It will take a while to know Lizard as a character better, to understand how she'd act in what situation, I think this is why you struggled a bit there. But that's okay, the more time you spent with her — and without her as you discovered — the better you'll get to know her. To re-use Xoic's metaphor, it's just the seed growing, and it's like that for me too. And, to link this back to the original topic, maybe it's your responsibility to get to know Lizard better before you tell her story! Novels take time... so take your time too.
Yes, I absolutely feel an obligation to the character. It's based on understanding what he would do or not do, which is based on his characteristics. Early on in my series of WWII novels, I specifically noticed I had planned to write an action for him that would have been completely contrary to who he is. I wrote it a different way in keeping with his moral code which had already been established in the first two books, and have worked hard to maintain that consistency.
I figured out another reason why my characters seem to 'take on more character' as I go forward. I don't think I've mentioned this one before. It's because when I'm plotting I'm working at a pretty low resolution, and when I start actually writing the scenes out in full detail they spring into much higher resolution. What I mean is, in plotting you write things like 'They all mildly make fun of her.' Then in the actual writing you're working sentence by sentence, word by word, and everything comes into much sharper focus. And maybe suddenly you realize John isn't that callous and wouldn't go along with making fun of the girl. He would at least mildly protest, like "Wow, you guys are a bunch of jerks", or maybe he'd go so far as to try to make them apologize. So in a sense all I'm really saying is that from the plotting stage to the actual writing stage you develop a finer understanding of how characters will really react. I just call it 'Taking on a life of their own'.
Throwing out something I read recently. One of our jobs is the screw up our characters plans. That type of adversity is what takes them from ordinary people to heroes. Paraphrasing there, but it seemed to me, that this was a valid point when it comes to character growth. Since reading that, I find myself writing a character's plan of action, then asking what's the worst that could happen. And make it happen if it makes sense.
Take a look at Eleanor Roosevelt for a strong capable female character, who goes beyond societal limitations.
Yes, this is part of the responsibility I feel toward them—to challenge them severely, like a good father or teacher must. It's an important part of raising someone. Otherwise how do they learn to face adversity? People who don't learn to meet challenges with gusto become obsessed with safety and begin to fear everything. Seeking more safety becomes a prison and leads to neuroses and anxieties. The better alternative is to develop more courage, learn to thrive in the face of adversity. In fact this is the basis of therapy that makes people healthier.
Aren’t these responsibilities to the characters ultimately, and more accurately, responsibilities to the reader?
I think that's just a matter of perspective. I see my characters as living breathing people because I don't want them to come across like automotons, and I'm not thinking directly about readers while I write. I believe the characters need to be as alive as possible in your imagination or they'll end up nothing but plot points on the page. To me story is ultimately character interaction and character growth, and if you get that right you've created an engaging story for the readers. But my focus is on characters.
True--it's the perspective. I want the characters to come across as real as well, but I look at it more as a responsibility to the ultimate readers of the work. We end up in the same place, though.
This conversation started very differently about what it meant to have a responsibility to your characters. I'm just saying...
Yes, this thread has taken a bit of a detour from the original question. But the original theme, is still the topic, it is just a different form of the responsibility that is being discussed.
I often think of the worst thing that could happen and go with it. I don't need my characters to succeed as much as I need to make them struggle.
As an aside: I saw a conversation online not long ago about people looking for novels with minimal conflict, if any. The reason given was anxiety due to the state of the world, pandemic and other current events, and that some readers want something free of any kind of stress or apprehension. I’ll have to see if I can find it—they listed some books that are supposedly low to no conflict. I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel where there was no conflict and I’m not convinced it is possible.
Thank you. I'd be interested in that list if you can find it. I've read a lot about the craft of writing - and one of the most often repeated things: a story must have conflict or there's no story.
At times (when very stressed) I would try to find a movie with little conflict. Hah! Well, you can find them but they're for little children. And even then there's some kind of conflict. I'm sure there are some though.
There are many different types of conflict, from external, physical, to internal, mental. I remember the lesson from school, around grade 4 (over 50 years ago!) , in which we learned the different types of conflict in stories: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, etc
There are movies sort of aline what you're thinking. I tend to think of them as sort of literary movies. I've actually seen a bunch of them. I'll PM you more titles as they come to me if you're interested. But here are a few... The Suicide Virgins The Teacher American Honey 13 Conversations About One Thing The Florida Project
Thanks, but I was only that stressed maybe once that I can remember, when going through some really terrible things. Another thing that might qualify is nature documentaries, if they're made for children. Not the ones that actually show nature red in tooth and claw, but more like happy puppies and cute cuddly kittens. Or movies like Beethoven (the dog, not the musician). Though he probably gets into some stressful hijinks at times.
Got it. But those are still great movies if you're ever looking for something to watch. Probably my favorites.
That sounds like the more artsy style books, the ones critics praise, and just sit on a coffee table as a conversation piece, because they are unreadable.
I think the point they were trying to make is it wasn’t an escape if there was stress or tension involved. So they were trying to recommend books that didn’t have much that.
