Karin Beery's Blog Member of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors

What is Character Voice?

Last month we talked about author voice (click here if you missed it). How is that different from character voice, and what do you need to know about character voice?

Author Voice vs. Character Voice

Your author voice is how you see the world, which influences how you write about it. Your natural tendency to be poetic or humorous or technical are all part of your voice. Character voice is how each of your characters see the world, which influences how they describe and think about it.

The Spoken Voice

Anything your characters say should reflect their voices, and their voices are determined by their backstory. Things that influence character voice include:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Education
  • Location
  • Family
  • Occupation

For example, an Asian immigrant living in Alabama will speak differently than a native-born Alabamian (is that a word?). Likewise, a third-generation man of Asian-American decent will also speak differently than an Asian immigrant.

Artists will see the world differently than mechanics who will see things differently than college professors. High school dropouts will have a different vocabulary from high school graduates which will be different from doctoral candidates. People from Maine, Michigan, and Madagascar will all use different slang and accents.

Every aspect of your characters’ lives will influence how they view the world and speak about it. But the spoken voice isn’t the only voice in a manuscript.

The Internal Voice

Where many authors falter with character voice is with the internal voice—their characters’ thoughts. Everything shown from a character’s perspective (external and internal) needs to reflect the same voice.

For example, an isolated lumberjack who never went to college isn’t going to grunt and mumble single-syllable words while thinking elaborate Shakespearean thoughts (unless he’s a lover of Shakespeare that you reveal later in the story). What often happens is this:

Female dialogue = female’s voice
Male dialogue = male’s voice
Everyone’s thoughts = author’s voice

Instead, you want to write:

Female dialogue & thoughts = female’s voice
Male dialogue & thoughts = male’s voice

Everything written in a scene—whether it’s dialogue, thoughts, descriptions, or interpretations—should reflect the point-of-view character’s voice. If you want to show another character’s perspective, you need to include a scene break to change the point of view. If you want to show your perspective, switch to nonfiction. How you write the novel reveals your voice, but if you want to highlight your thoughts and interpretations, fiction isn’t the best vehicle for that.

If you have questions about character voice, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

 

What is Author Voice?

One of the most common reasons authors push back against suggested edits is author voice—they’re convinced that everything they write is part of their voice, therefore any edits will change their voice.

That’s partly true, in the same way that a voice teacher changes a singer’s voice.

Professional opera singers spend years training and fine tuning their voices, not because they’re terrible singers, but because they don’t want to be good opera singers. They want to be great. They also want to strengthen their vocal muscles so they can enjoy a long, productive career.

How, then, do authors train, strengthen, and fine tune their voices? It starts by understanding what we mean by “voice.”

An Author’s Voice

Simply put, an author’s voice is his or her unique perspective on life. That perspective manifests itself in how the author writes.

For example, if I set a painting on an easel and asked five authors to describe it, their interpretation and expression of that painting is their voice. That does not mean, however, that the writing is without errors or weaknesses.

Fine Tune Your Voice

Before you start training and strengthening your voice, you need to figure out how to do it. That means finding out your weaknesses so you can strengthen them.

If your editor says you have too much telling in your book, don’t try to justify the telling. Instead, ask for examples of unnecessary telling and suggestions for eliminating it. If your dialogue is boring, your characters are stereotypical, or your settings are bland, learn how to change it.

As you learn and apply good fiction-writing techniques, your voice won’t change into someone else’s; it will become a clearer expression of you.

Training & Strengthening Your Voice

Once you’ve fine-tuned your voice, it’s time to train it. You train your author’s voice the same way you train any muscle in your body—practice.

Vince Lombardi is often misquoted as saying, “Practice makes perfect.” What he actually said was, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” A quarterback won’t improve if he throws the ball wrong over and over again; he improves when he corrects his form and practices the new improved technique.

The same is true for writers.

