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It’s Page 381. Do You Know What Your Character Needs?

by Katrina Stonoff 10 June 2009 10 Comments

I just returned from the Writers Retreat Workshop — ten nonstop days of learning and work — and I'm a little sleep deprived. And practically giddy over my sparkling new knowledge and chapters. I cannot recommend WRW highly enough. It's a grad school education in writing fiction.

On the second or third day, I was sitting at lunch with five other people, one of whom was Cricket Freeman, a literary agent with The August Agency. Cricket is delightful and interesting, and I had noticed that the table at which she sat always seemed reluctant to leave when the meal ended.

It was true at that lunch. We'd long since finished our meals, but the laughter and stories kept us seated.

Until Cricket mentioned the last word in a novel. "The final word is very important," she said. "It's tied to the character's inner journey." (I'm paraphrasing here, so don't fall for the quote marks. They lie.)

My mind wandered away, trying to remember the last word in East of Jesus, the WIP I'm currently editing. When I remembered the word, I dropped out of the moment. I could no longer hear my friends talking, and though I could see them, they were fuzzy and indistinct, as if I looked through a sheet of woven interface.

"I have to go," I said as I stumbled to my feet. When I realized I was being rude, I forced myself to focus on them. All five were frozen. Not talking, just staring at me. "I'm sorry," I said. "I hate to run off like this — the conversation is wonderful — but I have to go capture a thought."

"Go!" Cricket waved me away. "We understand. We saw it happen."

I sent her a grateful look and dashed away.

See, here's the thing. A POV character should have both an outer goal and an inner need. Grace, the main character in East of Jesus, has been fifteen years in a stifling marriage, but now her husband is dead of heart attack. That's a good thing (Did I forget to mention it's dark humor?). But he's left her homeless and penniless, and that's a bad thing for a middle-aged woman with no job history or marketable skills.

Her outer goal was easy and obvious: find a way to get money (either by keeping some of Howard's or making her own).

But I'd struggled with her inner need. At the beginning of the book, she has so many unmet needs. She needs to find a way to assert herself. She needs to figure out how she became passive, and find a way not to fall back into it. She needs to learn to make her own decisions, figure out who the heck she is and what she wants. But those are easy and too obvious. I had given her a need, but it was artificial and didn't quite fit her. But I told myself, "Hey, I'm the author. I can tell her what she needs."

But then Cricket make that incredible statement: "The final word is related to the character's inner need."

The final word in East of Jesus is "baby," but my character is post-menopausal and childless. Yes, she wanted children, but Howard had had a vasectomy. And he's dead now anyway. And did I mention she's post-menopausal? She ain't having no baby!

My first feeling was dismay — I really like the ending. I didn't want to change it. It felt right.

Then I realized it was right. Grace's inner need is for a family, and I must have known it because I'd written it into the book already. She's an only child whose father withdrew emotionally after her mother died young. She has one stepson, but he was grown when she married. So when Howard dies, she's truly alone in the world.

But over the course of some crazy decisions and madcap adventures, she gathers to herself a motley posse of misfits, and together, they form a makeshift family. As the book ends, she's about to become a surrogate grandmother. Grace's inner journey was already there. I just hadn't realized it.

I jotted a few notes about how to bring it out, and the book is much stronger as a result.

Now I know readers aren't going to say to themselves, "Oh! She wants a family!" But even without them being aware of it, her longing for those familial connections drives the story forward. In the middle of the antics she goes through trying to keep Howard's money, there is this quiet yearning the reader can relate to, and if that need isn't met, all the money in Howard's hidden accounts won't be satisfying to either Grace or the reader. That inner need that I hadn't recognized was exactly why the ending of the book was perfect.

What about you? Does your character have both an outer goal and an inner need? Does that inner yearning drive your book forward?

And the most important question: what's the last word in your current novel?

_____________________

Katrina Stonoff: Fiction for Women

Stone Soup Blog

10 Comments »

Silver James said:

The last word in mine is “daughter.” It is a revelation about *who* the heroine is, though I’m not sure it actually relates to her inner journey.

Something to think about… *wanders off with a contemplative look on her face*

# 10 June 2009 at 2:19 pm

Ann said:

I’ve just finished the draft of my first chapter now. So I’m not there, yet (I’m still getting to know my protagonist, not to mention the secondary characters).

But this is a very interesting thing for me to keep my ear out for.

# 10 June 2009 at 2:48 pm

TrudyJ said:

VERY interesting. The last word in By the Rivers of Brooklyn is “home,” which is perfect in every way. The last word in What You Want is “do,” which seems a bit more vague and amorphous, but I think it fits too. The novel is really about two people who are being passive in their lives, allowing their lives to happen to them without taking action, so maybe “do” is an appropriate last word.

