Category: Writing Characters

What’s a character arc and do I need one?

6/10/2019

I’ve recently watched Me Before You(*spoiler alert* a reminder, this is not a romance as there is no happy ever after). At the beginning of the movie, Lou Clark has put all her own dreams or plans of the future on hold as she waits out her life in a teashop. Boom, cue the inciting incident** – she loses her job. What to do? She finds a job taking care of wheelchair bound Will, which leads to the meet cute.**

All of that aside, the Lou we meet at the beginning of the movie is not the same as the Lou by the end. This is the character arc, the development of the character over the course of the events of the novel. Sometimes, the character does not change, and a devastating example of that is in Manchester by the Sea(definitely not a romance). In romance, however, we want and need our character and their love interest to grow over the course of the novel.

Key things to remember on writing up your character arc:

The change is internal, it’s their own personal growth story.
More often than not this change, is positive. They’ll believe the lie (that they are unworthy of love, for example) and will come to realise the truth (that they are worthy of love). But it can also be negative.
The external obstacles must challenge the character on their personal growth arc, forcing them to accept the new truth.
The growth must be believable – are the changes with this character going to stick or is he/she/they going to fall back into their old ways?
The final test of your character’s growth comes at the dark night of the soul**

By the end of Me Before You, Lou is no longer the naïve Lou she once was, and has accepted that not everything can be ‘fixed’ But, she has broadened her horizons and is visiting Paris, echoing Will’s footsteps.

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Do I need a character list?

6/10/2019

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Yesterday, I had a talk with one of my coaching clients about characters. Not so much characters as those character sheets that writers are always filling out. The ones that ask what their favourite colour is or whether they prefer hard rock or classical music. One course I took had me filling out six pages worth of detail. As my client noted, “jeez, I don’t even know myself this well!”

Does it help to know that your character likes bananas but only when in banana bread and in no other form?

It depends. Does it say something about his behavior? Does he not like bananas because they mean sticky fingers? Or is it something that fills in a character form?

I’m not knocking someone else’s process. For lots of writers, these forms are helpful. But what if you’re like me or my client and find these forms a great big, time suck?

What do you need to know about a character?

What are the essentials?

Their motivation. What gets them moving in the morning? Is it the passion of a paycheck or the threat of imminent death? Or are they going through the motions?
What do they want? Everybody wants something. It can be a new boyfriend who goes further than the 5km radius of his house, or a new job that isn’t populated by sexist geeks. It can be anything– but they’d walk barefoot over hot coals over and over to get it.
What’s their story? Everybodyhas a story – life is tough like that. If your character ended up on a therapist’s couch, what would their story be?
Their flaw. There will be that one character flaw that trips them up, time and time again. How are they their own worst enemy?
Their own voice when speaking or thinking. Maybe they phrase things in a certain way or like to use a certain word.
A name that fits them. Names can be destiny.
AGENCY. If your romance hero or heroine is reactive, your story will die a premature death. Make decisions!

What are the nice-to-haves?

A quirk or trait that makes them relatable. Maybe they are Buffy the Vampire Slayer mega fans? Or they think a shark lurks at the bottom of the swimming pool.

It doesn’t matter if your character is a six-foot-three god with flaming red hair if you haven’t got the above sorted out. Knowing that he prefers red wine to beer and trucks to sedans will only tell you so much about who he is. But the part that will have him drive the plot forward with his decisions and actions? Now that you HAVE to know.

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An alpha-hole or a regular a-hole?

6/10/2019

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There’s a fine line between being a redeemable jerk and just being a jerk. But, how can you tell?

I’ve read a couple of MSs that crash and burn into the ‘complete dickhead’ category. Here’s some quick tips to keep in mind when writing about the Alphahole:

1. The Alphahole is the guy WHO DELIVERS. This is the guy you want in a crisis. He’ll take charge and get things done. This is where control issues are likely to creep in with your heroine. He might very well try to control her. But here’s where context is important. He’ll try to control her BEHAVIOUR in a particular SITUATION. Note that this did not mean tell her what to wear or what to think. If your hero has to check her phone and monitor her calls, he’s probably just an a-hole.
The Alphahole has a strong value system. To this end, he NEVER rapes, physically abuses, or sexually harasses the heroine. EVER. Similarly, he wouldn’t kill or maim animals or children. He doesn’t even consider these things in passing. As a (general) rule, the Alphahole cannot walk away from a woman in distress, a child in danger or an innocent caught up in a fight. It’s about staying true to his value system not furthering his power. If your hero has no value system, he’s probably just an a-hole.
The Alphahole has to recognize the heroine as his EMOTIONAL EQUAL by the end of the story. The appeal of an Alphahole is that he is in need of saving. He’s usually emotionally traumatized in some way that has caused him to hide away his heart. He is not sociopathic. He’s a sensitive warrior in fierce armour. If your hero has zero sensitive side, he’s probably just an a-hole.
The Alphahole needs an Alpha-female. For the heroine to throw the Alphahole into crisis, she needs to be an independent, feisty woman who looks behind the arrogant veneer to the wounded man beneath. She also has to resist his control (see Point 1). There is no way she’s going to let him boss her around. For him to be her hero, he needs to see her as a human being. If your hero thinks that women are there to by the end of the story, he’s probably just an a-hole.
The Alphahole is not a misogynist. He can be wary of emotional entanglement with women, but he doesn’t hate them. If your hero thinks that women are there to cook, clean and schtup period, he’s just an a-hole.

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A blog for writers looking to write romance

What’s a character arc and do I need one?

Do I need a character list?

An alpha-hole or a regular a-hole?

A little something to get you started on your writing journey:

Do you want to write a romance novel?

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