In the book I’ve just finished writing, my protagonist is a successful, self-assured, retired museum curator. She’s moved to a small Southern town to be near her daughter and get a break from the hectic pace of her life.
Of course, things don’t go all that smoothly for my character. Besides getting mixed up in a murder investigation (the main plot), she’s also faced with a number of challenges on a smaller scale—everything from dealing with the change of pace, to learning quilting (something she’d had no plans of ever learning.) My protagonist is pushed from her comfort zone at every opportunity.
Looking for the perfect way to challenge your character? Ask yourself how they view themselves. What do they think they’re good at? What do they find personally challenging?
Why we should play to a character’s weaknesses instead of their strengths:
It gives them the opportunity to fail. Who likes perfect characters?
It gives them the opportunity to try again. And persistence is a likeable trait.
It provides additional conflict for your book. Sure we’ve got the main plot and all the conflict that goes with it. But extra conflict adds tension to a book and makes for an interesting subplot that can motivate the reader to keep reading to see how the character deals with it.
It gives them an opportunity to ultimately succeed. Because we all like to see hard work rewarded.
Have you given your characters a chance to grow lately?
Such great points to remember! Definitely something I’ll remember as I rewrite book #2. Thank you.
Elizabeth – …and it’s so important for our characters to grow and develop! It really is. Otherwise they just stop being interesting. In my WIP, my main character has to deal with the loss of a friend. Not, admittedly, a really close friend, but someone he was working with on a research project. So he’s challenged to deal with his loss while still being objective about catching the killer.
This makes me think that you can never let your character get comfortable.
Great post, Elizabeth!
I hope so! I broke my mc down to near nothing in my first book, so he has to rebuild his life in the second.
It’s important to challenge your chracters and get them out of their comfort zones. Making decisions they normally would not under difficult circumstances, or sacrificing personal gain in order to help someone else are two ways to do this.
I’ve done exactly the same thing, one of my characters has to face one of his greatest fears and also learns that perhaps he’s not as well-adjusted as he thinks.
Julie—Good luck with your rewrite!
Paul–And that’s always interesting for readers, too–we pull for people who’ve lost it all.
Stephen–Pushing their boundaries a little is always a good thing.
Margot–Good point! There are also emotional challenges that we could make them deal with. The end of a friendship, a death, a divorce, etc.
Teresa–Or maybe *let* them start *feeling* comfortable, then pull the rug out from under them!
The manuscript I’m working on now is all about growth. The protag must change. She knows it; she’s just been ignoring it.
hmmm, exactly what my WIP is missing, I think! Thank you~
Oh I like giving our characters an opportunity to try try again. Just as no reader wants to read about perfect characters, I think readers do want characters to ultimately succeed when they fail…
Helen–Well, change isn’t fun! I absolutely despise change, so it’s good I’m not a character in one of my own books!
Bluestocking–I think it’s frustrating not to see hard work rewarded. So much more fun to see it all pay off in the end!
Elspeth–We certainly keep these characters from getting too smug! Ha!
You’re so good about thinking of all these things. I have a fair few relationship conflicts, but should put more effort into pushing out of the comfort zone in other ways. I do love character growth.
I played to my main character’s biggest weakness in my current work. I’m just evil that way…
Trying very hard to do this. I’ll be reading aloud next week. We’ll see.
Hart–It helps keep the reader hooked, too!
Lsdy Gwen–Hope it helps!
Alex–Being evil rocks! :)
This is a book I want to read.