“…it is the mission of all art, but literary art in particular, to engage with the inner life. And all I mean by the inner life is the private set of thoughts and feelings - of yearning and fears and confusions - that are concealed from the world and yet persistently, unavoidably, experienced.”
Steve Almond, Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow: a DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories*
*Buy this book. You won’t regret it.
I talk a lot about character development. I do so in part because it’s my favorite topic (I am, after all, a navel-gazing Enneagram 4/Pisces/Highly Sensitive Person!) but also because I know the value of time spent excavating a character’s inner life.
If you deeply understand the dreams, desires, fears, goals, and misbeliefs of your character, you will be able to intentionally choose plot events and circumstances that trigger these emotional hot spots, pushing the character into an inevitable choice: evolve or regress.
If I were writing a memoir about the journey of parenting our oldest child - one that this week took a turn that was equal parts unsurprising and heart-shattering, one that brought to mind the squeal of brakes as the entire world stood still for a moment and her mental health became the only thing that mattered, not for the first time and likely not for the last - I would first need to dig into not her story, but my own. What did I want, desire, imagine and fear as I made the decision to have children, as I labored to birth her, as I looked into her tiny face? What did I believe about how her life would be, and how my own would be as her parent? Where was the core misbelief?
(I’m not writing this memoir, nor will I ever. But it is the example that’s on my mind today.)
How many times have I heard a writer say - and said myself - that we worry no one will be interested in our story, that no one will care as much as we do? So. Many. Times. I think we all fret about this at some point in the writing process. Maybe daily.
Of course part of this is wrapped up in our own self-doubt.
But also, there are also stories - published, well-reviewed stories - I’ve read about which, frankly, I did not care. I’m sure the same is true for you. There are no guarantees.
That said, there are ways to increase the odds. The deeper you understand your story, the more your reader will be impacted by it. The deeper you understand your character’s inner life, the more likely a reader will feel emotionally connected to them…thereby becoming invested in what happens to them.
This week’s Pep Talk is all about uncovering the core misbelief of your main character and why it matters. I hope you find it useful!
I’d also like to remind you that my mini-course, the Compelling Character Lab, is available to you. It’s a high-value, self-paced set of activities that will get you to the heart of these questions.
What literary character have you recently felt emotionally connected to and invested in?
Hit the speech bubble and let us know!
In other news...
🧵 Thursday Thread: Please come over to Substack and join the discussion! This week’s question: What book, essay, poem, or story struck you in some way and kept you thinking about long after you’d read it? Join the discussion here! >>
✍🏻 How’s my writing going? I haven’t done a Writing Report for the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago it was because we were out of town, last week it was because of a moderate family crisis. (Don’t worry, everything’s okay now.) I have been plugging away at first drafts of flash fiction/nonfiction pieces when I get a chance and have the brain space. Life, amiright? Stay tuned for a report next week!
💻 Essay: I’ve started another new series called Writing Stories with Heart. Part 1 is titled Writing is Conversation. Click here to read! >>
📖 What I'm reading: Wandering Stars, by Tommy Orange
📺 What I'm watching: We enjoyed Twisters a couple of weekends ago in the theater. Good, silly fun! I hadn’t been to the movie theater in ages.
🎧 What I'm listening to: The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
What do you recommend reading, watching, or listening to?
Click the speech bubble and let me know! I’m always on the lookout for recommendations.
Around Writing Town:
I’m participating in Jeannine Ouellette’s 4-week course Strange Containers this month. We’re studying flash narrative and playing with a variety of short forms in unique structures. I recommend it if you’re curious about flash fiction/nonfiction!
The Reading Like Writers Book Club had an unexpected hiatus this summer, but we are back in action! Check out this post for more and join us in September!
And remember, my Zoom room is open every weekday from 6 to 7a.m. Pacific for quiet writing in good company. Click here to learn more and sign up to join! >>
Be well, and keep writing. Our stories matter.
Warmly,
Stephanie
P.S. I'll be here when you're ready.
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