Chapter Eleven

Creating the Character Emotional Development Profile

Most popular fiction is 30 percent dramatic action and 70 percent emotional character development. Dramatic action excites readers. More important, readers connect and, at best, emotionally bond with the characters. To make the most of this emotional connection and deepen the relationship between reader and characters, the characters must be relatable on some level. Commonly that relatability comes through the character’s goals, motivation, and character traits. However, a relatable character is not enough. Rather than remain static and unchanged, the character must grow and further her emotional development in response to what happens to her throughout the story. The Character Emotional Development Profile asks you to consider each of these pivotal aspects of creating a memorable character.

The first part of the profile covers the external aspects of the character through her goal setting. The character’s goal, as well as the reasons for having it, speak volumes about her emotional development at each part the story. As she changes, what drives and motivates her changes, too.

The second part of the profile covers the internal aspects of the character and her emotional development through her personality traits and ultimate transformation.

In this chapter, with the help of Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, I take you through a technique that helps deepen a story’s overall plot by focusing on the character emotional development through the goals the protagonist sets for herself.

Your protagonist (and, for that matter, all your characters) has an immediate goal for every scene and an overall story goal. These goals help to develop the front story, the story that is unfolding moment by moment in scene.

A mini-plot of goal, conflict, and disaster makes up a scene, similar to the overall plot structure of a story. Each scene needs an immediate goal. (I discuss the pattern of scenes in further detail in Part Two.)

In Where the Heart Is, Letts alludes to Novalee’s immediate goal in the first paragraph of the book and then six paragraphs later establishes that her immediate goal is to use a bathroom.

This simple goal works because Novalee is desperate. She is seven months pregnant and her bladder is “like a water balloon.”

The author goes on to establish the long-term, overall goal for the entire story at the top of page 5—to live in a house like the pictures she collects from magazines. Novalee’s mother walked out on her when she was seven years old, and she has never had a home that was not on wheels.

Sometimes, the long-term, overall story goal is drawn from something the protagonist dreams of having. Dreams are things we wish for, things we enjoy thinking about, but not necessarily things we can attain. Goals are derived from dreams, but the difference is that goals are under our control—they are quantifiable and measurable—while dreams involve a bit of magic.

For instance, if your goal is to finish your book, you can do specific things toward accomplishing this, all of which are under your control. However, if your dream is to be published, a bit of magic is needed. An agent and/or an editor needs to become entranced by your story—and while you can improve your chances of that happening by submitting a stellar story and acting in a professional manner, their involvement is ultimately out of your control. The marketplace must be ready for your product, and there are other considerations and factors in play that influence an agent’s or editor’s decision. In short, the stars must be aligned to make your dream come true.

Short-term goals are specific things your protagonist has decided she needs to accomplish within a clearly defined period of time.

Developing Character Emotional Development

As much as the protagonist’s goal helps define and develop him emotionally, his internal traits, habits, and repetitive patterns delve more deeply into his emotional development. The protagonist must be drawn as a complex individual with both strengths and weaknesses. The following five traits influence the plot more than any other and have a direct effect on the character’s success and failure in the story.

1. Character Flaw

A character flaw is an effective and powerful roadblock in the protagonist’s journey toward her short-term and overall goals.

The protagonist’s goals set up the action for the scene. Tension is immediately established because the reader has something to worry about. Will the protagonist achieve her immediate goal? Is she getting closer to achieving her overall story goal, scene by scene and chapter by chapter? By now, you know that the more obstacles you toss in the path of the character’s journey, the more tension and conflict you create in a scene.

Beyond the people in his life or the outside world (or both), what better way to achieve conflict and tension than to craft an internal flaw, fault, or belief that stands in the way of his immediate goals?

The character acts toward his goal, only to have something inside of himself, react in a way that blocks his success.

In Where the Heart Is, Willy Jack stands in the way of Novalee’s immediate goal by refusing to stop the car so she can use the bathroom. Her success is blocked. Tension is created. Now it is up to Novalee to decide what to do next.

Novalee’s character flaw is that she does not speak up for herself. As soon as Willy Jack abandons Novalee, we witness her inability to ask for help. This is a powerful deterrent toward her meeting with success.

