Writing tip #7: Know what your character wants and needs (to learn)
This mega-edition of Doing the Write Thing includes multiple writing resources to inspire and support you (while Doing the Write Thing is on a break for November and December 2023)
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Dear readers,
First, something important. There’s a lot going on, and a lot to go through. Some things for which there are no words.
And, the truth is, nothing matters more than the people we love, and health and safety.
It’s not just about writing. It’s never just about writing. It’s mostly, actually, about love. Being with the people you care about, laughing together, talking and sharing together, celebrating the love you share and cherishing each other.
The love you have for others and the love you can show yourself by embracing self-care. Being with the people you care about, being there for them, and taking care of yourself too. Feeling what you feel, and supporting and being supported.
The rest of this newsletter begins with something I started writing a couple of weeks ago. I’m struggling with the words now, and whether to write this at all. But, I appreciate that you subscribe and read, and that you have writing goals and dreams, and that writing might support your mental health.
I’m also writing because I want to let you know that the Doing the Write Thing Q&A newsletters are on a break for the next two months as I focus on editing In Your Dreams while participating in NaNoWriMo and for the Christmas/holiday season. I’ll probably send out another writing tips newsletter or two this year but, in the meantime, I want to give you some resources that can help support your writing.
I hope this post helps support you along your writing journey and that it helps support your well-being, too.
~ Marisa
In this newsletter…
The Heart of Storytelling: Know what your character wants and needs (to learn)
The Writing Life: How simplifying and changing my mentality helped me get back to working on my book often! (Maybe this approach can help you too)
Writers’ Corner: Multiple writing resources to help inspire, motivate and support you along your writing journey (with some focused on character growth and development)
The Heart of Storytelling
This is where I’ll share writing, editing and publishing tips, based on my experience.
Writing tip #7: Know what your character wants and needs (to learn)
What makes a story complete and compelling? Ah, that may be one of, if not the, most popular question a writer may ask.
I’m noticing a theme as I watch movies and read books—works of fiction and books about writing. Put simply, a compelling story contains multiple ingredients and, perhaps, the main ingredient is a character who, while in pursuit of something they want or need, grows*.
This is very important: “Grow” = there is a flaw or weakness or mistaken belief or problem or other reason why the character hasn’t achieved that thing and, in pursuit of it, they change—they overcome that flaw, or strengthen that weakness, or correct that mistaken belief, or resolve that problem. The “or”s are very important here. In my experience, anyway, I’ve learned that it doesn’t HAVE to be that your character has a personality “weakness”—it could be any of these other things (such as a problem or mistaken belief).
I have to admit that I used to be very plot-focused when I thought about my book In Your Dreams. Then I kept hearing about the importance of a story being character-driven. To be specific, this is the idea that the main character needs to experience some kind of transformation by the end of the book—some kind of character growth.
Each time I heard that, this doubt-inducing thought kept creeping up on me: “Did I miss that in In Your Dreams? Are my characters changing like that? I’ve been so focused on the plot. Is the story not going to work, not going to appeal to readers, then? After all that editing?”
But I looked at my story and saw that while I was consciously focusing on plot, I had, thankfully, created characters with wants and needs and strengths and weaknesses, with problems and solutions, with growth. (Full disclosure: since I have learned about the value of characters’ growth, I’ve made edits to help highlight where that is in the story.) Thankfully, my characters are driving that plot I was so focused on—it’s Jessie’s decision to go to this university, to study science and swim competitively, to approach Chris when she figures out they’ve been dreaming about each other, and to try to solve the mystery of how any of this is possible.
How about your story—do you feel it’s already been constructed to focus on your characters’ wants and needs, and are they making choices that drive the plot? Do they learn something new or at the end of the story?
Characters Make the Story
Many of us tend to gravitate towards the same genres. I know I do because they tell different stories that feel new but include some of the same familiar elements I like.
