I’m working on GRAVEN IMAGES, Book 6 in the Callie Cassidy Mystery series, and it’s causing me some serious anxiety. You see, my main character is about to have a fight with her boyfriend. I’m worried they might even break up.
And I can hardly stand the idea.
I understand that tension is integral to any good story, and it’s especially vital in a mystery. As a reader, tension keeps me turning pages. As a moviegoer, friction keeps me perched on the edge of my seat. My cuticles have paid the price for many a good high-pressure scene.
But as a writer, I find creating stress for my characters an agonizing necessity, especially when that stress involves their relationships. My heart palpitates, my teeth grind, and my fingers tremble as I type these fictional people into romantic distress.
There, I admitted it. Since I was a child, it’s been my nature to want people around me to be happy. I don’t feel quite settled if they’re not in sync. I realize that’s not necessarily a positive attribute, nor is it always healthy or even helpful. In fact, it’s one aspect of being a control freak. Still, my knee-jerk response to conflict is to attempt to make things better. This is true even if I’m not part of the conflict. I’ve struggled against this aspect of my personality throughout my life. So, writing these characters—people I’ve grown to care about despite their fictional status—into contention causes me existential angst.
Who knew my writing career would become a journey into psychological self-analysis? But poor Callie and Sam—they’re about to face the consequences of my inner growth.
Writers: What kinds of scenes create your biggest emotional challenges? Readers: What causes you the most anxiety in a book?
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Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com
We certainly become invested in, and identify with, our characters. Sometimes I think that the obstacles they encounter (which we must have put in their way--how else would they have gotten there?) are more difficult for us to cope with than many problems in our "real" life,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Lori - pleaser here. My MCs tend to be drama free types (which is probably why I'm not a best seller - how's that for self reflection?) But the people around them are definitely not drama free. I tend to think of my MC's as the still center in a swirling pool of different levels of mayhem. Maybe my MC's need more inner mayhem?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opportunity to think about this :)
I think about balance with all this. I put my characters in emotional distress, but I worry that I pour it on a bit too much!
ReplyDeleteHow we hate to put our characters in real danger and emotional stress! But we need to occasionally if we want to keep our plots interesting and not lose our readers' attention.
ReplyDeleteI cry after my characters rescue themselves. Even though I know they will, because I'm the one writing the story, I cry like a baby when they're finally safe. What a sap. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL – can so relate! Yes. Putting my characters in emotional peril is far more difficult for me than putting them in physical peril. It’s hard to write without wanting to assure them (and by extension readers) that it will be all right!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who experiences this! I suppose if I didn't allow them to have the occasional emotional (and physical) abrasions, I'd be enabling them. And after all, there's a happily ever after coming—at least temporarily. Thanks for your comments—I so enjoyed them!
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