If you don’t implement the fiction-writing techniques you’ve learned, you will simply train and strengthen the bad habits you already have. But as you incorporate more engaging techniques over and over again, you will train yourself to show without so much effort. Like a professional quarterback, you’ll develop muscle memory that will write stronger, clearer voice with each story.

The Hard Work

Opera singers don’t rehearse until they get a part in a show, then stop. Professional football players don’t practice every day until they sign a contract, then stop. Successful pros never stop training—neither do success authors.

Your muscle memory will never be perfect, and sometimes life will distract you from completely focusing on your writing. That’s why authors with 10, 20, or 50 books published still work with editors. They continue to ask other professionals to help them find weak spots so they can continue to strengthen their stories and writing skills. The continue to strengthen their voices.

Author voice is the most natural aspect of writing while also requiring dedication and hard work to make it shine. The effort, however, is worth it.

If you have questions about author voice, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Effective Feedback: Get More From Your Beta Readers

One of the best ways to find issues in your manuscript is to ask for feedback from others. Once you have that information, you can use it to find and fix problem areas in your story. A lot of authors understand this concept, but the process doesn’t always work for them.

Why? They ask the wrong questions.

Too often, authors ask yes/no questions or questions that can be answered with 1-2 words.

Did you like this book?
Did it keep you engaged?
Who was your favorite character?

These questions don’t give us enough information to self-edit our manuscripts. Instead, we need to go deeper, and that includes asking more specific questions (or including follow-up questions).

In my book How to Edit Your Novel: Practical Tips for Strengthening Your Story, I include many questions to ask your readers, then tell you how to process and apply the information to your manuscript. I can’t give you all the details here, but I can share with you some of the questions I suggest asking to get the most from your early readers. 

General:

  1. Does the point of view flow well? If not, where did it stall for you?
  2. Does the point of view feel natural? If not, where did it feel unnatural to you?
  3. Were there any places where the point of view confused you? Where?

Characters:

  1. Who were your favorite characters? Why?
  2. Who were your least favorite characters? Why?
  3. Were there any characters you didn’t like? What didn’t you like about them?

Plot:

  1. Are there any places where the story dragged or was overexplained? Where?
  2. Did the action drag? Where?
  3. Were you bored with any scenes? Which ones?

Descriptions:

  1. Were there any places that felt choppy or confusing? Where?
  2. Were there any confusing places/descriptions? Where?
  3. Did anything about the story feel cliché or “done before”? Which parts?

Notice that each questions includes a follow-up. That follow-up is where you find the gold—get the specifics to help you find and fix those problem areas.

Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Conflict, Suspense, and Tension in Fiction

Conflict, suspense, and tension are not the same things. They’re often used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be. Each one of these has a different role and performs a different function in fiction.

Conflict

New writers tend to believe that conflict means “argument,” as in having a conflict with someone else, but it’s much simpler than that—conflict is anything that prevents your characters from achieving their goals.

A conflict can be a person, event, or inanimate object. A conflict can be a seemingly good thing. As long as it gets in your character’s way, it’s a conflict.

Say your MMC (male main character) wants a promotion at work. The promotion should be a sure thing, but that would make for a boring story. It needs conflict. Anything that prevents him from getting the job will work. It could be:

  • A person: Someone else wants the job. That person has become a conflict.
  • An event: Your MMC needs to attend a company event to get the promotion, but it’s the same weekend as his wedding. His wedding is now a conflict.
  • An inanimate object: MMC’s fiancé agrees to change the wedding date, but his car stalls in the driveway. Then, on the way to the airport, a tree falls into the road. His car and the tree have now become conflicts.

Suspense

Readers and writers alike think of police, spies, and murder when they think about suspense, but they’re confusing suspense with danger. In the suspense, thriller, and mystery genres, the police, spies, and murder might create suspense, but in and of themselves, they are not.

At its most basic level, suspense is delayed gratification.

Let’s look at our MMC again. If he gets the promotion in chapter two, there’s no suspense because there’s no delay. But put conflicts in front him—make him and the reader wait to find out if he’s getting the job—and you’ve added suspense.