And why do we like those elements? Maybe because we find those things comforting, or funny, or we just find them to be entertaining, no matter how many times we interact with them. Someone might say, “You’re reading another story about someone who falls in love while travelling to Europe?” or “You’re watching yet another movie about a mystery on the train?” And we might think, “Yeah, I love stories like this!”
I think that when we gravitate towards those same elements, i.e. genres, it’s because they offer us something we like and that we can count on but, at the same time, we want each story to still feel new and different and to surprise us a bit. And what makes each of those stories—despite including some of the same familiar likeable elements—new and different?
The characters.
No two characters in the entire world of stories are the same, just like no two people are the same in real life. (Okay, unless you create the same character in two different stories and give them different names.)
Think about it.
Do you get tired of making new friends? Do you ever say, “I don’t need this many friends”? (Probably not, anyway…) Each friend, every person, you meet is unique. There has never been and never will be someone just like them again—and that goes for you, too!
I think we enjoy meeting these new characters, and learning about their story. We might have already read a story about a character who goes to x place and does y, but we don’t know how that story goes for this character.
Character Growth
So, again, this leads me to conclude that a compelling story contains multiple ingredients and, perhaps, the main ingredient is a character who, while in pursuit of something they want or need, grows.
From what I understand, this character growth concept is also reflected in storytelling methods that talk about an A story and B story, the three-act structure, and in multiple books, newsletters and workshops that talk about writing techniques and storytelling strategies.
It’s interesting to think about some of your favourite stories and what the characters (the protagonist, but other characters too) are facing at the beginning of the story and what they’ve achieved or discovered by the end of the story. In fact, I have a feeling that really strong secondary characters are also characters whose wants and dreams are clear to us, the readers.
Creating a Story Outline Driven by Character
I recently wrote about how I created a story outline and structure that is helping me write The Other Side of the Ocean. The chapters are shorter and the story itself is made up of only a handful of chapters, so it becomes especially important to ensure that the main character is growing throughout the story.
That post provides a useful example of a story structure centered around character growth and development. I’d like to highlight that the story outline approach is based off the approach in Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (one of the most helpful books I’ve ever read on storytelling structure!) and its recent companion novel, Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel.
That post is part of another newsletter, which you’re welcome to subscribe to if the topic of tips on storytelling techniques, strategies and structures interests you.
There are more resources on writing and character development and growth in the Writers’ Corner section below.
The Writing Life
Sometimes things are a lot simpler than they can possibly seem.
At the time of writing this, I’m on week three of being sick, with viral sickness #3. When I caught the first cold/flu (probably flu) recently, I immediately rejigged how I spend my evenings to prioritize healing: I spent most or more of the evening resting on the couch watching TV (hello, Suits!) and went to bed somewhere between 9-10pm. Typically, I work on writing/editing for clients or my own writing projects from around 8-9:20pm and then I switch to relaxing with TV and go to bed closer to 10:30pm.
It’s like someone flipped a switch, and it turns out that someone is me. Now, I’m relaxing more, going to bed earlier, and still working on my book.
But how does that make sense? How did simply thinking and deciding, “I’m going to rejig how I spend my evenings so that I’m writing more and relaxing more” magically make everything fit so well? I usually have multiple writing projects on the go, and I still do (maybe fewer than usual?), but somehow they were all okay and totally fine waiting while I rested, relaxed and worked on my book.
The answer to all of this, I think, is that—often—the “best”, most fulfilling path contains of a balance of two seemingly incompatible things.
A note: Sometimes, it’s not as simple as it surprisingly was here. There's a lot to do or someone needs you or you need you to rest and not write, or there’s something more important you want to focus on. Family, health, safety—those always matter most. It’s okay to take a break from writing, and, while not easy, it can help to have faith that you’ll come back to it later.
