What Characters Teach Us

I know, I know. As writers we’re compulsive and hard on ourselves. We sacrifice a lot for the dubious pleasure of inventing worlds and a bunch of characters to set loose in them. Some of us are crazed and anti-social. We’d be better off kibitzing with the neighbors than we are pursuing killers on the page.

But I’m here to tell you that in many ways, writing a novel has benefited my mental health. I’m not talking about the fact that writing can be cathartic. I’m talking about what I’ve learned from my characters.

My protagonist is much better than I am at drawing boundaries, for example. She’s clear about what she’ll put up with and what she won’t. When she won’t permit a guy – one who’s bad for her – to re-enter her life, it’s because she’s drawn a line in the sand. She won’t put up with his volatility because it’s proved destructive for her and for the kid she takes care of. As a result, she’s not at all timid about telling him off. Instead, she’s prepared to lose his affection, ready to slam down barriers at the first sign of anger. (Man. When I think about the stuff I put up with over the years....)

Okay, so I'm starting to see things her way. How cool is that? I no longer need therapy. Instead I just need to get inside the head of somebody smarter than I am about the behavior that's acceptable between two people.

Another thing. She’s efficient. She knows just what to focus on and what to leave up to the cops on the case. Nothing in my own life seems quite so clear. My head’s full of grays. More often than not I can't see through the mist when I'm faced with decisions. She’d never end up so stymied. Frankly, she can't afford to be foggy...there aren't enough pages! In fact, she’s had to scrap a few sub-plots in order to make time for a little sex! I really ought to take a lesson.

And, God help me, where she’s methodical, I’m of the hell-is-an-outline mindset. Yet I saw the value of the spreadsheet she created to compare motivations and opportunity. Such an approach, I realized, would help me to compare my characters’ goals at the start of each scene. Just kidding. Well almost. She did create such a spreadsheet. But the two of us had the good sense to drop the scene.

That’s another thing I’ve learned from writing a novel. That folks start out with an agenda when they begin a conversation, whether conscious or no. To nail those goals, I've had to play analyst. And you know what? In understanding her motivations, I discovered a few clues as to my own.

Of course, on the whole, she’s not really smarter. What is she thinking, turning over all those rocks looking for vermin? Will she never learn that she’s bound to expose one or two that bite?

-Lois