Blog for Bristol Services Intl.

Question from a Fiction Writer:
Can you show more about including Inner Growth vs. Outer Resolution in a story?

Answer:
A great story building tool is to create characters who grow in some way through and because of the resolution of the story. In other words, if your characters simply solve their problems and are alive and well at the end, well, that is nice. Fine. But not strong. As a fiction editor, I find many writers plunge characters through all sorts of turmoil but often forget that an inner challenge needs to be part of a strong story too.

What makes a story strong and one that readers really relate to, is one where the characters grow or change because of their plight as well as because of the plot’s resolution. Back to that “children lost in the woods” example I gave a couple of blogs back, maybe the boy doesn’t feel his expertise in survival skills (which he tends to enjoy showing off to anyone who will listen–and a few who don’t want to!) is appreciated. But in the end he not only helps them all survive because of his knowledge but realizes these are NOT bits of knowledge to spout off to impress people—they are valuable aids to survival. He has matured, grown.

Maybe it is his dad who is the survival expert and who has tried to teach the boy these skills. Only the boy has only been half-listening, half-interested. Early in the story the father might press the boy to recall that knowledge, and the boy only half-heartedly tries. Yet when the skills his father has taught him later actually pay off in their survival, he has learned that his father’s advice wasn’t just so much talk, but meant as life-saving tools. He appreciates his dad and that knowledge now—he has matured and grown.

These are two examples of how traits starting at the very beginning of the story can fit into the plot later. Plus those same traits and how they work into the plot can show inner growth for the character as the outer problem is resolved.

Kind of a yin and yang of fiction writing and plotting: Inner problem becomes part of the resolution of the external crisis. And that resolution becomes an aid to dealing with and handling that inner problem.

Have any questions? Write to me, Sandra Haven, Fiction Editor, at Bristol Services Intl. by clicking: services@bristolservicesintl.com