The Character Connection by Mary Dezember

One of the great joys of reading stories is connecting with the characters. As a university professor who taught creative writing, literature, and the arts, I’d ask students to:

• In one sentence, state what the story is about. This is the basic plot.

• Then, consider what the story is REALLY about. Doing so identifies the characters’ guiding factors, which are the human condition aspects of a character-driven story.

Characters’ actions and dialogue reveal the motivations that drive their decisions and, thus, their stories.

Human condition aspects are the motivations that we as human beings share. We share desires and needs, such as being loved, safe, healthy, free, part of a community, finding our individual talents, and having a purpose. We share emotions such as love, anger, fear, bravery, disgust, tolerance.

Though, thankfully, as individuals, we have human motivations in different degrees and demonstrate them in different ways.

The antagonists or villains of stories show anti-social behaviors and lack integrity. Thus, while they are villains to the story’s hero—who is usually the protagonist—they are villains to us as readers, too.

Have you ever cheered (inside or out loud) when your hero confronts villains? That’s connection.

Readers are telling me—and reviews say—that people are connecting with the characters of my novel Wild Conviction (published July 2023 by Brilliant Moon Press).

They like the protagonist, Twilight Adams, who is sixteen when the story opens and nineteen when the story ends. Youthful, idealistic, and “human,” she makes mistakes. But she intends to do the right thing. We share her journey to discover how to make a positive difference. Twilight is relatable. And she challenges villains.

I cover this topic in more depth in my blog post “What If You Knew Two Magic Words?”

When you read Wild Conviction, I’d love to hear your thoughts about Twilight and other characters. You can reach me using the contact form on my website: marydezember.com.

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