My third grade daughter brought a children’s chapter book home from her school library a week ago. The book was about a fifth grader who decides that grades and standardized tests aren’t accurate assessments of children’s abilities and can make students feel stigmatized. The girl decides to make straight Ds on her report card.
I know…my eyebrows went up, too. :)
But she’d picked the book out herself, was excited about the novel, and was reading it carefully to take (ironically) a content test on it through the school’s accelerated reading program.
I read it, too, so I could quiz her on it and help her get prepped for her test.
After she finished the book, she said, “Mama, it was only about the report card. The whole thing! How the girl hated report cards, how she decided to fail her report card, how she had a meeting with her teacher and parents about the report card…then she had a meeting with the principal about the report card…”
She had a good point. The entire book dealt with the protagonist vs. her big conflict. Even the protagonist’s conversations with other characters were solely on the conflict.
And, obviously, that’s important. The whole point of the book is the main conflict facing the protagonist. It needs to create obstacles and confrontations for the character.
But we also need to view the protagonist in other ways:
How does he interact with other people?
How does he deal with other conflicts and stresses?
What’s he like in his downtime?
To get a well-rounded view of a character, it really helps to view the character from other angles.
That’s tricky. You don’t need to go veering off the subject for long periods of time. But short subplots or bits of dialogue with characters on topics other than the main conflict are important to develop our characters.
My sleuths don’t talk about the murder the entire book. The murder is a main focus of the book—the whole reason for the book. But I think readers get a multi-dimensional view of my protagonists through other scenes, too—humorous scenes, scenes where they’re working on a different problem, etc.
If we don’t offer the reader glimpses of other sides to our character? We risk having the characters look flat and having our readers get bored.
How do you show other sides to your characters?
Please pop by tomorrow when Bob Sanchez will be guest blogging at Mystery Writing is Murder on his writing process.
Elizabeth – You’re absolutely right. Protagonists are a lot more interesting and engaging if we get to know them as more than just “the-person-that-solves-the-mystery.” They’re more realistic that way, too. After all, in real life, we don’t just think about one thing, no matter how much we may love that one thing. We think about a lot of things, and we wear several “hats.” No reason the progaonist has to be any different. That’s what I like about your Myrtle Clover: yes, she solves crime, but we see her from, as you put it, different angles. She writes an advice column, she’s a grandmother, and she’s a former teacher. She’s a well-rounded character.
If the protagonist isn’t shown in other settings or how they relate to other people then the reader can’t relate to them and won’t care about them. You have to see more to a protagonist than just someone focused on solving a crime.
I like it when there are moments of verbal off-the-wall sparring between characters. It’s especially effective when it reflects some trivial life situation that helps tell us who our characters are.
Protagonists need to be developed with conflicts and obstacles to overcome. Conflicts will need to be identified, confronted, and conquered. Conflcit can be an opportunity to make a shift in the plot the reader is not expecting. But more importantly, how will the experience cause change in the person(s) after the conflict has been resolved.
Stephen Tremp
It sounds like you’re raising an astute reader for one so young! A future writer perhaps, or editor? I’m impressed by your daughter’s insight to pick up something that obviously the writer, editor and publisher of this book missed!! That life is many-sided, and even in the midst of misery and conflict, people laugh, they talk to friends, they go shopping, they go to work–it’s not ALL man vs. conflict!
Great point, Elizabeth. I think that each scene needs to be inherent to the plot, but we can definitely make our characters multi-demensional.
I am tremendously impressed by your kid. Forget how I was at her age, even a few years back, I may have been vaguely dissatisfied with the book, but may not have been able to put my finger on what was bothering me quite as well.
And yes, the characters have to be well rounded, if the story is to engage me. Not so much in case of a short story, maybe, but definitely in a long.
Backstory, relationships with other characters, daily rituals, surprise events–great point, Elizabeth!
And I still can’t believe the premise of that book!
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
Wow she knows what she wants out of a book. She knew exactly what she needed from the book. I think you have a future writer in your family.
Quick checking in before I leave for SleuthFest. I agree that you have to move outside the main conflict to keep a reader interested.
And my blog today is about characters but for a change, it’s looking at something a little different!
Off to SleuthFest!
Out of the mouths of babes.. :)
Even the young readers want more – they want to know their characters as real people.
Very insightful!
I too think it’s wonderful that your daughter identified a story so narrowly written. Readers definitely want a little more dimension in a book – even third grade readers!
Good points, Elizabeth. I have not read a lot of chapter books for children, but the few that I have do have a little more sub-plot to the story so it is not just about one thing.
What fun it must be for you to be able to discuss books and writing with your daughter in such depth. Sharing that kind of interest is a wonderful connection. I have that with my daughter and she now has it with her daughter. Wonderful that the love of story can go on and on and on.
That may be a deeper question than I can answer!
War is the main event of my story, but it’s not the actual conflict, so involvement of the characters in the war brings out other aspects of their personality.
I’m like you, Elizabeth, I like my main characters to be concerned (some of the time) with other matters than whodunnit. After all, no one has only one thing going on at a time!
Although…that would make for a rather pleasant break…
I use the interaction with other characters to bring out traits and define the MC, and little slice of life incidents that show they are real people.
I applaud your daughter (and you for getting involved with what she’s doing). None of us live in a vaccum and netiher should our characters. Part of life’s lessons are that we need to continue on even when our problems are overwhelming. We still need to take care of business and so do our characters.
