By Cami Walters-Nihipali
There could be lots of reasons for a story writing stall. Our own mental health as a possible culprit right now during the stress of 2020, let’s just focus on the stall being story related (Please take care of yourself during this stressful time and listen to your emotional needs now more than ever).
Let’s focus on CHARACTER.
As an element of literature, character is who a story is about and becomes the vehicle by which the audience is led through the narrative.
Keeping that definition in mind, an audience needs to connect with your character (just like you, as the author, need to connect with the character in order to tell the story). I’ll save this for another post, but it’s relevant for a moment to stop and ask yourself are you writing a character-driven story or a plot-driven one? Not sure? Check here. While both character and plot are necessary to ANY story, discovering the engine that’s driving the narrative matters in that it has the potential to inform you and the means behind your stall. For the sake of time and space, I’m going to focus on the character-driven issues for this particular post.
One of the reasons a story might meander or stall is because the author doesn’t have a clear picture yet about the main character. Besides filling out templates about the characters “favorites” which are definitely helpful to getting to know the character, it is critical to take those questions a step further and answer the “why”. Why is mint chocolate-chip her favorite ice cream? Why is pizza his favorite food? Consider yourself for a moment. Why is your favorite food your favorite? It might be as simple as: I like the taste. Chances are it goes deeper than the superficial answer, that there is a story attached. As the author, you need to dig into the “WHY” to really get to the heart of who your character is and discover his/her/their behind the scenes of the story.
For example:
“Brynn’s favorite beer—and she does love a good beer—is an India Pale Ale. She loves the hoppiness and the citrus of the flavors as they blend because they are so refreshing. She remembers the first time she had one, she was on a date with Helen (which makes her heart trip a little remembering that date), her first date after finally coming out. They were at the Portland Oregon Brew Festival and it was the last weekend of July. It was hot, but the music, the energy of the plethora of voices, and Helen, whose smile was like fourth of July fireworks lighting up everything about her, added to the magic. Brynn hadn’t been much of a microbrew fan before then. She’d gone because she’d been interested in Helen, so when Helen took Brynn’s hand and led her over to one of the venders to try their IPA ale—Helen’s favorite—the moment became so much bigger. The taste of that ale on her tongue, the smile of Helen, and the moment of living her true self was like finally stepping into her true shoes. That is when IPA became her favorite.”
When we, as the author, dig deeper into those character inspired stories, we begin to understand the layers of their perspective. The people, the experiences, the truth of who they are. This will inform your character’s motivations. So, dig deeper into getting to know your character. Which then begs the question: Do you know what is motivating your character?
Not sure? Follow these steps:
Step 1:
Fill in the blanks of the following statement:
If (character name) can just [blank] then s/he/they will finally [blank].
I’ll do this with Brynn above:
If Brynn can just be herself then she will finally be happy.
If you have a good sense of this statement, then ask yourself “Why.” Why can’t Brynn be herself? Why isn’t she happy? Then answer them. Follow these “why” questions as far as they take you to truly understand the motivation behind your character’s GREATEST WANT. Without this want, the story can be crushed under prose that might be hiding it rather than revealing it.
Step 2:
You’re clear on your character’s motivation but you’re still stuck. Ask yourself if at this point in the story if your character’s GREATEST WANT has shifted? If the motivation has changed (which it should because people change as life and experiences shape them) but the plot is still married to the initial motivation, the story may stall or become stilted. Listen to your character and their shifts. Redo the statement above in light of the changes and follow the why questions and answers again.
REMEMBER:
Your character’s GREATEST WANT might be driving the story forward, but the story is leading them to their GREATEST NEED, which, chances are, they DO NOT KNOW what they need (that comes at the end of the second act).
Hopefully this is a help. And if you’re still stuck, try interviewing your character. Tell them you’re stuck and then listen to what they have to say.
Be sure to send me a question if you have one!
Happy Writing.