by Jan Drexler
I have a problem. The hero of my work-in-progress, The First Rose of Spring, is the epitome of a nice guy. He’s smart. He’s brave. He’s willing to sacrifice his future for the well-being of a stranger.
And a cowboy.
Some of you are asking, “What’s wrong with that? He sounds perfect!”
Yes, we all love the nice guy. But the problem is that a perfect character doesn’t lend himself to conflict. And without conflict, there’s no story.
What is an author to do?
Justice Cooper’s biggest problem is his perfection.
Think about it – no one is really perfect, right? If someone appears to be perfect, you know it’s only on the surface. Underneath that smooth exterior there’s a flaw.
A big one.
The bigger the better.
Justice Cooper’s biggest problem is his perfection.
Think about it – no one is really perfect, right? If someone appears to be perfect, you know it’s only on the surface. Underneath that smooth exterior there’s a flaw.
A big one.
The bigger the better.
.jpg)
Coop’s character will only grow when he becomes broken – when he realizes that he is not strong enough, not smart enough, not brave enough to be the man God has called him to be.
My job as the author of this story is to break Coop. Bring him to the lowest point he can possibly reach so that he is forced to look outside himself for the answer to his problems. The way to do that is to tap into his internal conflict.
Finding your character's internal conflict is a post for another day, but in a nutshell, Coop's internal conflict, the Lie he believes, is that God requires him to be perfect before he can be used for His glory.
That brings me to the theme of the story.
What is the theme? In general, it’s the Truth you’re trying to convey to your readers. In a Christian book, the theme quite often involves a Bible verse – in fact, that’s why I include a verse in the front matter of my books.
The verse for this story is, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV
How do I convey that theme to my readers throughout the book?
This is a subtle process because we want our readers to discover the all-important truth of our theme through our telling of the story.
I start by brainstorming images that will illustrate my theme of “strength in weakness through relying on God.”
A delicate wild rose on a windswept prairie…
An abandoned mail-order bride standing up to her tormentors…
A preacher who is failing until he bends to God’s will…
And then I write those images into my story.
The next question is: How do I do this?
I am always thankful for people who are smarter than I am. We learn how to write through reading blog posts like this one, talking to other writers, and reading craft books.
The craft book that helped me the most with relaying the theme through my story is The Moral Premise by Stan Williams. I first heard about this book here on Seekerville back in 2012.
The Moral Premise is used by many people as a method of outlining their stories, but once I had that mastered, I dug further into what the moral premise was and how to use it to deepen my story-telling.
Here are the links to Stan William's appearances on Seekerville: October 15, 2010, Myra's interview with Dr. Williams from October 1, 2012, Missy's take on The Moral Premise from January 13, 2014, and a post from Myra on Irony and The Moral Premise from October 15, 2015.
Here is the link to Stan William's website where you can find all sorts of information, encouragement, and free tools: Stan William's website
And, of course, you can buy his book on Amazon:
Leave a comment to tell us what you do to add depth to your story or share your favorite writing craft book. One commentor will win a $10 Amazon gift card - you can use it to buy a book to add to your TBR pile, or to purchase your own copy of The Moral Premise. :-)
Meanwhile, watch for the release of The First Rose of Spring this summer!
Morning, Jan. This is helpful as I scope out a new novel with new characters. I'm testing my own take on the "Irish immigrants in steerage" trope. Fortunately, anyone who survived the Famine has plenty of internal conflict. I just have to pinpoint what it is! My hero had to keep his family going during the Famine and never felt adequate for the challenge. My heroine was raised in a workhouse and never felt worthy of love. I need to drill down deeper and will definitely revisit some of those links.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard work, but so worthy as we see a character unfold.
Off to Bible Study.
Kathy Bailey
Your Kaybee
Somewhere in New England
Good morning, Kaybee!
DeleteThat Irish immigrant "trope" is a good one. So much conflict throughout that time in history! There's a secondary character in my book who immigrated to America when she was but a wee lass, the youngest of many children whose father brought them to America after their mother died in the famine.