Thanks for the great reminder.
Teagan Oliver
http://www.TeaganOliver.com
http://www.TeaganOliver.blogspot.com
Good points here. I really liked-
“short subplots or bits of dialogue with characters on topics other than the main conflict are important to develop our characters.”
Totally agree.
Marvin D Wilson
Stephen–And we all have lots of different obstacles in our days…not just a big one. We have the car that won’t start, the friend who yakked with us on the phone too long. We continue having birthdays, going to our kids’ sports events…there are many ways to briefly show another side of someone.
Margot–Right..because a reader needs another point of connection with the character besides how they deal with their big problem!
Karen–Thanks! :) I’d love a little writer in the family. And you’re right…as we all know when we’ve faced hard times, life goes ON–whether we want it to or not. And how a character faces that fact can tell us a lot about them.
Mason–It’s so true. Because the reader isn’t facing the problem our protagonists are. To get the reader to relate to the character and the problem, we need to forge a connection with the reader in a different way–character development, usually.
Rayna–I think it comes from talking about books with them in a technical way. Sometimes I worry I’m taking away some of the magic by showing my kids the “puppet strings” in a book–the reason an author delayed the conclusion of a book, the way cliffhanging endings can backfire, etc. But they seem still caught up in the stories they read. I want them to be critical readers, but still really get completely immersed in a good book.
Patricia–Great point! It can really tell us a lot about the characters involved.
Jody –It’s a balance, isn’t it?
Crystal–So much focus on one thing is okay for a short story, picture book or short graphic novel, but can’t carry a full-length book, definitely.
Michele–I think it must have been a political response to the “No Child Left Behind” thing. I kind of choked over the premise, but she picked it out, so I try to be supportive.
Journaling Woman–She loves to write and draw. :)
Alex–Well, fighting in a war is definitely an all-consuming activity! Wow, that’s a tough one. But if they’re coming off the battlefield at all, there’s your opportunity. They’d be doing strategic planning, of course…could they also have some sort of tension release? Shooting at targets even over conversations?
Diane–Slices of life are so important. And it gives our readers other story lines and offers character depth.
Terry–Side conflicts…small bits…are great for other problems for the protagonist to face. Have fun at SleuthFest! I’ve heard that’s a fun conference.
Teagan–Well put. Because life goes on, doesn’t it? Even if we’re faced with a big personal problem or a tragedy, we’re not sitting there at home thinking and talking about it all day. We’re still doing things with family and friends, going to work, etc. There’s still a routine in place.
Marvin–Thanks!
Your daughter sounds so smart! And you’re right–I mean even from that description, it sounds like it would have been a better book if they’d shown some other strengths of the main character (maybe caring about a grandparent, or helping someone)–it would have strengthened the point that she had a point about the report card because the reader would have seen she was competent in other (perhaps more important) ways.
Great point!
Great points. I know I would be bored if everything in the book had to do with the conflict or problem. I want to get to know the characters and be able to identify and/or sympathize with them.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Jemi–And as a teacher, you definitely know that!
Hart–That’s a good point. If the author had juxtaposed the child’s abilities in other area’s, he could have made his point in a more subtle way. I wonder if he thought he couldn’t be subtle because of the age group? I think it was a miscalculation and I’m surprised his publisher didn’t catch it.
Helen–It does get kind of stale after a while. It’s fine and dandy for a short story, but not for novel-length (even children’s novel-length.)
Maryann–That’s the best kind of connection, isn’t it? I love that my kids and I can share our love of reading together!
And, you know, the funny thing is that this author has a ton of children’s chapter books out. He’s very successful. I think this book may just be an anomaly. But one he’s hopefully correcting for his other books. My daughter grabbed another of his titles, so I guess we’ll see.
Sometimes my greatest insights into my character is when I put them in situations or conflict outside the realm of the mystery itself. I find it does, as you say, give them depth.
ann
Your daughter must be commended for her good taste. What an aware reader! As for the bad grades as character motivation…I know kids love to read stories where characters make bad choices. It’s living vicariously that gives kids the sense of, “Uh-oh. I’d never do that.” Maybe the next book she chooses will be better developed? There are a lot of books and so little time. Cherish sharing those books together. It’s a lifelong bond!
Elspeth–Yes! That would be such a nice break. But unrealistic, too!
Ann–I felt that way, too. Because when they’re working on resolving their conflict, they’re just task-oriented and it’s hard to get a handle on them.
It sounds to me that you have a young and talented book reviewer in your household. If the protagonist isn’t fully developed then the story is bound to fall flat.
Jane–Most of us have character-driven books…and when they center (to the extreme) on the big conflict, I think it does make it flat.
You have a very smart daughter to be able to point that out. Sounds like you may have a writer on your hands.
I agree with you that a protagonist needs more than just the main conflict. The report card is the outer conflict, but the protagonist has to have many inner conflicts that should have been explored. That would have made a more enjoyable and satisfying story.
Great post!
I like this one sentence: ‘you have to view the character from other angles.’ That simple statement really resonates.
Yes, Elizabeth, and it’s a tightrope. How much of their “other” life, their “real” life to include vs. the primary conflict?
I believe it helps to choose aspects of their “real” life that illuminate their character and show reasons why they’d be involved in the major conflict…without being too obvious.
Your daughter is a perceptive reader.