Each of the conflicts mentioned above adds more suspense.

  • Instead of a quick interview process, now the boss has two candidates to interview. That will take longer. Suspense.
  • MMC and his fiancé push back the wedding for the sake of his career. A delayed wedding equals more suspense.
  • A quick 30-minute trip to the airport is delayed by his car and the tree. Double suspense.

The longer it takes your characters to achieve their goals, the more suspenseful the story.

Tension

Our final piece of the confusion trifecta, tension is the term people tend to swap for conflict and suspense, but it’s actually another layer of complexity in your story.

Tension is created by your characters’ reactions to conflict and suspense, and it should lead to a sense of unrest or imbalance.

If life is going well for your characters, there’s no tension. Toss in a conflict that creates suspense, and it will yield tension. Let’s go back to our MMC’s promotion. Where does the tension come from, and what does it look like?

  • MMC’s relationship with the person going after his promotion will change. The situation might also change his relationships with coworkers. Someone else applying for the job has created tension in the workplace.
  • After rescheduling his wedding, MMC’s relationship with his fiancé will change, especially if one of them didn’t want to move the date. It’s the perfect place to add tension in the romance.
  • Whether or not the MMC makes it to the airport on time, his car and the tree are excellent reasons to increase tension—he could lose faith in his mechanic and begin resenting the neighbor whose tree blocked the road. Whichever way you write it, let unrest be the goal.

Regardless of the genre you’re writing, your story needs all three of these elements: conflict, suspense, and tension. Your reader will enjoy seeing how long it takes your characters to achieve their goals and seeing how the conflicts change them.

If you have questions about these, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Also check out:

The Omniscient Point of View
First- or Third-Person Point of View

Women’s Fiction and Family Fiction: What are they?

Fiction genres seem to be spawning. Contemporary and historical fiction are now too broad of descriptors for readers who know exactly what they want: historical romantic suspense or contemporary magical realism. This effort to provide more clarity has resulted in many new genres.

Two story types that have become quite popular are women’s and family fiction.

What exactly are they and what do they need to include?

Women’s Fiction

In its broadest sense, women’s fiction is any novel in which the main character is a woman. The novel can include elements of romance, suspense, history, science fiction, etc., as long as the main focus of the story is on the female lead.

It’s not enough to simply have a female main character (FMC), though. In women’s fiction, the story needs to revolve around the FMC’s story arc—how and why she moves from Point A to Point B. Those points can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

Often (but not always), women’s fiction includes deeper topics or themes. The female detective isn’t just searching for a killer; she’s challenging her sobriety by tackling her first case since receiving her 90-day chip from Alcoholics Anonymous. The FMC is forced to confront her narcissistic brother, exposing wounds, then healing them as she learns the power of forgiveness. Or she overcomes crippling self-doubt through a serious of awkward events that teach her how to laugh at life and herself.

Women’s fiction can include one or several main characters. It can be written in first person or third person. Dramatic or humorous. Contemporary or historical. But the woman’s story arc must be the central story.

Family Fiction

You may have already guessed: family fiction focuses on the family, but it’s more than simply including a family in your novel. The story needs to include the family dynamics and different characters’ plot lines, which lends itself well to multiple point-of-view characters.

While women’s fiction focuses on the main character confronting her narcissistic brother, family fiction will focus on how the narcissistic brother affects the whole family. It could include points of view from the sister, brother, mother, and father. Instead of honing in on one specific event—when the sister confronts her brother—family fiction pulls back the lens to look at how all the characters interact over the years leading up to that confrontation (or perhaps after it).

Family fiction can include generations in one timeline or dual timelines (showing grandma in the 1940s, mom in the 1970s, and daughter in the 2000s). It can fit into one story (like the movie The Family Stone) or several (Karen Kingsbury’s Baxter family series). The most important element is the family perspective. Family fiction isn’t the story of one member of a family; it’s the story of them all.

