story goal, which also delivers an up-down ending. If he is being forced to do something healthy, this is an up ending. If he accepts things that are unhealthy, it is a down ending.
Jane may enter the story knowing that she needs to make a change: she needs to leave her unsatisfying job, leave her empty marriage, or stop selling narcotics because she has seen the needle and the damage done. The overall story problem makes the situation worse so that Jane has no choice but to change. This results in an up ending. If Jane knows that she has to make a change that is detrimental to her psyche, it results in a down ending.
Sally may change because she can no longer tolerate the situation she is in, the feelings she is carrying around, or the pain of the status quo. She must change because she simply cannot bear the alternative any more. She was near the breaking point and the inciting incident makes the choice unavoidable. This usually results in an up ending, unless the change she was contemplating was a bad one.
Just as the overall story arc has its ups and downs, so do scenes. A scene can have an up or down ending.
These undulations make the story ride enjoyable. They keep the reader wanting to know how it will all end. Characters that are static throughout a story are boring and hard to root for.
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For more tips on how to craft believable characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book, and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, also available in paperback and E-book.
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| Currency = Motivation |
A character’s currency might be safety, money, esteem, physical objects, or spiritual wellbeing. Some desire closeness. Others desire space. A character’s “currency” is the key to influencing them, building relationships with them, and igniting their fury.
If someone keeps trying to motivate or influence your character by promising or threatening them with things they don’t want or don’t care about, their efforts will fail.
Characters with opposing currencies have a difficult time building a relationship, a friendship or a working partnership.
Emotional currency provides the carrot and the stick of dynamite.
An antagonist who threatens people with things they aren’t afraid of fails in his scene objective. An antagonist who bribes his henchmen with things they don’t want also fails in his scene objective.
If Dick is motivated by a job well done, then self-esteem is its own reward. Dick might react positively to praise or find it uncomfortable.
If Dick performs a task for the self-satisfaction of seeing it done, when Sally heaps praise on him for it, it won’t mean much. His lack of reaction can confuse and annoy Sally. Especially if Dick counters the praise with, “I didn’t do it for you.” Those are fighting words. Sally feels her gift of praise is rejected, her feelings are hurt. That will either throw her into passive mode or aggressive mode.
If Sally feels like she is giving Dick something, even if it is something Dick neither wants, needs, nor values, she expects esteem in return. Dick, not understanding her currency, won’t give it to her. He will just be annoyed that he was given something he didn’t want, need, or value.
In order for them to mend fences, Sally would have to come to grips with the fact that not everyone wants, needs, or values what she wants, needs, and values. Dick would have to learn how to graciously accept something he didn’t want because Sally was exhibiting generosity of spirit in giving it.
To go forward in a healthy manner, they would both have to learn to communicate their wants, needs, and currency in a calm, rational way. That rarely happens. Characters rarely become so self-aware that their psychological buttons aren’t pushed. That's why we have fiction ... and reality television.
The esteem of others can be a reward that reinforces Dick's scene or overall story goal. This is great if Dick is building a house for Habitat for Humanity, not so good if he is building a robot that will take over the planet.
If Sally does something with the expectation of being praised and praise is withheld, she may get mad. She may be tempted to get even. She might undo her efforts in retaliation for not receiving the accolades she hoped for. She may be driven to petty acts of spite or refuse to cooperate further. This dynamic plays out in couples, families, and offices all over the globe. It plays out in classrooms, sports teams, social clubs, and PTAs.
If Sally is denied praise and Jane receives praise, Sally will deflect her anger onto Jane. Jane will become a target for her revenge fantasies, especially if the person she really wants to punish is untouchable, dangerous, could fire her or she's married to him. She might think before she strikes at someone she has to live with. If Dick needs a specific piece of information, physical object, or cooperation, he will have to figure out what Sally’s currency is and use that to influence her to give it to him. Her mind will automatically assign a more desirable scapegoat for her frustration.
