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A common expectation from readers is that we show them the development of our characters. Readers want to see characters learn and change. They want to see witness the transformation.
This applies to fictional characters in novels and screenplays, and it applies to real-life characters in memoir. In the case of the non-fiction book in the self-help/how-to category, it also applies to the readers themselves – your Ideal Readers – who may consider buying your book because they want to see a change in their own lives. They want to be the one who’s transformed.
A common method for creating this expected arc is to create plot points that put characters in situations that will challenge their modes of operation, create friction, and require new decisions to surpass the obstacle and reach their desires.
When we embrace the elements of the third – the Solar Plexus – chakra, we can begin to look at our characters, our people, in a more complex way. We can use the awareness our characters gained about themselves in relation to others through the lens of the second – Sacral chakra – and begin to think about how they behave and act (or don’t) in the world.
The Solar Plexus chakra is where self-awareness comes from, which informs a character’s sense of agency in the world, their ability to take bold action to realize their dream or desire. No matter the kind of book you want to write, your people’s sense of agency is what drives everything. It’s what shapes the story and, in turn, the plot points in many storytelling scenarios.
If you’re telling a fictional or real-life story your readers want to experience the journey of becoming right alongside your protagonist. If you’re writing a self-help/how-to book, your reader wants to experience that sense of becoming firsthand by living it.
As writers of stories (in fiction and memoir) or inspiration and instruction (in self-help/how-to non-fiction), we need to be able to discern what we know about our people and what they know about themselves, and we need to be able to impart those differences to our readers.
What do your characters know about themselves, and what do you know about them? Does your protagonist or Ideal Reader have a full or depleted sense of agency? That is, does she/he take action or just let life happen? When and in what ways does your protagonist take action or recede?
Please leave a comment below. I’d love to know what you discover.