Still have questions? Send them to me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

For more fiction-writing tips, check out:

Omniscient Point of View
Why Novels Need Structure

First or Third Person Point of View: When and Why?

When it comes to captivating your audience, point of view (POV) matters. While there are no right or wrong places to use different POVs, there are absolutely genres and styles that work well with specific POVs. Before we jump into that, let’s look at the different POVs often used in fiction.

First, Third, and Omniscient POVs

For the sake of this post, we’ll refer to the three main POVs as First Person, Third Person, and Omniscient. Kathy Tyers, author of Writing Deep Viewpoint, defines them as:

  • First Person: Narrator uses the “I” voice.
  • Third Person: Narrator is present as a named character, using the “he” or “she” voice.
  • Omniscient: Still “he” or “she,” the narrator’s consciousness is godlike in knowledge.

Each of these POVs provides s different depth of perspective.

First Person is the deepest, putting the reader directly into the mind and body of the narrator and allowing the reader to experience the story life as real life—only knowing, feeling, and sensing situations from one perspective.

Third Person can keep the reader close (Deep Third) or at a distance (Shallow Third). In today’s market, Deep Third is preferred. Similar to First Person, Deep Third pulls the reader into the mind and body of the narrator (again only showing what the character knows, feels, and senses), but the use of “he” and “she” pronouns adds a bit of space between the character and reader. Shallow Third adds even more space, as it doesn’t rely as heavily on the POV character’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions and often focuses more on external descriptions and plot points.

Omniscient is a third-person POV (as it uses “he” and “she”). Its perspective creates the most space between the characters and the reader as it doesn’t ever allow the reader to get into the main character’s head or heart. The narrator can describe what a character does (and possibly even the motivations) but can’t convey the feelings and emotions of each character because the narrator is, in fact, its own godlike, all-knowing character.

When and Why to Use Each POV

Technically, authors can use any POV in any novel or genre, but there are certain POVs that work better in different genres. Here are a few examples and why they do/don’t work.

First Person—Yes: This intimate perspective is excellent for books with one main character, such as young adult or women’s fiction novels that follow the growth and character arc of one person. There may be best friends, enemies, and love interests, but their main purpose in the story is to motivate the main character to change (or to highlight how the main character changes).

First Person—No: Most romance novel readers want to see the story from both the hero’s and the heroine’s perspectives. Because of this, the majority of romance novels are written in Third Person, so readers expect (and even demand) that perspective. While you technically can write a romance novel in First Person, there are readers who simply will not read it because of the POV. Since it’s possible to create a similar POV depth by writing Deep Third, that’s usually recommended for romance novels.

Third Person—Yes: Any book with multiple main characters is the perfect book for Third Person POV. I already mentioned romance novels, but it also works well in speculative fiction, historical, suspense, thriller. Anytime you have two or more main characters (characters with goals/motivations/conflicts and character arcs), it’s a good story for Third Person.

Third Person—No: I honestly can’t think of a time when I would encourage an author to avoid this POV. Because it’s so widely accepted, it can be used in just about any genre.

Omniscient—Yes: Omniscient works well in literary fiction, where the emphasis in on the theme instead of the plot and characters. It can also work well in epic novels, where the story takes place over large periods of time or space, again taking the focus off of a few specific characters and instead putting it on several people throughout time or across the world. (Think Hawaii by Jame Michener.)

Omniscient—No: Aside from one specific genre to avoid, it’s really a specific type of story that doesn’t work well with Omniscient: stories about or that highlight deep emotional connections. For that reason, romance novels are out. For all other genres … it depends. If you want to tell the story of six soldiers in the Civil War, omniscient might not be the best fit, but it could work perfectly for the story of a regimen of soldiers and their impact on the war.

I’ll say it one more time because it can’t be said enough—there are no right or wrong ways to use POV in your books. But there are ways to use POV to improve your chances of getting noticed, getting published, and developing a fan base.

Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

For more fiction writing tips, try these:

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue
Why Novels Need Structure

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Every main character in every book has a backstory, but the readers don’t need to see or understand it all. There are times, however, when it’s necessary to include backstory in your manuscript to either fill in plot holes or show character development. One of the best ways to do that is by using dialogue, but only if you do it the right way.

Here’s a look at the wrong way to show backstory using dialogue:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember my twenty-first birthday party last week? It rained all day and we had to move the activities inside? The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway?”
“Of course.”
“Well, my bedroom is at the top of the stairs. Anyone could have gone up there without us noticing.”

Here’s the problem with that section: Ben’s mom already knows the details of the party, her son’s age, and the layout of the house. There’s no reason for him to give her that information. Doing so makes it look like this conversation is a set-up to give information to the readers (which it is). There are two ways to solve this problem.

#1: Make the dialogue more realistic:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember how crowded the house was during my birthday party? Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”

#2: Use the Dumb Puppet:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember how crowded the house was during my birthday party?  Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”
“How could you not notice someone in your bedroom?” Brian asked.
“The party was supposed to be outside, but it rained all day,” his mom said. “We had to move the activities inside. The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway. Ben’s bedroom is upstairs. Anyone could have gone up without us noticing.”

Do you see the difference between options?In the first version, the dialogue is unnatural. Yes, it gives necessary information, but it also makes the characters seems awkward. The latter options create a smoother flowing story. If the details of the party aren’t important, cut them (example one) and keep the story moving. If they are important, include a character who doesn’t know what’s going on (in this case, Brian is the Dumb Puppet) so the other characters can explain it without sounding awkward.

Are you struggling to include backstory in a more natural way? Let me know, and let’s see how we can figure it out together.

AVAILABLE NOW–get your copy here!

If you’re looking to strengthen your writing and self-editing skills, here’s what you can expect in How to Edit Your Novel:

Take your self-editing skills to the next level.

• Have you eliminated all the telling?
• Are the characters complex?
• Is every scene necessary?

Most authors will answer ‘yes!’ to these questions. But then editors and readers tell them the descriptions don’t engage them, the characters are stereotypical, and the story dragged.

How do you fix it?

Self-editing can only take you so far. But if you know the right questions to ask and you know how to interpret the answers, you’ll not only strengthen your self-editing skills, you’ll strengthen your writing.

HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL doesn’t simply rehash the fiction-writing basics that create good stories-it provides examples, context, and questions that will help authors identify and strengthen their weaknesses the same way a professional editor tackles a manuscript. By combining mini writing lessons with practical self-editing tips, everything a writer needs to become a better self-editor is practically presented.

Whether you’re a new writer or an experienced author, HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL can help you polish your story into a gem agents, publishers, and readers will want to keep reading.

” … bound to be a book you keep right next to your keyboard …. ”
–Cristel Phelps, Managing Editor for Fiction, Elk Lake Publishing, Inc

Why Novels Need Story Structure

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Have you ever walked into your regular grocery store and cringed because they rearranged the store? You find dog food in the bread aisle and paper plates where the cereal used to be. Everything you need is still in the store, but it’s hard to find, which can be frustrating.

Something similar happens when authors write books without structure—readers “walk in” to the story expecting to find three acts or mirroring plot points, but instead they find vignettes or backstory. If it’s a favorite author—like your regular grocery store—they might stick around and try to find their way through the mess, but if it’s someone new to them, chances are good that they’ll walk out and find a story that’s less frustrating.

In his book Just Write, James Scott Bell says structure is important for the reader, not the writer. Whether or not they realize it, readers have specific expectations for novels. They expect the boy and girl to live happily ever after in a romance. They detective must find the criminal in a mystery. Historical events need to impact the characters in historical romance.

All of those elements are part of a novel’s structure. Recognizing and understanding different story structures will help you create a solid foundation on which to build your novel.