Dick can try appealing to Sally’s sense of fair play. If Sally has been repeatedly denied the praise or recognition she deserves, she won’t feel like being fair.
Dick can try appealing to her sense of accomplishment by praising her work. Sally recognizes that Dick is feeding her a line and refuses again.
Dick can try bribing her with more money than she can make in a year. Sally is well off financially and that carrot isn’t enough to sway her.
Dick remembers a conversation they had about Jane and how Jane unfairly received praise for something Sally felt she deserved the credit for. Dick offers to help her harm Jane’s reputation or make Jane look incompetent. Bingo, Sally agrees because revenge and retaliation are her currency of the moment. That doesn't make Dick a nice guy, but sometimes you have to do something bad to get something good, or at least promise it in the heat of the moment and renege on it later!
All of your characters will be motivated and influenced by their currency. Conflicts and misunderstandings will abound.
For more tips on motivating your characters, check out Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 11/25/2015
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I have to thank Simon and Garfunkel for this post which was inspired by their song Homeward Bound.
The lyrics go: “I wish I was homeward bound. Home, where my thought's escaping. Home, where my music's playing. Home, where my love lies waiting silently for me.”
Hopefully, his love isn’t lying there silently because she is dead. If so, it would place the story in the mystery or horror category.
For most, the word “home” conjures warmth and belonging, especially during the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Home can be a place where Dick finds nurturance and love. It can be the place where he feels safe in a world gone mad.
Home can be a place that he longs to return to, a situation he longs to build for himself, or a place he needs to run from instead of to.
What kind of place do your characters call home? What lies in wait for Dick when he gets there? Home can remind Dick of all the things he lost or never had. Family get-togethers may be bitter rather than sweet. If a story problem forces Dick to go home, the game begins.
What if home is full of ghosts, personal demons and the walking dead, either literally or figuratively? Home can be full of mildly or severely dysfunctional people. If Dick’s family home or hometown is filled with addicts and felons, then it isn’t the cheery Hallmark scenario everyone imagines.
Going home can be psychologically or physically damaging. Can he tell anyone what home is truly like for him? Not necessarily. Shame is a huge motivating factor. It may keep Dick from telling anyone just how bad home really is. Even if Dick tells, he might be mildly rebuked for being so hard on his nearest and dearest. Surely it can’t be that bad? Except, it is. When his coworkers are rushing home, eager for the weekend or his schoolmates returning home at the end of school term, it can fill Dick with dread.
Coming from a family with something to hide places Dick in a precarious position. Even if he is brilliant and has a laudable talent or amazing skills, he has to be careful to not allow the spotlight to veer in his direction. It might startle the cockroaches from his past and make them frightened, which can make them dangerous.
Home can be a trigger for a recovering Sally. Most characters long for home. If going home puts Sally at risk for a relapse, it may not be the best place to visit. If the dysfunction that exists there is the thing that made her get high or drunk in the first place, the trigger will always be there, waiting like a land mine to blow up in her face. Sally may have to avoid home as much as she craves it. She will have to find a way to build her own home and that is not an easy thing to do. What if Sally feels more at home somewhere else? As much as her friends or other family members may like her, she isn’t really part of their home. Will they make room for her? Can they? Should they? To what extent?
Home can be full of actual ghosts or zombies. That places the story in the paranormal realm. Can Jane tell anyone? Maybe not. If she has to deal with the paranormal element at home while trying to live a normal life outside of it, Jane has serious conflict. Keeping a secret becomes a prison whether Jane is hiding that her Dad is a serial killer or a faerie King. How far is she pushed? Who could she tell? Who would believe her? How could she prove it? Her life is in danger either way.
What if Dick returns home and finds it markedly changed? He can return from college, a trip abroad, or from living on another coast or planet. What if it isn’t what he remembered? Dick may have a hard time reconciling the idealized version of home with the reality. How do the changes make him feel? Have things improved or gotten much worse. Has the town been invaded by trolls? Maybe Sally and Jane don’t remember things in quite the same way. Maybe Dick is forced to face a completely different “truth” about the way things were. The story can review all the things he thought he remembered and offer a completely different twist.
