A Writers Must Be Three People at Once

A critical aspect of creating compelling characters is learning to be three people simultaneously: writer, character, and reader.

What does that mean? Let's take a look at pages 200-203 of my novel Under the Roof. This text is a pivotal scene where the protagonist, Aggie Drakos, finally confesses to her rather handsome friend, Richard Way, what actually happened during and after her husband's scandalous death.

As a writer, I begin picturing the scene in my mind. Where will the scene/chapter take place? What is the scenery? How will I navigate my two characters to that place? I want them to be sitting. How can I get them sitting? How much dialogue will I use, and how much backstory will I implement to convey my point to the reader?

As I take on the persona of the characters, I begin to think about the emotions involved in the scene. I think about Aggie's ability to keep secrets. Based on her character's point of view (POV), does she cry when she confesses to Richard? Is that something her character would do? How does Richard respond? What is the relationship between these two characters? Does this confession draw them closer, or does Richard turn and run in the opposite direction? To answer these questions, I must fully develop my characters' POV and adhere to it in my writing. I have to become the characters in the scene, feel what they feel, and say what they would say.

And by the way, it sounds like we need a blog on character point of view. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks.

Now, back to our blog.

Last but certainly not least, I need to become the reader. Hopefully, by page 200, my readers feel invested in my characters. My desire is that the readers have embraced Aggie and Richard and are fully engaged in reading their story. Now, what would my readers want to happen in this scene? Shall I surprise them? Shall I give them what they want? And once I've answered these questions, I need to relay them clearly.

As the author this far into my manuscript, I can picture everything in my mind's eye. I know what I want to happen, but the reader is coming into this cold. Unless it's here in writing, the reader will not get it. I need to create a complete picture.

Let’s suppose that Aggie is sad in this scene. I can't just say, 'Aggie is sad.' Would these simple words allow the reader to experience her feelings? Nah. Perhaps I would say:

"I give myself a few moments and then lift my head to gaze into Richard's eyes. I am touched by the sincerity and tenderness that radiates from his attentive and sympathetic expression. He removes his hand from my shoulder and gently wipes the tear from my cheek. His touch feels good, like a warm embrace that wraps around you and makes you feel safe and loved."

Woohoo.

How does this all work for the author? Practice makes perfect. Your ability to inhabit all three mindsets grows with practice.

When writing, you will learn to go back and forth among the three people simultaneously. You will write a few paragraphs as a writer, write a line of dialogue, and edit it because you realize the reader needs more expression to understand what is happening. As a writer, you will write more dialogue and recognize that you must have the characters move or do something to keep the reader's interest. You will have the characters move around a little, and note that Aggie wouldn't move that fast if she felt weighted by her confession.

Keep writing and learn to write as three people: writer, character, and reader.

You got this!