She may get her own story someday. :-)
I'm still learning how to add depth, so I was excited to see this post. My favorite writing craft book is KM Weilands 5 Secrets to Structure. I just finished Romancing The Beat by Gwen Hayes. I think it will be very helpful for the romance arc.
ReplyDeleteI have K.M. Weiland's "Creating Character Arcs" next to me on my desk! She is a talented blogger and author. I loved her blog series on archetypes, too!
DeleteI haven't read Romancing the Beat yet. I'll have to put that on my list.
Like I said, I am always thankful for people who are smarter than I am!
This is where I am struggling - adding more depth and deep POV to my characters. Thanks for all the links, especially Dr. Williams' website.
ReplyDeleteDr. Williams has wonderful information and ideas - but give yourself time to digest it! The time you put into learning is worth it, though. :-)
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Beverly!
I have Romancing the Beat on my craft shelf! It was helpful because it addressed issues that are unique to romance novels that you don't find in most other craft books. It also springboards from Saving the Cat by Blake Snyder. This is one of my favorite craft books simply because it gave me more to work with than the very vague "turning points" other craft books had offered me.
ReplyDeleteI combined those two books (and a few other resources) to create my own story structure worksheet specifically designed for romance novels. One of the beats is Dark Night to Epiphany. This is where the hero is deeply aware of all the mistakes he's made and all he's lost as a result. But then something (or Someone) happens to make him realize the Lie he's been believing (like Jan said!) and the Truth he needs to see to be able to make different choices that will change his circumstances. Since many of those Lies are often rooted in traumatic (or at least hurtful) formative experiences, I think the depth in most stories comes from the character's struggle (with himself, with God, with others) to heal those heart holes. (Lol! And if I remember correctly, the basic concept of heart holes is something I picked up in Romancing the Beat.)
It sounds like you've done the same thing I have - taken what works for you from several craft books and created the worksheet/structure that works for you! I think that process is key to understanding the concept and making it work.
DeleteI haven't read Saving the Cat (another book on my TBA - "to be acquired" - list. I've heard great things about it.
And I like the concept of "Dark Night to Epiphany." It sounds like it's similar to Dr. Williams' "Moment of Grace" or James Scott Bell's "Man in the Mirror?" Your name for that very necessary plot point is very visual!
This is a great post, Jan. I will have to save this and see what I can do with it in my writing.
ReplyDeleteI always find this process easier when I start with the character's lie that he believes, and then look for a Bible verse that refutes it. :-)
Deleteexcellent post, Jan! I struggle with theme. sometimes I realize toward the end of the book that the theme isn't what I thought it was and have to go back and 'wake up' areas of the book there were the theme!
ReplyDeleteI do that, too! It's like the theme evolves as the characters grow!
DeletePlot & Structure by James Scott Bell is my favorite. It's been very helpful in understanding structure.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this blog, Jan! Wounded heroes and heroines are my favorite. And a too perfect hero has a lot to learn about life...and love. I read anything Michael Hauge has written. He talks about the wound in the past that keeps the protagonist from living fully in the present. Sometime he/she recognizes that wound. At other times, it comes out as the story evolves, which is what it sounds like you're doing with your story. One of my favorite books to write was a heroine who didn't remember the trauma she had gone through in her childhood. Eventually the memory surfaced and impacted the story and the heroine significantly.
ReplyDelete"Save the Cat!" By Blake Snyder. It's about screenwriting. But a lot of the concepts can be adapted for books.
ReplyDeleteJan, great topic! I loved the quote by Anonymous. Especially the line - the one I fee will dominate. That is such a graphic vision of the struggles within our characters. Which one will they feed? Do they even know? Excellent point.
ReplyDeleteWow, bringing up The Moral Premise. I read it years ago and much like you mentioned, it helped me work through my story and then when the outline was finished, to deepen that story. I'm glad you included the links. I didn't realize he had tools for writers. I'll have to check it out.
Thanks for the very thought-provoking post.
Audra
I can't comment as an author but I look forward to The First Rose of Spring!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete