Challenging characters

One of the problems that I struggled with when I started writing was how to challenge my characters. Sure, they'd get in fights and dangle off cliffs, but that's not challenging them. At least not like I mean.

Some of my favorite story advice is this: "Things get worse." Conflicts pile up and look more and more impossible to overcome. The choices get harder, the stakes get higher. The audience should be on the edge of their seat trying to figure out how the characters are going to succeed.

Part of my problem was fear. I had characters I adored, thought they were smart and protaggy, totally able to conquer the plot--

Except I didn't think I could keep up with them. I was afraid that, by the time we all got to the end and there should be big climactic things going on, I wouldn't know how to save them. I was afraid I wasn't smart enough. (The jury is still out on that one, actually.)

So I didn't challenge them. I didn't challenge myself. As a result, I had stories that went like this:

Fig1:

Instead, they should have looked like this. (You may recognize this from school.)

Fig2:

The line is the story. Notice how one looks more exciting than the other. The story moves up and up instead of the climax being just another conflict and resolution. It's THE conflict and resolution, where all the plotlines intersect. The stakes are high, the choices impossible, and only the genius characters can figure out how to win in the five minutes they have left.

Here's the thing. Characters have five minutes to put all the plot clues together and come up with a solution. The writer has however long is necessary.

Let's make up an example. We'll call our character Theodore.

Theodore starts at the bottom of the plot triangle with his conflict about wanting to be a telephone operator, only something's keeping him from succeeding. Since he's a protaggy guy, he protags and starts trying to accomplish his goal.

But something else happens! Possibly related! Possibly not. Either way, vampires are after Theodore. Maybe there's a street fight (with snapping and singing). Theodore can win (or not), but the vampires swear they're not done with him.

Meanwhile, Theodore is still trying to become a telephone operator. Now he's worrying about vampires. He's avoiding them (and hopefully working out plans to keep from needing to deal with them ever -- as if that's going to work) and jumping through hoops to accomplish his goal. But then werewolves realize he doesn't like the vampires (with good reason) and try to convince him to fight with them. He refuses, so they kidnap his puppy.

Now Theodore has trouble with the telephone operator thing, he's being hunted by vampires, and werewolves have his puppy.

Things come to a head when Theodore is offered a dream job, but it turns out to be a werewolf plot to lure the vampires and get Theodore to side with them. Only now, the vampires have stolen Theodore's puppy from the werewolves and they're offering him a job. (Could they have been the ones keeping him from achieving his goal all along?) He can be a telephone operator and have his puppy back if he'll fight the werewolves on their side.

WHAT WILL HE DO???

Ahem. I might have gotten a little carried away.

At any rate, it should illustrate my -- ah -- illustration. Things get worse and more complex. There are a couple breaks, but the tension never drops too far. Every time Theodore thinks he might be safe, something happens. He drives some plots, other characters drive others. Eventually they all intersect. The stakes are high (dream job, puppy, oh yeah, his life) and the choice impossible (go with the guys keeping him from achieving his goal, or go with the puppy-thieves trying to drag him into their war?), and Theodore is definitely being challenged the whole way up.

Rather than the alternate version, which would go something like this:

Theodore wants to be a telephone operator. He does plot and gets his job. Vampires attack him. He wins and they scurry off. Werewolves want him to help with their war against vampires and they steal his puppy to encourage him to choose Team Werewolf. Yeah, Theodore beat those vampires once, they're not so scary. He helps out, they win, the end.

--

The point is, it's easy to be overwhelmed with all the intersecting plotlines and complications. It's easy to look at everything piling up and just...make things easier.

But that doesn't make a terribly compelling and exciting story.

Challenge characters. Challenge yourself.

(Don't be afraid. No one has to see the first draft.)

--

Of course, this isn't the only way to challenge characters and complicate stories, and there are no rules except if it works, then it's right. (The same thing won't work for everyone.)

Bonus points for people who give Theodore even more challenges to deal with.