Why Should I Care?

I seldom put a novel aside without reading it through, but last week I did. It was a new book by an author whose historical novels I admire a great deal. His new book is a thriller with a contemporary setting, but I don't think my interest flagged because of the genre or setting. So why did I part company with him after reading nearly 300 pages?

Because none of the characters deserved my attention. I felt no emotional tie to the heroine or the people she loved, and most of the others were (How can I put this kindly?) not the sort I would want to be my roommates. Perhaps the author wanted to tantalize me with the possibility that one of them would become a "person of interest" in the investigation, but that was precisely the problem--I wasn't interested in any of them. I'm not a callous person, yet all of the characters left me cold.

I've come to realize that stories I enjoy most are those with characters I care about. I imagine the same is true for you. So why might we care about a fictional character?

We see ourselves reflected. I saw myself in Father Tim of Jan Karon's Mitford series, for example. Having been pastor of a church in Fort Wayne for several years, I heard my former parishioners in the voices of Father Tim's parish. I saw my own foibles and blunders in Father Tim's attempts to serve his people, and I recognized my own feelings of joy when his efforts succeeded.

We get a second chance. When a fictional character is placed in a predicament similar to one we've experienced, we see alternate ways we might have dealt with a problem. Or we may feel vindicated by our own handling of it. Either way, we enjoy reading about realistic characters who afford us a second chance to deal with our own problems.

We become more aware of God. A spiritually mature character sees God at work in situations where we might miss him. Depression Era stories such as "Spencer's Mountain" and "The Journey of Natty Gann" offer us good examples of characters who see God at work in desperate circumstances.

Characters don't have to be likeable or worthy of imitation in order for us to care about them; but unless we care, we're not likely to follow their stories to the end.

Joe Allison has been a member of the Indiana chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers since 2010. He lives in Anderson, IN. His non-fiction books include Setting Goals That Count and Swords and Whetstones.

Mental Empathy

Mental Empathy

I made up a new phrase or concept today. It’s called mental empathy. It sounds like mental telepathy and kind of works the same way only instead of knowing what someone else is thinking, I interpret what someone else is feeling. I use it when I’m writing. Do you? Maybe you do, but you’re unaware of it. Or maybe you’ve never made up a name for it like I have.

This is how it works. When I’m writing a scene I get into character and pretend that I’m the person I’m writing about. I put on their shoes and walk through their life and feel empathy for what they’re going through. I have the same back story and the same junk in my trunk. How does it feel? How do my past experiences impact my daily decisions, my motives and the way I perceive my world? Can my behavior be justified? How? Why? Would I want others to pity me or would I be too proud to complain? Would my junk make me a stronger person, more defensive, or bitter?

The way I get into character changes. Sometimes I have to close my eyes and listen to music and other times I need it real quiet. Maybe you need to get up off the sofa and walk through the motions. Do you have a limp? Are you old? Is it relevant to the story to mention how fast you move? What do you smell along the way? What do you hear? Do these affect your mood? Why? Maybe you have to dress up for the part. This can be productive, but be careful not to get too carried away—especially if you’re expecting dinner guests and your character is the opposite sex or a ballerina. If your guests arrive early they might think you’re, ah, quite a ‘different’ character.

After I feel empathy for my character’s predicament then I give her an out of the ordinary quirk—you know, a tic, a food fetish, something that makes her unique and identifiable—as an outlet for her feelings. For instance, a librarian who body builds, a cardiologist who smokes cigarettes or a little old grey-haired lady who loves to go to bloody boxing matches. You get the idea. It’s really fun to give them a quirk that’s not stereotypical. The unexpected is always refreshing.

So before you write, find some mental empathy and get into character. How many others do this, too? What are some of your character’s quirky behaviors that don’t fit personality stereotypes, but give your protagonist an outlet for the way she feels? Creative writers want to know.

Michelle Weidenbenner
www.RandomStoryGenerator.com