A fully drawn hero has both a home life and a work life. It’s important to give your reader a glimpse into both. It is unbalanced when we are presented with characters that are never at home or never at work. We don’t need to see every little thing they do at either location, but it helps to understand them if we see how the character operates in both worlds. They are defined by how they navigate the tricky waters both inside and outside the family.
For more on crafting conflict to create tension, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 11/20/2015
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Denial is an subconscious defense mechanism. When you ask a two-year old if he took a cookie from the jar (and he knows he will get in trouble for it), he denies it.
Characters deny things for complex reasons: to protect themselves, to protect people they love, to dodge a painful truth, or to deflect blame or suspicion.
When confronted with an internal dilemma or overall story problem, Dick (the protagonist) can choose to accept something or not oppose it at first. He may deny that aliens have landed or that his wife has lost that loving feeling. He may deny that he has cancer. As events unfold, Dick is eventually forced to accept it.
When confronted by information that counters his belief system or faith in someone, a character’s first response is usually denial. Many stories center on his journey as he struggles to accept the truth.
Dick may deny that he is the only one who can stand up to an injustice or a bully, but the overall story problem forces him to do so.
Jane (as antagonist) can see that her plan is failing and refuse to accept it. The reader will be thrilled that she failed.
Dick (as protagonist) can refuse to accept that his cause is lost and push on until he wins. The reader will be elated when he succeeds.
If Jane refuses to believe that Sally is dying, she may plan vacations and purchase air tickets that will never be used. She may insist on trying every far-fetched “miracle cure” on the market while Sally tries to bring Jane back to acceptance that the end is nigh.
Friends and foes chiming in on the issues make the story problem more difficult for the protagonist to succeed and the antagonist to fail. Their own acceptance or denial can create obstacles.
Friends and foes can continue to deny that vampires exist or a friend’s spouse is cheating even when they see the cheaters together.Friends and foes can deny they were at the crime scene, withholding critical information either out of fear or out of malice.
Denial creates conflict and tension as the reader waits for it to resolve. You can use this tactic to drive the story at scene and overall story levels.
To learn how obstacles create conflict for your characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 11/13/2015
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Conscience is that angel sitting on Dick's shoulder that tells him when he is doing something wrong. Conscience makes him feel bad when he does things that are counter to his morals or belief system, or when it registers that he has hurt another person. Empathy goes hand in hand with conscience.
Conscience is the thing within that keeps Dick from lying, cheating, stealing, or killing. It forms the psychological lines that Dick won't cross or the cultural taboos that direct his behavior.
An antagonist doesn’t have to be without conscience. He can truly believe in his cause or plan and at the crisis point realize that he has been doing something wrong. He can know from the beginning that he is doing something wrong, but justify it until the crisis comes along and he can’t anymore. He can exit the stage steadfast in the belief that he was correct.
Shame can serve as strong motivation. Shame creates that burning sensation in the chest. It can make Dick regret something he has done and apologize for it. Lies and betrayals, large and small, can lie heavily on his conscience. Shame can inspire Dick to do something noble to make up for his mistake.
Shame can have the opposite effect. Jane can feel so full of shame that it sends her into a death spiral of low self-esteem that forces her further into addiction or crime. It can so damage her self esteem that she doesn’t see the point in trying to be any different. Trying to drag Jane back to a sense of balance can be impossible.
Shame can create small, subtle conflicts within a psyche, a marriage, a friendship, a social club, or a work group.
Characters can accept blame for things they didn’t do either because their self esteem is low or because they want to protect someone else. They can take responsibility for things they shouldn’t. A crisis of conscience can be a story problem or a story solution. It can be a protagonist’s personal dilemma.
Conscience can drive different characters in different directions. Conscience can send Dick to war and make Jane a conscientious objector.