Here are some of those seemingly incompatible things that can sometimes make a difference in helping you fit in writing time and achieve your writing goals:
Sometimes it’s possible or even essential to mentally choose to do something and then for that simple change in perspective/attitude/approach to make it easier for you to make other choices, too, that help make that vision a reality. Your heart is at the centre of everything you feel and when you also put it at the heart of what you do, that’s usually where the magic happens.
Somehow, relaxing and resting more helps you do more of other things too (because you’ve recharged and have more energy and feel better).
And, sometimes, we need to say both “yes” and “no” and then “yes” again to things we want so that we can take turns doing the different things we enjoy. For example, when I work on In Your Dreams, I like to put all my focus on that writing project that night, and to take nights “off” editing In Your Dreams to focus on completing other writing projects. For me, this works better than trying to do a bit of different things in the same evening.
And, on that note, I wanted to let you know that I’m taking a break from monthly Q&As this November to focus on editing In Your Dreams as part of National Novel Writing Month (if you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo or participated before, you just may LOVE it!) and in December during the holiday season (one of my favourite times of the year!). I’m keeping the door open to occasionally sending out writing tips and other Doing the Write Thing newsletters in the meantime, but the focus is on editing In Your Dreams and getting it ready for querying, publishing and sharing. (It feels SO good to be working on it again multiple times a week!!)
While I feel that balance and focus is important, I also want to ensure you’re getting some writing support too. In this newsletter, I’ve included a new writing tip in The Heart of Storytelling section as well as links to multiple resources in the Writers’ Corner. I hope this helps support you on your writing journey as you work on your 2023 writing goals, NaNoWriMo, or any new goals, ideas or projects you’re excited about.
Also, this is very important: sometimes your mental health and emotions need you to rest, too. Or to be with someone you care about. To be there for them or to just be with them. Or to stop thinking and just feel. And just be—be with the people you care about. That’s what truly matters most.
Writers’ Corner
This is where we’ll gather around the virtual cozy fireplace to talk about writing and participate in fun writing exercises and contests!
Here’s a roundup of resources (free and paid) that I hope can help inspire, motivate and support you along your writing journey—especially if you’re participating in National Novel Writing Month (starting tomorrow! Eek, exciting! It’s not too late to sign up) or working towards 2023 writing and project goals.
You got this! Good luck!
*I’ve added an asterisk next to resources that are specifically related to character growth and development.
A list of writing tips to help you get and stay in the habit of writing (Doing the Write Thing)
Workbook: Start Fresh and Reconnect with Writing (Doing the Write Thing)
*Workshop: Plotting with Revelations (Erin Bowman)
Writing event: National Novel Writing Month, taking place from November 1 to 30
I joined the Mighty Pens (I heard about this group from writer Susan Dennard) and have already enjoyed some writing sprints on Discord with some very welcoming fellow writers!
*Books: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel, both by Jessica Brody (Source: local bookstore or online)
*Newsletter: Welcome “Behind the Scenes” of The Other Side of the Ocean (Collaborative Tales)
I’m writing this newsletter to share tips on storytelling techniques, structure and strategy, with a focus on the character growth and development of the story’s protagonist, Hailey
*Newsletter: Your hero has to be wrong (Erin Bowman)
I love her newsletter and highly recommend it! It makes me feel “writerly” and Erin kindly shares so many honest insights
*Newsletter: How I create characters (Susan Dennard)
I love her newsletter and highly recommend it! So many tips and honest insights
*Book: Hey Writer Person (Meaghan McIsaac)
I can tell you that Meaghan McIsaac is talented and super kind. I really enjoyed reading her online book with chapters that are chock full of honest, encouraging writing advice
Book: Gentle Writing Advice by Chuck Wendig (Source: local bookstore or online)
This book makes me laugh and is full of realistic, helpful, actionable writing advice—some of which I genuinely agree with and may have already written about here too
Thank you all SO much for your support—it means so, so, so much!
I hope Doing the Write Thing is helping to support you on your writing journey. Good luck and happy writing!