So it’s the day after the big snow and my son wants to join all his friends at a house in another neighborhood.
They’re playing video games and watching movies and having a blast—and the only thing separating him from the party is his parents and their determination not to drive in the snow.
“But Erik’s mom drove him!”
“And she’s from New Jersey.”
“But Wesley’s dad drove him!”
“And he’s from Canada.”
“But Jacob’s dad drove him!”
“He’s from upstate New York. And your dad is from Alabama and your mom’s from South Carolina. When it snows, we stay inside and don’t operate motor vehicles.”
I can remember what it was like to be a teenager and have cautious parents who seemed bound and determined to foil my every fun idea. Although my idea of a good time in bad weather isn’t driving over to another neighborhood and hanging out with a bunch of teenage boys, he made me feel how badly he wanted it.
It was the winter of his discontent. And he was definitely letting me know it.
As Kurt Vonnegut said in Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, “Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.”
The reader may not want the same thing. But they need to feel like it’s of vital importance that the character gets the thing they want. And understand some of the character’s motivation and desire for it.
It’s the perfect set up for conflict—establish what the character wants and then put obstacles in the way of his getting it.
Like a snow-covered road and reluctant parents.
What does your character want most? Have you made the reader feel the urgency, too?
Hope you’ll visit again tomorrow when I’ve got author Lois Winston guest posting! And I’ll be visiting Burrowers, Books, and Balderdash. :)
I don’t drive in the snow either- not because I lived anywhere like you, but because it scares me.
Great advice by the way- I’m just looking at old stories wondering where the drive for my characters are and how to make the drive more important.
In my case it’s not wanting to drive at night. I enjoyed the advice too. And yes, I remember being a teen.
Elizabeth – I’m willing to drive in the snow (I’m from Pennsylvania), but I never get the chance to do that where I live…
You ask a great question, too! Letting the reader know what our characters want helps the reader identify with them and see them as real. In my WIP, at one point, my character desperately wants peace and quiet so he can think. So he rakes his yard. Another character desperately wants his greedy, nasty ex-wife and her shady lawyer to stop screwing him for money. Adding in those details makes characters more well-rounded, I think.
We’ve had dreadful snow in the UK recently, and I don’t think I drove for a week. It probably had something to do with being hitting in the rear end (vehicularly speaking) in previous snow.
I have the goals and things my main character wants, but I know I have to bring the other characters similar wants so they don’t just sit on the paper.
The weather is just crazy all over. Here in NM it’s frigid temps and it usually doesn’t go below 32. The Caribbean’s usually placid water was ripply and rough.
And you have snow in North Carolina. Oy.
Karen
Isn’t that the story of all of our children- reluctant parents!
My characters want too much:) They probably would say that I’m the preverbal meany!
Hehehe; I identify with you completely, Elizabeth as it’s a common joke here around Vancouver that although we’re in Canada, this area shuts down when it snows. I know the rest of Canada laughs at us.
I was given marvelous advice once about characters from a very accomplished writer: Always know what your character wants and what’s stopping him from getting it.
The only characters I’m ever in danger of pampering are the villains. They’re the ones who really bring my stories to life by making life a pain for the heroes. It’s hard not to reward my villains for being themselves.
It’s true. Sometimes we place characters in our novels and then do nothing with them. Thanks for the reminder.
CD
A good quick test question to lay alongside any character. Thanks.
*wailing* I don´t know what my characters want, but *I* want some more drama!
In November I got stuck in one WIP, in December I got stuck in the next one, and now I know that I have to kick some life and action into those drowsy characters!
(But fortunately I can drive in snow ;D)
I wouldn’t drive in the snow either – and that’s when I lived in Chicago. I stayed home a lot in the winter!
Interesting point, Elizabeth. Making sure each character needs something gives me another thing to think about as I go back through my manuscript.
I love the idea of using weather as an obstacle to our characters. Thanks for this post!
Summer–I think it’s one of those key things to figure out about characteers. And there are so many things that motivate people–it can really give a reader clues to a character’s personality.
