Multiple times, I have found my footing in my stories from understanding my characters on a deep level.
With the romance novels I’ve written, this was easy to do because romance is basically about following two characters’ emotional arcs and watching as they entangle. From the onset, you have to be attuned with your characters. And the more you work on the story, the deeper you understand their needs.
Learning With Fantasy Series 1
With fantasy, it’s been more of a constant learning experience. (And I adore learning experiences in writing). When I wrote the very early version of APOF, I had okay characters, an alright plot, and a passable world building.
And then I got feedback from an editor, not at all on the world and very little on the plot (even though both had needed good polishing), but mostly on the characters.
So I got to work, wondering what awaited me with this new insight. Who knew it would be a treat. As I worked on my MCs, I began to understand them on a deeper level. Who they are (patient, aggressive, loving, chatty, sassy, introspective?). What they love (family, honor, gold, kingdom, friendship?). What they desire (domination, safety, love, triumph?). Their greatest fears (death, losing loved ones, failure, loneliness?). And what shaped them into people with these traits and feelings — from their past.
As I began to dig into their past, I started finding places in the fantasy world I never even knew existed. Whole cities and islands and seas. Through family trees, from their travel experiences, from fleeing of persecution, from books they read, etc.
Also, the more I understood the characters, the more the heart of the plot began to show, because now the plot was woven with emotional stakes. So if the plot was for e.g. Lyna to become Queen and then fight the big bad guy, it was no longer just a technical process. This time, I understood all her motivations. The romantic plot became more wholesome and dimensional. All these heartfelt things that would make readers connect to the journey—even when they aren’t quite queens or fighting monsters themselves. And this brought the story wonderfully alive.
Learning With Second Fantasy Series
With A Desert Of Bleeding Sand, it was almost the same. This time, I started off thinking I completely understood my characters. I mean I knew their backstories this time around and why they were the people they were. I knew they were sent on missions which they were eager to succeed at. And I’d thought this was enough for a character arc. But the most interesting thing happened. For someone who’s been writing since forever, I soon found out that I didn’t know what they wanted. I was so focused on the external conflicts and I mistook that for their internal conflicts.
And based on these specific conflicts, it’s very easy to make the mistake. The distinct indication that these weren’t, indeed, the same thing, was the missing thread of connection which a reader can only develop to the MCs from their internal conflicts.
When some really smart writers finally opened my eyes to this, I was able to pause. To ask myself questions about my characters and eventually to understand them. And I can’t explain how much heart and soul it gave my story. The stakes grew higher because the external conflicts were now directly tied to the characters’ emotions and personal fates. The story was closer to the characters because they were no longer just fighting to ‘save the world’ but were fighting for themselves too, therefore making them more relatable, etc.
This understanding also helped greatly with Book 2’s drafting. When I’d first started writing it, I loved so much about it, especially since I started to understand my characters’ wants and connect with them better in course of the second book. However, the beginning of Book 2 was a bit shifty in that aspect of character and I couldn’t pinpoint why. It was when I eventually got in-depth character feedback on Book 1 that I realized that while the external conflicts of book one had a smooth arc (problem exists – work to solve problem – solve problem), there was no internal conflict arc. Therefore, since Book 1’s original draft didn’t end with the characters at a distinct emotional point, I didn’t quite know where to pick up from in Book 2 concerning their personal journeys.
Example
If at the start of Book 1, Jolene believes she’s unworthy of love, and at the ending she saves the village and most people come to love her for it, she will end the book thinking ‘maybe if I save the world next time more people will love me. And maybe I’m not unlovable after all’.
Book 2 will pick up with this belief that she’s lovable but only if she achieves great things. And then her internal arc will likely end in Book 2 with her learning that she’s worthy of love whether or not she can save a village or the world.
The external arc clearly involves saving the village and trying to save the world. And while those must be fun to follow, it’s the above internal journeys that will make readers empathize with her.
My MCs in ADOBS initially didn’t have these arcs. No starting false beliefs and no beliefs corrected in the end. So in Book 2, I had no foundation to begin their emotional journey or to show the growth they had already undergone in Book 1. It made for a somewhat rocky beginning in writing, internal-conflict-wise. And the more I wrote about their emotions, the more I asked myself ‘are they actually in a place emotionally where they can believe this thing without a doubt? Is it too soon for them to have confidence in their ability to do so-so-so?’
Now though, that I know my MCs—where they started off the story psychologically, how far they’ve come in that emotional journey by Book 1’s ending, how much more they have to learn to erase their inner biases about themselves—I’ve formed a stronger bond with the story. And my readers have been able to connect on a deeper level.
My Lesson
What I learned from this experience is that indeed, characters are the heartbeat of a story. Whether it is only for their characterization, or to build a solid plot, or to create a better world—it all starts from knowing the MCs. And once you fully understand them, you’ll also understand (and fine-tune) better the story you’re trying to tell. 🙂
Lucia's Fiction 
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