On the dark side, are characters who lack conscience. Psychopathy and sociopathy are similar disorders. Both are considered antisocial personality disorders. Some consider sociopaths less in control, more anxious and easily agitated and more likely to act up in public. They are often homeless because they can’t do what it takes to live in normal society. A psychopath is considered calmer, more secretive and manipulative. They can be charismatic and charming, hiding their pathology with a veneer of health. They don’t feel remorse or guilt but are aware enough of what the appropriate human responses are that they can mimic them. They both mean trouble and make chilling antagonists. However, they tend to be one-dimensional. An argument could be made that they have been overused.
Characters are rarely one-hundred percent good or evil. Crafting them with shadow and light makes them more interesting. Internal conflict enriches the story. Wrestling with their choices creates tension.
For more about how to craft characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, available in paperback and E-book.
If a bomb goes off in your plot and no one reacts, what's the point?
A friend of mine uses the term “push back," in her critiques. What it means is something of merit happens or is said and none of the characters respond. The action or dialogue goes unchallenged and the scene contains no conflict: huge plot hole.
During a recent encounter with a stubborn two-year-old, I knew exactly what she meant. The conversation went something like this:
“Ava, Granny has to go into her room for a minute.”
"No.”
“Yes, I do. You can hold my hand or I can pick you up, which would you prefer?” (I like to give toddlers options. It makes them feel like they have a modicum of control.)
“No.”
“Take my hand.”
"No.”
“Okay, the hard way.” I picked her up. She pushed back by whining the entire time we were in the room. Little Ava didn’t get her way and she was not happy about it. She let me know it, for five minutes straight, while banging her Barbie doll’s head on everything she came in contact with.
Don’t make things too easy for Sally, Dick, and Jane. Make sure other characters balk, impede, cop an attitude, and show their displeasure. Make them react. Get inside each character's head. What are they thinking and feeling in the scene?
Too often secondary characters' motivations are lost when writing from one character's POV. Just because they aren't the focus, doesn't mean they don't have thoughts, feelings, wants, needs, schedules, and goals of their own.
If Dick forces Jane to go somewhere she doesn’t want to go, talk to someone she does not want to talk to, or perform an act she’d rather not, have her refuse or retaliate.
What will Jane do to make him regret forcing her hand? It may not happen right away. Dick might not feel the push for an hour, a day, or a week. Dick makes Jane do something. She forces him to pay for it later by making him do or say something or go somewhere he doesn’t want to. If Jane complies and fulfills Dick’s request, she might push back right away then emphasize her point again later.
They start off having the above sort of conversation:
“Jane, we’ve been invited to Sally and Ted’s for a party.”
“No freaking way.”
"Ted is my boss.”
“I’d rather crawl in a sewer and collect Bubonic-plagued rats.”
“Attendance isn't optional.”
“Your problem, not mine.”
"He expects you to come with me.”
“Fine, I’ll go, but I’ll need a new Coach purse and new heels and a new dress.”
This is the immediate push back. Jane hits Dick in his credit card.
The night arrives, dinner ensues, and Jane ruins the evening by discussing Bubonic-plagued rat hairs found in a caterer’s food at a previous party. That is push back. She might give Dick a break and tell the hideous hostess that it wasn’t her caterer – of course – but one can never be too careful.
Dick forces her to leave the party early, which makes Jane very happy. In retribution, he will offer a little push back of his own. When Jane asks him to go to her mother’s house for dinner, he can reply, “I’d rather crawl in a sewer and eat Bubonic-plagued rats.”
The game is on.
To learn more about using obstacles to create conflict in your fiction, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book.
No one likes feeling trapped and the desire to escape is an intense motivator and speaks to a universal need for safety. Readers root for characters to escape catastrophic or horrific danger. By limiting the psychological or physical boundaries, you increase the boiling point of your story cauldron by making it impossible for your characters to walk away.
