Empathy For the Characters

Last Tuesday I went to the theatre, to see the newest of Wajdi Mouawad's play. You probably don't know who that is and because I'm a big fan, I will tell you. He is the playwright behind Incendies, which this year was Canada's runner up for the Foreign Movie Oscar. It's a fantastic movie. Get your hands on it, if you can!

As much as I love Mouawad's work, something about his latest baby didn't work for me. Thankfully, I could tell what was wrong right away.

I never sympathised about his main character. I liked the two secondary ones, but their emotional stakes in the story aren't as high. They aren't driving it.

Don't make this mistake. If your readers don't identify to the MC on some level, they won't care. And then you might have the best story in the world, it won't matter.

Here are a few ways to make the connection between your reader and your character. There are more in James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure, by the way!

1. Identification
Identification is an easy one, but if your MC isn't human, it's an important one. What about him makes him like most people? He probably has flaws, dreams and fears that are shared by a lot of human beings. Find these elements and highlight them early on (show them). Prove your character is human despite all his differences and you have reader identification.

2. Sympathy
There are a lot of ways to achieve sympathy for your character. Put her through hardships. Make her vulnerable. Put something she loves in jeopardy. Readers will cheer for someone in difficulty and this is a good way to make an early connection.

3. Inner Conflict
Characters who are certain of themselves, who have no doubts and no fears, aren't that interesting. We're not like that. We question everything we do. Bring your character's inner conflicts to the surface and we'll feel for your character.


There are more ways to get your readers to like your character, of course. Choose whichever you want, but make sure you use one.

Reader empathy will keep them reading.

And happy spring everyone! There's still snow everywhere on the ground here. :)

Before You Start A Scene...

At the end of January I made a quick list of the weapons I gather prior to starting a first draft. Today the focus is on scenes, because the plotter on me could not dive in without some preparation, at least.

Before I start that blog post (ah!), however, I'd like to point out that I am guest-posting on Tahereh Mafi's most awesome blog today. It's an incredible honour, and you should check it out! Especially since I rarely do 'funny' posts around here.

Now, to business! What do I need to know before I start a scene?

1) What is the conflict here?
Conflict is the driving strength behind a scene. Don't start before you know what your POV wants in this scene, and what stops him from getting it.

2) Who is your POV? Why?
I've blogged about the difficulties of choosing POVs in the past. Look for characters with high stakes, whether physical or emotional. Know your POV and know why he is the one narrating (even with a single POV story, you want to examine what your character brings to a scene that is unique).

3) How does this scene reflect the world?
I might care for this one a lot because I love worldbuilding, and enjoy watching details translate the world I created. Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile considerations even if your setting's a midwest town in the US. Every setting is unique. Not every scene will show it, but the more, the better!

4) Do you have HIP?
HIP in your scene is a concept taken from J.S. Bell's Plot and Structure book. In short: hook-intensity-prompt. Intensity is harder to think of in advance (it goes with conflict), but I like to have an idea of Hook and Prompt before I start.

5) What is the mission of this scene?
This one is from Larry Brooks, at storyfix. In a recent post he gave a small but solid advice: every scene should have a succint mission. (his words, not mine). What is the point of your scene? How does it move the novel forward? This is a great post to read, by the way.

So these are my basics. Also, wow, so many links!

If you are a Super-Plotter, I recommend you check out Margo's (from Urban Psychopomp) scene-building template. Tons of possible questions to ask yourself there!

Is there anything you think I missed? What do you always have at the ready before you start?

HIP In Your Scenes

The HIP system is something we all know about, on a different level, but it bears repeating because in my opinion, writing a good scene is hard. We know what we must strive for, but nailing it isn't so easy. It takes practice.

Again, all credit for this goes to James Scott Bell. If you want more, you'll have to pick up Plot and Structure.

What is HIP? An acronym (I think Bell loves acronyms, he has quite a few of them) of what you need in any scene: hook, intensity and prompt.

H for Hook. Start with something that raises questions. You need to grab your reader right off the bat and make him want to read on. All those tips for first sentences in a novel? Apply them to first sentences in a scene. Most of the time, location isn't your best bet. Be daring. Tease your readers before you describe the setting.

I for Intensity. Scenes need to be intense, or your reader will get bored. Pack them with tension and increase the intensity as the novel advances. This doesn't mean action; emotional turmoil can be just as intense. What you need is a simple thing: conflict. 

There should be conflict even in scenes between friends or allies. Play with their opposing agendas. Pit their opposing personalities against one-another. Make sure there are sparks flying. Turn every dialogue into a sparring contest. Make your scenes so tense the actual page is shaking. Or, well, maybe not, but you get the point.

P for Prompt. Don't end with something boring. Give your readers a reason to keep going, even if it's 4 am and they work early. Prompts can be impeding danger, mysterious dialogue lines, important announcement or vows... anything major, really. Just don't end with "Good-bye" or "He left the office."  End with something interesting.

Or, as Hitchcock used to say... "Cut out the dull parts."

J. S. Bell and the Character Arc

I bought James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure over the holidays in the hopes of helping me unravel the criss-crossing threads of my plot in a timely, tension-building fashion. It's important to know the canvas that supports a story and how to use it to your novel's advantage.

I can't possibly make a comprehensive list of how much I learned. The techniques in there are simple but efficient and I feel a lot less likely to err when I jump into my second draft. There's the LOCK system, the two doorways, the explanations on what beginning, middles and endings need, the common plot structures, the frequent problems and how to fix them... everything.

Out of all this, however, two elements caught my attention: the character arc and tension in your scenes.

 The Character Arc

I like to think I have a strong sense of characters. I used to roleplay a lot and am used to centering stories around a smattering of characters and their evolution. A good story may take a character through a series of events until he vanquishes adversity. A great story will have this adversity change him irrevocably.

I was pleased when I noticed Bell devoted an entire chapter of Plot and Structure to this. The Character Arc can be a subplot, such as your MC learning something important just before the 'final battle', or it can be the point of the story.

Humans often resist change, however. This is good, because it creates tension. But how do you change them?

His basic idea was that every character has a core self-image, and that surrounding it are four layers of protection. These are, starting from the center: beliefs, values, attitudes and opinions.

I drew this, by the way. Super talented, eh?

 The idea is that a change on the outer layer, opinions, will have repercussions on the inner one. If you can change a few opinions, then you'll change an attitude. And with a few different attitude, you might change values. And onward like this, until your character is forced to change his self-image.

I loved this.  Starting with small changes before hitting the big ones is a great way to bring about a smooth character arc.

I'll be back with tension in the scenes on Wednesday!