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| Your Character's Why -- It's Everything. Here's Why. And How...
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October 23, 2020
Oakland, CA
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| | “Why do I need to know everything about my character?” my client asked.
“You don’t need to know everything. Just the important bits!” I said.
Let me explain...
The other day I was in an editing consultation with one of my clients.
I had read and commented on her 20 pages ahead of time.
In our consultation, I called her attention to where the story seemed disjointed. She agreed with me, but didn’t know exactly what was wrong. So we looked at it together.
I realized that the short backstory she shared didn’t connect with the theme the main character was focused on.
We brainstormed on the core problem. And I realized that this problem was showing up all over her 20 pages.
She had not clarified for herself why her character was acting the way he was acting and why certain things were important to him.
Ultimately, so many of the characteristics of this character were beautifully portrayed -- his humor, his drive, his quirky behaviors -- but there seemed to be some mismatch between his current actions and his origins.
As this was a paranormal story, drawn from snippets of human folklore, she could customize this character's origin story and evolution however she wanted.
What was missing was a deep understanding of her character’s motivation.
When we know why your character acts or feels a certain way, or thinks or says something, when we really "get them." Then we feel connected to them -- whether we like the character or not. Even an unlikeable character can be relatable.
When we feel connected to a character in a story, we are "in" the story and don't want to leave. And we're willing to go wherever the story and the character takes us.
The hard work for her was digging into the character's backstory to understand clarify what actions the character had taken in the past and why he had taken them.
Once we had this discussion and she took copious notes, she seemed confident and calm that she knew how to discover and uncover these bits of missing backstory so that the pages would read powerfully and coherently.
She also remembered that she had written backstory on this character years ago and that reading it would help her connect the dots.
Once she clarified for herself the why of her character, then she could convey it clearly and the reader would understand this character fully.
Then the reader would have a seamless reading experience. And that's what we all want.
If you are wondering how to discover your characters' deep motivation, I have an exercise for you, drawn from my character development class.
A note: I use this exercise when I’m planning my novel, but I really get deep with my characters when I’m in revisions, like my client is doing. So you can use this exercise at the novel planning stage, and in the editing and revising stage. Or anytime you’re stuck in the writing process. (You can even use it on yourself!)
Another note: This exercise I share below is drawn from my training in NLP to become a Master NLP Practitioner. I adapted it to help me and you become better fiction writers, get deeper into character, and get to know your character better, so that you can write powerful characters and stories readers fall in love with.
EXERCISE: Your character's deep why in two parts
Part 1: State the motivation for your character's goal.
For the purposes of this exercise, use whatever goal comes to mind, whether it's an inner goal (a desire to feel a certain way or think a certain way, have a certain inner experience) or an outer goal (tangible, external to the character, something everyone can see/hear/observe in some way.)
Part 2: Go Deeper.
Here's how.
Ask your character, in relation to their goal, "What will having this do for you?"
Ask this a few times to get to the heart of the matter. Often you'll feel a sense of rightness in your body when you've settled into the deepest answer.
To do this exercise, I recommend writing it. You can also do it in a meditative, day dreaming state without writing.
Interview your character for their answers.
Example: In my YA fantasy, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer (Book 1), Henrietta wants to save her ailing mentor.
Henrietta, what will having that do for you?
-- I'll do be right by him.
And what will having that do for you?
-- I'll feel absolved of my bad behavior.
And what will having that do for you?
-- I'll find some inner peace.
And what will having that do for you?
… Beth says: This feels done, like we arrived at the heart of the matter.
Now your turn. Get clear on your character's goal and then ask them, "What will having that do for you?" multiple times until you get to the heart of the matter.
Next Steps
Now that you know your characters's deep motivation, ask yourself how this can be revealed through their words, actions, and thoughts, at the beginning of the story, at the middle, and at the end, and in every scene.
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Let me know if you have any questions about this exercise or about developing your character's motivations.
And if you would like to go deeper into more character tips, check out the character class here: 
There are several ways to work with me: |
| | | Writing Summit Happening now!
You can still get a free pass to the event here:
Free and paid passes available until Oct. 25.
Escape the Plot Forest 4-day event mixes daily prompts, community support, and expert lectures. You'll finish the conference with specific, concrete goals for plotting your next draft.
I shared about our "7 Essential Keys to Planning Your Novel" and walked Daniel through a story idea. So much fun to see how his idea evolved from a seedling into a full outline.
Sign up for this free summit"
"Escape the Plot Forest: the Online Plotting Summit" is shaping up to be a fun, intimate learning event:
- 11 speakers over 4 days so you can absorb all the gems
- Free bonus when you register: a thirty-seven page manual to help you sketch out and write a brand-new story — today; with prompts and lessons to construct a short story, step by step
- A "Character-First Novel" seminar with Daniel David Wallace, his special sauce!
- Specific, concrete advice that will get you writing
- Watch parties for those who buy a premium pass
- Lots of bonuses and goodies from the speakers (I have some fun bonuses for you!) so you can get lots of value that you can apply right away
See you there!
Sign up here for this summit here:
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| ♥
Have a happy and creative week!
All my best,
Beth
♥
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| | Recent Posts on the Writer's Fun Zone Blog |
| | | | Our Newest Book for Writers!
"7 Essential Keys to Planning Your Novel: Story Preparation for Pansters"
We're selling this book for $0.99 on the ebook retailers, as a way to introduce new writers to our material.
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| | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Now in its 14th year, this newsletter is a service of my coaching and consulting business, helping genre fiction writers write, market, and publish their books through live and home study courses, a 12-month group program, and private consultations.
You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:
c. 2006-2020 Beth Barany, Creativity Coach for Writers, www.BethBarany.com
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| ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here, co-taught with award-winning, bestselling thriller author, Ezra Barany.
She's also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
Uncover her Henrietta series here (YA Fantasy) and her Touchstone series here (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance). And her new Sci-fi Mystery here.
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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