As with most things in fiction writing, there’s no one-way to do things. There are different types of story structure you can use, and they all work. A good place to start is the traditional three-act story.

A three-act story actually includes at least six main points, but the three most obvious are the acts.

Act I: The introduction—this is where you introduce the setting and main characters.
Act II: The body—where the story happens (and conflict reigns).
Act III: The conclusion—the climax of the story where everything resolves.

But you also need some transitional elements.

Inciting Incident: Something out of the ordinary that forces the main character into the story.
First Door: A situation requiring a decision that pushes the MC from Act I into Act II.
Second Door: A life-changing decision that forces the MC into Act III (it doesn’t matter what the MC chooses, life will be different; it’s his choice as to how it will be different).

Most readers cand identify these elements, but the subconsciously look for them, and including them in your book helps them more easily navigate new settings, new characters, and a new author voice.

The are many variations of the three-act plot, and they all work. The key is to find the structure model that works best for you and your story. I’ve listed some of my favorite resources for structure below—what’s your go-to book for plot structure?

AVAILABLE NOW! Get your copy here!

If you’re looking to strengthen your writing and self-editing skills, here’s what you can expect in How to Edit Your Novel:

Take your self-editing skills to the next level.

• Have you eliminated all the telling?
• Are the characters complex?
• Is every scene necessary?

Most authors will answer ‘yes!’ to these questions. But then editors and readers tell them the descriptions don’t engage them, the characters are stereotypical, and the story dragged.

How do you fix it?

Self-editing can only take you so far. But if you know the right questions to ask and you know how to interpret the answers, you’ll not only strengthen your self-editing skills, you’ll strengthen your writing.

HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL doesn’t simply rehash the fiction-writing basics that create good stories-it provides examples, context, and questions that will help authors identify and strengthen their weaknesses the same way a professional editor tackles a manuscript. By combining mini writing lessons with practical self-editing tips, everything a writer needs to become a better self-editor is practically presented.

Whether you’re a new writer or an experienced author, HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL can help you polish your story into a gem agents, publishers, and readers will want to keep reading.

” … bound to be a book you keep right next to your keyboard …. ”
–Cristel Phelps, Managing Editor for Fiction, Elk Lake Publishing, Inc

Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

The Satisfying Ending

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Most writers are familiar with the Happily Ever After (HEA), but not every genre—and not every story—needs an HEA. In fact, every story needs the same type of ending: the Satisfying Ending.

Writers and readers often debate whether or not stories need happy endings, but the debate is almost always based on personal preference. That’s why it’s so important to understand genres and what each genre expects from its stories. The people who read those genres will expect a certain type of ending, and it’s up to the writer to provide it.

What is a satisfying ending?

It’s an appropriate ending.

In a mystery novel, the sleuth figures out who did and apprehends the bad guy. In suspense, the good guys win. In romance, the couple comes together and commits to the relationship. In a Nicholas Sparks book, someone dies.

Appropriate doesn’t mean predictable though.

The criminal might not be one person; it could be several (Orient Express by Agatha Christie). The good guys win, but they don’t all survive (the movie Armageddon). The couple commits to each other, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they get engaged or get married (The Bodyguard by Katherine Center). The person who dies isn’t always the hero (Save Haven. Seriously, though—I’ve read four Sparks books and someone dies at the end of all of them).

If you’re not sure about your ending, ask someone familiar with your genre. Your seemingly sad ending might be exactly what your story needs.

Still not sure? Reach out, and let’s see how I can help: karin@karinbeery.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

4 Tips for Creating Meaningful Connections with Characters

One of the great things about fiction is the opportunity to step into someone else’s head and not only experience a new and different life, but to feel the excitement, anguish, and fear right along with the character. But why do some books elicit such deep emotions from the reader while others fall short?

It’s all about connecting with the characters.

Have you ever read a book that you wanted to love, but you just couldn’t make yourself care what happened to the characters? Or maybe you wanted to know what happened, but you never felt any sympathy for or excitement with the characters? Either way, the problem is the same—you never developed a connection with the characters, so you never invested in their lives.

Why does it matter? Because people won’t read about characters they don’t care about.

Yes, you might find some readers who just want to know how the story ends, so they skim pages and skip long paragraphs to get to the last chapter (or, if you’re like me, you read the last chapter to see if you’ll like the ending, then decide if the book’s worth your time). Don’t give readers an excuse to skip pages! Instead, give them the chance to get to know your characters so they’re not merely curious to see what happens, they care about what happens.

How do you create meaningful connections with characters?

Stop skipping Act I.

Perhaps the most traditional (and well known) story structure is the three-act structure—beginning, middle, and end. Another way to understand and discus the three acts is:

  • Act I: Introduction
  • Act II: Body/Story
  • Act III: Conclusion

In a ridiculously short summary, these three parts essentially mean:

  • An introduction of characters, setting, and plot.
  • Watching the characters interact with each other within the setting to advance the plot.
  • When the characters work through the final plot issues to resolve the story with a satisfactory ending.

The part I really want to focus on is Act I, the introduction. It’s becoming more and more common to see that part of the story stripped down (if not completely eliminated) in an effort to jump right into the plot.

Don’t. Do it.

For years now, writers have been told to start their stories with action. Yes, that is absolutely true, but that doesn’t mean you dive right into the plot without first introducing all of the key players and plot elements. Don’t sacrifice Act I for the sake of action. When you do that, your reader doesn’t know whether to root for the woman on the run or hope she gets caught—without an introduction, you throw the reader into a confusing situation, and you never want to confuse the reader.

How, then, do you start your story?

  1. Start with action that’s appropriate for the genre and story. If you’re writing suspense, it’s understandable and often acceptable to open with a woman on the run, then reveal that character to the reader as you go. That’s part of the suspense plot. If, however, you’re writing women’s fiction, the action needs to appropriate: a working woman grocery shopping, a mom pushing a stroller while she jogs, two sisters sorting through their deceased father’s possessions. All of these things are It doesn’t have to be a car chase or gun fight, as long as it doesn’t start with the main character thinking for two pages.
  2. Introduce the main characters. Imagine you’re at a barbecue. Your friend brings over a stranger and says, “This is my co-worker, Larry.” Besides what Larry looks like, you only know one thing about him. That’s not a great introduction, but that’s how many authors start their books. Instead, use this introduction: “This is my co-worker, Larry. He just moved to town last month and is looking for a new massage therapist to treat back issues resulting from a car accident. I thought you might be able to help him since you work at a chiropractor’s office and have connections in that industry.” Wow. Now the reader understands Larry. They may not be able to relate to his situation, but they’ll understand why he hires someone to walk his dog and stop thinking he’s lazy. You’ve helped create empathy.
  3. Show the setting. Where and when a story takes place will impact the events of the story. For example, a cruise ship is sinking. How should the reader react to that? It’s hard to know if you don’t know when or where the ship is sinking. If it’s off the coast of Florida in 2005, the Coast Guard will be there with speed boats and helicopters—exciting! If, however, it’s 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, it’s tragic. Make sure you show the setting.
  4. Establish normalcy. If the reader doesn’t know what life is like for your characters, they won’t know how to respond when unusual events happen. Say your character is sitting in her car at a red light when two cars plow into the intersection and crash. She calmly calls 9-1-1, gives a statement when the police arrive, then goes home where her husband hugs her and tells her how proud he is of her and how amazing she is. Why? Without establishing her normal—that she’s an army veteran with severe PTSD who curls into a ball and suffers flashbacks when a balloon pops—there’s no way to understand her breakthrough by being able to call for help and drive herself home. Take the time to establish normalcy so the reader can recognize important moments.

By including these four elements, you’ll make it easier for your reader to connect with the characters, which will establish the emotional connection that pulls the reader through the story.

Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com

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