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Laura Pauling asked...
How do you find that balance between
emotional motivation/inner conflict for your main character and not going too
emo? I know it has to do with story tone and genre too but do you have any
tips?
Wow, Laura you did set the bar high on this one. What a great question! Yes, it does have to do with genre. For example, if you write YA, like I do, well, teens tend to get a little emo on occasion. More so than say a fifty-year-old lawyer. Yes, tone is important too. But that often depends on genre as well.
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Let's dig a little deeper. You can't argue Twilight's success, but I've heard the complaint that Bella is a whiner, over and over again. When do you cross the line between whining/self-absorption and communicating true inner conflict?
I admit that was a major complaint from one of my trusted beta readers on my last manuscript. That my character was in danger of crossing that line the wrong way. SO I had to tone it down. That's tip number one and two.
- USE BETA READERS. They can spot this sort of thing when you might be too close.
- Weed through the manuscript and see how often you repeat yourself. Sometimes we're so wrapped up, we want to get the point across. But let's not beat the reader over the head. If your character expresses her fear of losing her boyfriend, let's not say it every other paragraph, fifteen different ways. Let's make sure we pick the BEST ways to say it and do so at carefully spaced intervals throughout.
- Make sure the inner reaction is appropriate for the character. And you should know your character well enough to know the answer to this. If not, you have some character building to do!
- Make sure the inner reaction is appropriate for the situation. You may have a Bella for an MC, but if she doesn't eat meat and all they serve for lunch is hamburger it's just not the same as her boyfriend committing suicide.
There are definitely readers that are more into the angst than others. The key is making there be other draws for different kinds of readers as well. You can't please everyone, but having a book be multi-dimensional is important (just like characters!).
ReplyDeleteGreat post/answer!
Lisa, what a great answer! I'm not the type that likes a character to dwell, but I noticed I tended to beat readers over the head with the same inner conflict, so in revisions, I tried to get rid of repitition and echo the worry with actions or dialogue, hopefully in a more subtle way. And I like that you put Bella and Hamlet in the same company!
ReplyDeleteI think you said it best when you said reaction is important. "If she doesn't eat meat and all they serve for lunch is hamburger it's just not the same as her boyfriend committing suicide." Not every response should be so heavily emo driven or the woe is me attitude. Sometimes, she has to come out and say, "Aw hell, I'll go for the hamburger."
ReplyDeleteWow, this is really good stuff, Lisa. In the first draft of my recent project, I have a feeling there'll be plenty of "we get it already" moments. But I have a feeling that if I don't catch them all, my TRUSTED BETA READERS will :D
ReplyDeleteGreat question and tips! I think it's key to make sure that the reaction is appropiate for the character and situation. And I agree that betas are great for pointing out where you went too far.m
ReplyDeleteI am AMAZED at what beta readers catch that I was unaware of (aka = too close to). Great tips!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll take your words to mean that I'm still a teen...my emos are way across the board...probably the result of raising three daughters! ;-]
ReplyDeleteI am working on this issue in my now, re-energized book. The MC is going to go deep, but he's a plumber...so maybe not too far down the drain.
you are so so SO right about the importance of betas in our revision process. And taste is a huge factor, too. Great points here. Thanks, Lisa! :o) <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Lisa! These answers are terrific! I always have to go through and delete repetitive internal thoughts and make them more relevant. I guess the fear is not that the reader will forget but afraid that the scene isn't relating to the internal conflict, so I repeat.
ReplyDeleteIt's very hard to do. And I loved Twilight, still do. I loved her internal thoughts and it made up a huge portion of the book. It just fit with the book.
Beta readers can be such a life saver when it comes to these kinds of things! Great question and excellent advice.
ReplyDeleteWonderful insight, Lisa. I think the repetition in different ways point is such a good one. It's so easy to miss that we're basically saying the same thing if we're not saying it in the same manner. But readers catch onto the feel of this repetition, and that's when it feels whiny.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these great points!
Great answer! I think the key is that it's personal opinion. As you mentioned, some people hate Twilight and think Bella is a whiner, but others love it, so it really does come down to what works for your readers. And I LOVED your point about picking the very best way to say it, and then not repeating yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful post, Lisa! Love the idea that angst has to build so you have to leave room for that at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Martina
Terrific post! I really have to watch the redundant writing - my first drafts are littered with phrases I don't need at all. Thankfully we get to edit! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm getting better at editing out repetition. Thanks for these tips.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, Lisa! And it also hits the nail right on the head for me. This is something I've been battling in my latest WIP. I have so.much redundancy. I bet you're right that taking it out will make all the difference. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant answer, Lisa! Mixing up the emotions helps too. You don't want the 'whoa is me' happening through out the ms. There's got to be happier moments too. The contrasts help heighten the emotions. Otherwise, the one emotion seem flat over time.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I'm having this problem in my current WIP because my MC's boyfriend dies just before the opening of the book and I'm having such a hard time balancing the emotional turmoil she would be in without making her completely depressed and ... well, emo all the time. I think this will help me get some perspective. Especially the repetition thing. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis does help. A great answer to a great question. Making sure a character's emotions are appropriate for that character as well as the variety of situations he or she encounters is something I try to concentrate on while writing.
ReplyDeleteThis is so hard. But I like your ending comment about for every type of book, there is a reader.
ReplyDeleteLOL - Your Bella/hamburger example. I think angst/pity party works when we as a reader can relate to it and justify it in our own emotional landscape even if it is heightened in "teen land."
ReplyDeleteSuch great advice! I especially loved this part, "pick the BEST ways to say it and do so at carefully spaced intervals." I need to look over my MS and do this more. :)
ReplyDeleteNow i'm going to highlight everytime my character thinks/speaks about her internal conflict, for analysis. such a good question and great answers!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic answer! It's definitely difficult to balance the right amount of...emo-ness, I suppose, without going overboard. Beta readers most certainly help point out when your character has gone over to the dark side, so to speak. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely something I struggle with. More than once I've had betas tell me that characters were too whiny or not likable enough. It almost seems like I have to get the whining out of my system in early drafts before I can identify it and tone it down. :-)
ReplyDeletemy biggest complaint with New Moon was how whiney Bella was.
ReplyDeleteBut, it all depends on the situation. If your MC's boyfriend DOES commit suicide, do you really want her to mope around for an entire book?
I think I tend to have the opposite problem. The MC in my WIP deals with her grief silently. She doesn't whine about it, she has a couple breakdowns, but overall she is quiet. I feel like I need to bring her out of her shell
Sometimes you just gotta love Hamlet and all that pathos. And sometimes you're in the mood for something lighter. It's fun to write all that drama, though.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely subjective. And when i read the Twilight series i never even noticed Bella was whiney. But I remember being a bit emo as a teen cuz, well... I was a teen.
ReplyDeleteI love how you broke it down here. :)