To create tension and conflict, the goal must be important to the protagonist. She must stand to lose something if she is not successful. There needs to be some sort of risk involved. For Novalee, if she is not able to stop soon to relieve herself, well, you know what will happen next. Yet, even though we know what she needs in the first paragraph of the story, she does not speak up until page 6 out of fear of angering Willy Jack.

Novalee’s character flaw of not speaking up for herself takes on universal appeal, because it is a common flaw that many people share.

The following are examples of common flaws you can utilize for your character’s development:

• drinks too much
• dishonest
• judgmental
• insecure
• bullheaded
• selfish
• spends too much money
• negative
• gambles
• victim
• dishonest
• blames others instead of taking responsibility
• worries too much
• egotistical
• gossips
• narcissistic
• procrastinates
• thief
• violent temper
• naïve
• cheater
• disloyal
• unfaithful
• addictive personality

Or pick one of your own flaws—we all have them—and then exaggerate it.

Your goal is to establish in readers an affinity and affection for your protagonist.

2. Character Strength

To offset the protagonist’s flaw, she must also have strength. A protagonist cannot be passive; she must have some character strength to give the reader at least a hint that she is capable of overcoming her flaw, or at least of becoming conscious of it.

Story is struggle, and so the protagonist must have the strength to fight against all odds and brave the conflicts she faces. Every time the protagonist’s will is overwhelmed, she must gather her strength and fight back.

Novalee is intelligent and kind. She is tough, and more than anything else, she is a survivor. Her kindness and acceptance earn her friends. Her survival skills and intelligence support her in outfoxing store management as she creates a home for herself and her unborn baby in the middle of a Walmart store.

3. Hates

It is best if the protagonist feels strongly about the people, places, and events that make up his world. The emotion of hate carries with it a great deal of energy. Hate creates drama, conflict, and tension, which are the building blocks of plot in fiction and memoir. Hate gives the protagonist direction, gets him going, moves him, invigorates him, revs him up, brings him to life, gives him power and strength.

Novalee hates people feeling sorry for her, which is why she does not speak up for herself. In her attempt to protect herself from pity, she often misses rich opportunities for help and guidance, opting to go it alone.

4. Loves

For a reader to sympathize with your protagonist, your character must show that he has feelings. Something in life must make him happy or bring him satisfaction. By showing that your protagonist cares about something or someone special, your reader will better be able to empathize with him. By establishing what the protagonist loves and then by threatening that thing or person, the protagonist is forced to move. Sparks fly.

Novalee loves babies and nice people. But most of all, she loves taking pictures. Photography was her favorite class in high school. The author establishes this love in the first four pages of the book. This love ends up playing a major role in the overall plot by helping her speak up for herself when it most counts.

5. Fears

Fear is a powerful way to create tension and suspense. All of us are afraid of something. By establishing fear in your protagonist, you create a thread of universality. There are many kinds of fear: fear of failure, fear of responsibility, fear of the unknown, fear of the dark. Fear generally paralyzes us, which is why your protagonist needs to embody not just fear but many different emotions. That way, the reader is assured that the protagonist will indeed react.

In Where the Heart Is, Novalee fears her boyfriend. This sets up tension on the first page of the book. She also is superstitious about the number seven, which sets up tension. Every time the number is mentioned, the reader feels Novalee tense up in anticipation of disaster. She is also afraid she may be unlovable and unworthy of love, which adds to her reluctance in reaching out to others.

Character Emotional Development on the Plot Planner

The protagonist’s emotions and psychology give depth and meaning to your story.

Go back to the beginning scenes you plotted in chapter five. Mark the scenes that show the character emotional development. Through the duration of the story, the character will develop from one who is unconscious of her flaws and strengths to a fully actualized (or at least more conscious) protagonist.

Fill Out the Character Emotional Development Form

Following is a form to fill out for your protagonist; it also helps if you fill one out for the villain or antagonist. This way the antagonist, if it is a person, will be a three-dimensional, interesting character rather than a flat cliché. Fill out a form for each secondary character to discover more angles to develop in the story.

As you fill out the form for your protagonist, pause before you jot down each answer. The answer that comes to you first may be superficial. In waiting and inviting the protagonist in, a deeper, more compelling answer may come to you.

Note: Please refer to Appendix IV for an example of a completed form.