Sheila–I remember being a teen, but it’s getting foggy sometimes. :)
Rebecca–I’d stay inside, too! Getting rear-ended is a nightmare.
Margot–You are so right. And even small things, like wanting peace and quiet, can give the reader insight into the character and make the plot more realistic, too.
Jeffrey–Villains are fun, aren’t they? Of course, I’ve got to conceal mine from the reader until the end, but I still have fun with them.
Karen–Sort of apocalyptic, isn’t it? Really, really weird weather. Hope it warms up in NM soon!
Clarissa–They’re no good to us if they’re not pulling their weight.
Linda–Thanks. :)
Jane–Good luck with your manuscript!
Tamika–I think our characters would probably throw rocks at us, if they had the opportunity. :) We find the perfect ways to keep them from what they want most!
Heather–Thanks for coming by!
teehee–You probably aren’t in a place where you could tell him if he wants to go that badly, he can take a bus? My son, even with snow, rides his bike places…
I think I should be more conscious of this ‘what they want’ thing… In the book I am editing my most solid character, the one who keeps making me cry, cuts herself because it is the only way she feels real–no one else seems to acknowledge her, but if there is pain and blood, she must really exist. Pretty dark stuff, but she is powerful, considering she feels invisible.
I have trouble focusing on what the characters want in my writing–usually I’ll write about what they’re doing, but I should pay more attention to the drive behind it. Thanks for the post!
I hate driving in the snow too, Elizabeth, despite having lived most of my life in Scotland, where the weather varies from dreadful to appalling, so I would be the same re providing a taxi service in it for offspring!
I think remembering that other people want things as well as me is a good plan for life and for writing. I often lose track of the minor characters when I get wrapped up in the main plot. I’m editing something at the moment where two minor characters completely disappeared halfway through the story!
Everybody wants something and everybody wants to make sure they get theirs first. Ah, conflict and life.
Excellent analogy!
And I would’ve asked him if there was something wrong with his legs that he couldn’t walk to the house.
Elspeth–I was impressed by how balmy-looking it was there for the Olympics! My kind of place. :)
Hart–Well..there are buses, but not so much in the suburbs down here. Bleh. Yeah, I should have put that stinker on a bike…
Ah…good tie-in. If I remember correctly, your narrator for the book is a ghost? Who feels invisible, too.
The Golden Eagle–It definitely makes for a good set-up for conflict. :)
Sheila–I have secondary characters that I need to keep a leash on, too!
Mary–Seems like conflict *is* life, sometimes! :)
Dorte–Hmm. My prescription for your books is….another dead body! :) (Dorte writes mysteries, y’all.) And also come up with some great internal conflict for your protagonist and torture him/her by sticking them in situations they’re horrified by. Or finding their greatest desire and denying it.
Alex–Ha! I’ll remember that for next time. :)
This is where it is helpful having a background in theatre. I know that every person on the stage has to want something even if they haven’t a line in the play. And every person in a play or a novel or a life feels like they are the protagonist. And they all want something every moment. That’s what makes it all work.
By the way, I’m from Canada, I live in Canada and I’m with you – no driving in the snow if it can be at all helped. Even my clients know that!
A much wiser author than I once (or many times) said, “Only trouble is interesting.”
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
And, what the bored teen wants most of all is to be stranded at a friend’s house during a blizzard. I know because that was me! Might still be. I’m a Minnesota farm girl, and I’ll drive on most roads. But, our nasty weather over the new year foiled all my plans. Sucked it up, started reading a good book, and enjoyed a make-up Christmas with my parents last night. Great story. Safe roads to you in the New Year!
Jan–I’m very envious of the writers I know who have had this wonderful background in theater! I think it would be so helpful.
I’m glad that you don’t go out in the snow, either! Safer that way.
Mary–That sounds like a fun holiday! Glad you stayed safe inside. :)
Terry–So true. If the plot is all peaches and cream, we don’t have much of a story!