There are obvious ways to use physical confinement: remote locations or being trapped inside burning a building, speeding train, or airplane. Characters may have to escape an asylum, a prison, a sinking ship, or a dying planet. At scene level, they may have to overcome other obstacles such as manacles or laser alarm systems or crawl through tight tunnels. Life or death stakes ratchet up the tension. Add a ticking clock, and you’ve escalated the conflict to Thriller level.
But let's step outside obvious physical limiations to look at a few examples where confinement is psychological. Emotional life and death stakes can be just as effective.
Dick might need to escape from a confining belief system, societal rules, or cult. This type of conflict fuels many dystopian and Science Fiction plot lines. It also works in literary and coming of age stories. She might literally have to escape to save her life or the lives of others.
Sally can be confined by a family, a tribe, or a gang. The situation can be an abusive or an intolerable person she needs to flee from. She may simply need to escape to pursue the career she loves or marry the man of her dreams.
Confinement can force a character to deal with a person or situation because they can’t escape from them.
Dick can feel trapped in an airplane seat. Add an obnoxious rowmate and his discomfort increases. Replace the obnoxious stranger with an angry spouse and your characters are strapped in for a few hours of heated debate or icy silence.
Being confined in a car can have the same effect. Characters often have intense and important conversations while strapped inside. Being confined in a train, elevator, or waiting room can provide Dick with ample time to think something through as well.
Dick might want to break free of romantic relationship or marriage. Depending on his personality type and childhood wounds, he might find commitment suffocating. It can be as simple as Dick not liking that his romantic options have narrowed or been eliminated, so he refuses to propose to a girl he loves. He’ll live with her but he doesn’t like the prison bars that marriage suggests.
If Jane sees marriage as a desirable bond, a sign that Dick values their relationship and promises to always have her back, she won’t understand his reluctance. This provides terrific tension in a romance or romantic subplot. Dick and Jane, as well as the supporting cast, can argue whether marriage entraps or frees them. Dick can overcome his internal resistance and give in. Dick and Jane can agree that their commitment to each other is more important than the piece of paper. Or, their differing belief systems and needs are a deal breaker and they end the relationship.
Sally might want to break free of a confining friendship. If Sally is the type of easy-breezy personality that loves to be around lots of people and considers twenty people her best friend, she might befriend Jane who values one tight, soul-sister over lesser acquaintances. Confine these two in an apartment or a college dorm and the conflict increases. Whether physically confined or emotionally confined, their differing needs and definitions of loyalty and trust provide obstacles to continuing their friendship. It can be explored in a sweet literary story about why friendships fail. Jane could cause problems for Sally, the protagonist, in other genres as Sally negotiates her exacting friend’s emotional neediness while solving an unrelated story problem. This claustrophobic dynamic has been explored in horror films about scary roommates, but it can also factor in virtually any plot line. Pairing friends with differing connection needs creates believable conflict.
Jane might want to escape a confining job. She may be afraid to leave a lucrative career but imprisoned by the monotony or lack of challenge. She may love the job but hate her boss or coworkers. The entrapment will either force to her make a life changing career move or renegotiate her reality within the confines of her job.
Family get togethers are rarely the love-fests featured in the sweet family stories of long ago. Reunions are hot beds of festering unmet needs and resentments. Personalities clash and clang and grate, fomenting snide remarks and truth-revealing tirades. The quickest way to exit an undesirable family event is for your character to make statements they know will stir the family pot and storm out during the ensuing verbal brawl. An investigator might stir the pot to get a suspect to reveal himself.
If going home feels like entering a prison, Jane isn’t going to enjoy going there for a holiday meal, much less a week. She may be forced to return home to take care of an ailing parent. The situation makes her feel like she is being strangled, particularly if irritating siblings insist on visiting. Emotional bombs will burst.
Setting and situation choices can force your character to make decisions or take actions they otherwise would ignore. As the character's social, psychological, or physical noose tightens, the reader's tension grows along with it and they keep turning the page to relieve their own anxiety.
For more ways to utilize obstacles to create tension in your fiction, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict in print or E-book version.