# 10 June 2009 at 3:16 pm

LavadaDee said:

You had me digging out books to find out what the last word was. #1 Forever – #2 Home – #3 Slumber -#4 Forever I alway agonize over the last paragraph and sentence but never gave the last word a thought. I will now…

# 10 June 2009 at 3:31 pm

Anita Davison said:

I’ve been a lurker for a while and hope you don’t mind me jumping in.
‘Inner need’ and ‘last word’ leapt out at me from Katina’s post.

My heroine is an American, who returns to the Scottish Highlands in 1900 to the family’s dilapidated castle by a loch. In a tower room, she meets Ruairi, and becomes infatuated, but in the same week realises she is attracted to her second cousin, Duncan – but he sees her family as a threat to his ancestral home.

When my heroine discovers Ruairi is a Jacobite ancestor from 1745 and not real at all – things get complicated.
Her inner need – from her indulgent, empty life, she discovers a primal link to the castle and wants to see it restored. My final word needs more than a word – so I hope you’ll indulge me:

“Duncan,” she whispered. “When the castle’s finished, could we go into the tower room one night, light the fire and tell each other ghosts stories?”
He brushed his lips across the tip of her nose. “Sounds wonderful, but I don’t know any ghost stories.”
A sudden wind off the loch rattled the window frame, and the steady rhythm of Duncan’s heart beat comfortingly against her cheek.
“Yes, you do.”

# 11 June 2009 at 2:22 am

JK Coi said:

I’m pretty sure that the last word in my newest book Forever Immortal is “together”, which really fits, although I hadn’t thought of it like that before. Both my hero and my heroine have to come to a realization in the book that they aren’t alone–and so for the last word to be “together” is pretty perfect

# 11 June 2009 at 9:39 am

Katrina Stonoff (author) said:

Silver: LOL. “Daughter” seems like a very powerful ending word. Could have lots of connotations.

Ann: It never occurred to me to plan my last word, but I probably will now. And I’ve heard of authors who knew exactly what the last word would be, but they didn’t know how to get there. Weird!

Trudy: “Home” is perfect for Waters of Brooklyn! Did you plan it that way, or get lucky like I did? I’m only about 40 percent through What You Want, but I think you can make a case for “do” as the perfect word.

Lavada: I dug out some of favorite books to check. Among the books that totally rocked my socks, 80-90 percent of them had perfect last words: Kite Runner = “ran.” Girl with the Pearl Earring = “free.” Gods in Alabama = “belonged.” Rainlight = “shinies.” Year of Fog = “forward.” “No One You Know = “listening.” Looks like some of my favorite authors already knew that rule of thumb.

Anita: Of course we don’t mind! We love having new voices join the conversation. I love your story premise. I did wonder though — what is your character’s Outer Goal? I do like the irony and humor in your last line.

JK: I think “together” could pretty much be the last line in any romance! But isn’t it fun when it just works out that way?

# 11 June 2009 at 12:47 pm

ginabad said:

Ha! The last word in mine is “future”, which is appropro. My character’s outer goal is to get back to the throne, but her inner goal is to be her own woman and plan her own destiny (future). This is cool, because now that I’ve articulated that, related it to the last word, and mused over your post, I just noticed the inner/outer goal conflict my character has. It’s in the story but now I’ve SAID it and that means I can get back to editing!

Katrina, your words are “magical”, as Amelia would say.

# 12 June 2009 at 8:56 pm

Ashley Ludwig said:

Thinking on this one for my current release, All or Nothing.

The last word is “before…” and if I’d KNOWN this when I wrote it, I’m not sure I’d change it.

In some way… RuthAnne’s character seeks what so many do. True love. Beyond pettiness, beyond mere attraction. So, at the end, yes – she finds what her soul has always wanted, but not in the way she expected.

GREAT post. Thanks for sharing. I think anyone who knows/spends time with/loves a writer will be VERY familiar with that far-off look, when your characters call you and your muse insists you write. Now.

Best,

Ashley

# 15 June 2009 at 7:58 pm

Stacey Joy Netzel said:

Great WRW story–I felt like I was right there watching with Cricket and the others. I’m at work, so I don’t have any of my books to check the last word, but I do think we all want that last sentence, and many times that final word, to leave a lasting impression on the reader, so many of us instinctively make sure it’s a word that intimately relates to the the book book as a whole and the characters. (Now I hope that when I go check my books when I get home that what I just said is true. LOL)

# 17 June 2009 at 12:19 pm