Characters Succeed When...

People [and Characters] Succeed When They're Given Equal Parts Of CHALLENGE and SUPPORT

Immediately after a teacher at my university said this amazeballs quote, I scribbled it down in my journal quicker than a Snooki on the hunt for an 18 oz. can of spray-on bronzer. *Fist pump, fist pump, fist pump* If you've never watched an episode of Jersey Shore . . . well, then you're missing out on life. Big time.

I got to thinkin' afterwards how wonderfully that statement applies to the life of a writer, and even more specifically the characters we write about. Besides hard work, determination, and the ability to craft intelligible prose, there really are two essential ingredients needed when attempting to cook up an awesome story: CHALLENGE and SUPPORT, the holy duo that makes characters of all shapes and sizes truly dynamic individuals.

None of us like the word "challenge." We don't like to be challenged, and most of us don't find joy in dishing out challenge to our characters, those fantastic creatures frolicking in our head that seem to do no wrong (even when they do). Many of us grow so attached to our characters that when it does come time to take them to that dangerous point in their lives -- or, heaven forbid, kill them off -- we start pulling out our hair and feel chunks of our soul begin to disintegrate. Rather than pushing a character into an uncomfortable situation, we'd rather be hogtied, thrown in a dark corner, and punished with a Backstreet Boys CD on endless loop.

But the truth of the matter is . . . at the end of the day, our characters NEED challenges in order to succeed with their mission, whatever that might be. They'll always have our support, we're their number one cheering section, but unless we give them something to fight for -- something to struggle against or with -- they'll never be able to grow. And if our characters don't do any growing, like The Situation's muscles after being deprived of their Muscle Milk, then our stories won't be nearly as interesting.

In what other ways might this quote apply to our lives as writers? Take those words, put them in your mouth, swish 'em around a bit, and see how they might relate to your personal writing journey.

~Cheers!