By: Diana Hurwitz,
on 8/27/2015
Blog:
Game On! Creating Character Conflict
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As I turn 53 today, several recent events converged to make me examine why I write and whether I want to continue writing.
I wrote and published 8 books between 2007 and 2012. I have not written a book in a while and Create Space sent me an email asking if I was still writing.
I had lunch with a friend and we talked about my dry spell and she asked me what would make me passionate about writing again. I have suffered health crisis after health crisis since before I wrote Mythikas Island, which has resulted in a roller coaster of frenzied work and months living as a cat. Health woes certainly contribute to the ambivalence. I began writing poetry and journaling as a young girl. I did not attempt fiction until I was middle-aged. So as I explored the reasons why I started writing books in the first place, a theme developed.
I wrote the Mythikas Island series (I: Diana, II: Persephone, III: Aphrodite, and IV: Athena) for my daughter Anna. She was a teenager and was sick of love triangles in YA books. She said some girls wanted stories that didn’t revolve around guys. Ideas for stories about goddesses and girl power had been percolating for a while and that became the impetus for the Mythikas Island series. Four girls are groomed to be leaders and must save themselves and fight for their future.
I wrote the Story Building Blocks (I: The Four Layers of Conflict, II: Crafting Believable Conflict, III: The Revision Layers, IV: Build A Cast Workbook) because I couldn’t find them anywhere when I needed them. I was tired of reading about the story arc and all those motivational tomes. I wanted nuts and bolts and tools for developing plots and characters. I wanted advanced craft lessons. I also wanted to centralize all of my notes on revision, editing, and proofreading. So, I spent several years learning, reading, dissecting stories, and researching. I developed a story architecture theory that made sense to me. This blog, Game On, is an extension of the desire to share what I learn. I also guest post on The Blood Red Pencil, another blog devoted to the craft of writing.
I have studied interior formatting, cover design, and website building. Although far from expert, I have added those skills to my tool kit.
Then I was blindsided with the misdiagnosis of a mystery muscle disease. That led to a year of research and another year of developing that research into a website for the rare disease, Stiff Person Syndrome, which became The Tin Man. It not only has up-to-date information on SPS, but a large section on how to cope with debilitating diseases and resources for patients with rare diseases. Again, things I couldn't find that I needed.
While I haven’t been entirely slothful, there was no book at the end of those two-plus years. Create Space had no way of knowing that, hence the gentle reminder.It turns out, I am motivated by writing things that benefit other people. It is the sharing information and helping that bring me joy. If I inspired one teenager, helped one writer, or educated one patient, I consider all that time well spent.
I’ve always joked to my critique group that my biggest problem is that I don’t need the money and I don’t want to be famous. I admit to being turned off by the business and promotional aspect of publishing, as necessary as it is to being a lucrative independent author. It is an area I would need to research and I’d have to overcome my natural resistance to being in the spotlight and sales promotion. I would also have to work around my physical limitations. I’d much rather sit in a room churning out work and let others worry about what to do with the end product. Alas, successful writer-preneurs are not built that way. So, I have to decide if that is the way I want to spend time.
I attended a funeral yesterday for a friend that made me ponder what I want to do with my remaining time. He died during the adventure of a lifetime, checking off a big item on his bucket list. This led me to examine what I am still capable of and prioritizing my bucket list.
The hubs is going to retire next year in August. After our relocation from Windyana to Adult Disneyland, I don’t know what my days will be like. All those long hours I spent working or sleeping while he was at the hospital will now be filled with different things.
My muses still visit and my characters still chime in with ideas of where they'd like to go, especially my goddess girls. I have more ideas for the Story Building Blocks series. I have a draft of a YA story, and first chapters of many others that I call my Widows & Orphans file including a mystery called The Wicked Stage.
But will they ever see print? Who knows? Once the reno nightmare of the new house and trauma of moving are over, I may put fingers back to keyboard. If for no other reason than to free the characters that haunt me like trapped ghosts seeking the light.
