Current Project: Doctor in Petticoats
Status: page 1
It’s me again looking for answers. I’m working on the next Halsey brother book, Doctor in Petticoats. I’m trying to write up the Seven Elements statement for the story and can’t come up with one or two words that say: blames others and can’t see he has to dig inside himself to make his life better.
As you can probably tell, this is the hero’s flaw. And yes, I know it is a big flaw- and my editor says she’s itching to see how I make this character redeemable, because at the end of the third book she didn’t like him!
I’ve been gazing over the Story Magic list of strengths and weaknesses, and I can’t figure out what would fit my hero when his flaw is what I stated above. Any thoughts or suggestions? For those who don’t have the story magic strengths and weaknesses this is what the page is like.
Strength ~~ Emotional Drive ~~ Weakness
Strong-willed/Decisive ~~ Needs to be in charge ~~ Too Impetuous
Self-Reliant ~~ Needs Independence ~~ can’t rely on others
Loyal ~~ Needs to be trusted ~~ Gullible/Unrealistic
So if his weakness is: blames others and can’t see he has to dig inside himself to make his life better. What is his strength and emotional drive? Anyone? I’m not sure if I’m too close to see it or I just have a brain lapse. He has to have a strength that is the antithesis of his weakness. He has character traits that makes him endearing, but I need to know the strength he has to manifest to be the total hero package.
Any and all brainstorming on this would be most appreciated!
8 comments:
This is only brainstorming, it may not help at all. I'm not even claiming it's good brainstorming, because I am not sure about if the parts fit into your model correctly. But here you go:
I would call someone who blames others something like "victim mentality." The emotional drive could be "Needs to be self aware?"
As for the strength, hmm. "Friend to all or outgoing?" That one I'm really not sure about.
Maybe, without thinking about the model you set up, tell us what you consider his strength to be. Your gut response. That might help. Just not sure there.
Hope it helps a little bit.
Flo
Flo, Good to see you here!
I say his strength is his loyalty. If he calls you friend, he is loyal to a fault. It was actually his misguided loyalty that landed him where he is now.
This is tough, Paty! I'm going to scan my Story Magic stuff too and try to brainstorm a bit.
Wow, this is a tough one, Paty. He sounds passive-aggressive. Usually people who feel it necessary to blame others is because they're unable to blame themselves. He's impervious to self-blame.
Maybe this isn't a character weakness, but a personality trait. In other words, don't play up this flaw. Use a different one to build on.
But in case you still want to use this flaw, I'm looking at my self-image worksheet and it appears his weakness might be that he's critical, so his emotional drive would be he needs logic and fears chaos, and his strength is that he's analytical.
With the disclaimer I don't know Story Magic I'll offer a couple of observations.
It seems you are asking two questions:
1. How to phrase your character's weakness in two words. I'm not sure why it's important to do this but I'd say the trouble you're having is the second part. Blaming other people is immature and self centered. The not seeing you have to dig inside yourself to make changes that will improve your life is the byproduct of immaturity and in the end, the answer to how to solve the problem. I.e., it's not a separate element. (and if he starts caring for someone more than he cares for himself, this could be his epiphany.)
2. What is his strength and emotional drive?
So far your equation looks like this:
........................... -- .................. -- immaturity
And this is probably your trouble because immaturity is a passive trait and we don't think of heroes as passive. We can accept hot heads and blind loyalty and raging self confidence, and also their flip sides but immaturity means not taking responsibility and what can be the positive flip side of that? Are you thinking a charming con man kind of guy? The best of those have self awareness, and that is their saving grace. The man you describe has no self awareness.
I'm at a loss to offer an easy two word fix to this. Perhaps another option?
What if the book started with an action scene where the wannabe does something that causes something that negatively impacts a second party and brings him to the beginning of self realization? What if his story becomes one of redemption?
Something big. For instance: he talks a friend into fording a raging river. The friend isn't a strong swimmer, but the hero talks him into it. They take off and the river is too swift and drowns the friend. Perhaps for the fist time the wannabe hero sees his recklessness and his decision to cross that river at any cost (for a selfish pursuit) has pushed his friend into doing something he shouldn't have. It's a terrible wake up call (and I can see the scene late in the book when he tells the heroine how responsible he feels and earns her forgiveness, sigh). Would his brothers and others accept he's changed? Might he feel the need to prove it? Would his equation look different?
Only you know all the ins and outs of your characters and their story. I offer the above as brainstorming only. It's entirely possible I've missed the whole Story Magic thing. Good luck!
I'm hanging onto all these comments. Karen you make a good point, but Alice I think you've hit the nail on the head. His weakness in a way is immaturity in that he's the middle child of five brothers. He's never had to make the tough decisions because the the two older brothers did and told him what to do. Then the two younger brothers who are very aware of who they are and their worth as a Halsey brother yet, strike out on their own have left him feeling inferior. And he has blamed others for his perceived faults. So this story actually has him away from his brothers and out on his own. He'll have to dig deep and come up with the Halsey grit and make decisions on his own.
I think I'll skip the Seven Elements thing and just go with the the story.
Thanks ladies! Keep the thoughts coming.
Hi, Paty!
This is going to be an interesting book!
I don't know Story Magic deeply, so this may not fit with what you're trying to do. But I'll just toss out some thoughts and, as always, keep what may be useful and ignore the rest.
If he blames others and feels inferior, getting him away from his brothers is a great way to force him to find his own strengths and to change the way he perceives himself.
By the way, middle children are often the negotiators and peace-keepers, if that gives you any creative ideas.
Following Alice's idea of a tragic event that leads to an epiphany... rather than a friend drowning, how about if this brother almost drowns or almost dies some way because of his loyalty to a friend. And maybe that's the situation he finds himself in. He may at first blame the friend for "making" him do something, then as he grows more self-confident, he realizes he has choices and the power to make those choices. When he quits blaming others/giving away his power, it feels good and he reclaims the power of taking responsibility for his own choices.
Anyway, separated from his brothers, he has to use his wits to survive. At first, he may think of what one of his brothers would do and that works. Then as the stakes are raised, he realizes what his brothers would do isn't going to work. If they use brawn, that would only make the situation worse. So he has to use his negotiating skills. Or he has to use a hobby or interest that only he possesses to survive. Is he a woodcarver or saddle maker or ??
Something that makes him see he has worth, so he can step out of the shadow of his brothers.
Then perhaps the real test comes when he has to put his self-confidence on the line to save someone he has come to love.
These seem like a lot of disjointed thoughts, but perhaps they will trigger some creative ideas for you. Have fun!
Thanks Genene, Any and all thoughts are welcome because they get me to thinking and trying different scenarios in my head and picturing him and his emotional growth.
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