Writing ANGST!

 

One way to add excitement to your story is by adding lots of bad-guys, also known as EXTERNAL Conflict. Another way is by adding INTERNAL Conflict, more commonly known as Angst.

 

I’m sure, most of you have noticed by now is that most movie characters, and far too many book characters, are One-Dimensional. They do stuff, but they don’t face any personality issues: a hang-up, a fear, paranoia, a moral code, a love interest, a strong dislike… Or worse, they do have all these things, but they never really affect the story.

 

There’s a Plot Arc, things happen, but no Character Arc. The things that happen don’t affect the characters emotionally.

 

Where’s the ANGST?

 

Answer these two questions:

1.      What is your character’s biggest character flaw? (Think: 7 Deadly Sins.)

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·  Apathy (Sloth)

·  Addiction (Lust) 

·  Obsession (Greed)

·  Resentment (Envy)

·  Hate/Revenge (Wrath)

·  Avarice (Gluttony)

·  Arrogance (Pride)

 

2.      What is the worst possible thing that could happen to them in the story?

 

Add the answers to these two questions together and voila…! Instant Angst.

 

“When should one introduce the personality flaw that leads to the Angst?” 

 -- Chapter One is good, HOWEVER…!

 

~ CAUTION ONE! ~

Don’t toss in a personality issue you don’t intend to use!

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The rule of Mystery Fiction states:

 

 -- “If the gun is shown in Chapter One, it better go off by Chapter Three -- and there had better be a damned good reason for that gun to be there.”

 

The Rule of Erotic Fiction:

 -- “If the Kiss is shown in Chapter One, the Sex better happen by chapter three -- and there had better be a damned good reason for that Kiss to be there.”

 

These rules should apply in ANYTHING you put in a story. No matter what it is, if you have it in the story, you better have a use for it fairly quickly, and that use had better turn the plot. If it DOESN’T affect the plot in some way, shape or form, you’ve just made a PLOT HOLE, and I guarantee that someone will not only see it, they’ll call you on it. It could be a fan who writes you a concerned letter, “Whatever happened with…?” or worse, a Reviewer read by thousands.

 

This includes Emotional Conflict.

 

The Rule of CHARACTER DRIVEN Fiction:

-- “If the Personality Flaw is shown in Chapter One, the first Emotional Crisis better happen by Chapter Three -- and there had better be a damned good reason for that Emotional Crisis to be there.”

 

~ CAUTION TWO! ~

The fastest way to write a story that you won’t be able to finish, is by writing about an emotional issue you don’t know how to FIX!

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When your main character has a personal hang-up, it not only needs to be addressed, it needs to be SOLVED.Only the Villain can get away with an unsolved personal hang-up. In fact, this unsolved personal issue is WHY the Villain traditionally LOSES to the Hero. It’s as simple as, the Hero adapts, the Villain does not, giving the Hero an advantage the Villain literally cannot deal with.

 

Making ANGST Happen:

 Character Arc = The Stages of Grief
Denial – Anger – Negotiation - Despair – Acceptance

 

Why Grief?

-- The best stories are all about Personal CHANGE, about Adapting to and Overcoming physical AND emotional circumstances that should take them down. This is where dramatic tension is generated. Think about how hard it is for YOU to change your mind about liking or disliking anyone. What would it take to change your mind? That's the level of suffering - of Angst - your characters need.

 

What causes ANGST?

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(Breaks out the text-book…) Angst is caused by a change of circumstance that produces a feeling of loss. This triggers the reaction of grief. The intensity of the grief depends on the importance of loss. If the loss is perceived as minor, then the moment of grief will be minimal and barely felt. However, unresolved and severe loss can lead to mental, physical, and sociological problems.

 

Cool huh?

 

And everyone deals with one form of angst or another on a daily basis.

 

Example: The Dead Battery

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 -- You're on your way to work. You go out to your car, put the key in the ignition and turn it on. You hear nothing but a grind; the battery is dead. Think about how you typically react: What's the first thing you do?

 

DENIAL – “Oh no! No! No! No! Not the battery!” You try to start it again. And again. You check to make sure that everything that could be draining the battery is off: radio, heater, lights, etc., and then try it again. And again…

 

ANGER - "Screw you, you stupid car! I should have junked you years ago." Perhaps you slam your hand on the steering wheel? "I should just leave you out in the rain and let you rust!"

 

NEGOTIATION - "Oh please car, if you will just start one more time I promise I'll buy you a brand new battery, get a tune up, new tires, belts and hoses, and keep you in perfect working condition…”

 

DESPAIR - "It won’t start. I give up. What's the use?"

 

ACCEPTANCE - "Okay, it’s dead. I had better go call a friend and see if they can get me to work."

 

USING the Stages of Grief for the Character Arc

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Plot Arc is what happens to the characters.

Character Arc is how the Characters react Emotionally to those events.

 

If you are writing a Short story, the Character Arc (the Stages of Grief) can be used as an outline for your entire story.

 

Stage One: Denial

Stage Two: Anger

Stage Three: Negotiation (Sacrifice)

Stage Four: Despair

Stage Five: Acceptance

 

However, if you intend to write a full length novel, you may want to ADD a Plot Arc too.

 

Plot Arc

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0 - Introduction

1 - Inciting event

2 - Defiance

3 - Reversal <-- The worst possible thing that could happen.

4 –Crisis

5 - Ordeal

6 - Confrontation

0 - Consequences

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Character Arc + Plot Arc

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0 - Introduction

1 - Denial - Inciting event

2 - Anger - Defiance

3 - Negotiation - Reversal

4 – Despair - Crisis

5 - Sacrifice - Ordeal

6 - Acceptance - Confrontation

0 - Consequences

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Looks a little different, and a little more complicated, doesn’t it? That’s because a new stage has been added the Stages of Grief: Sacrifice.

 

Sacrifice is the one thing your character does not want to do. It’s the moment they face their worst fear, or their biggest hang-up and make a choice they cannot take back: Go on, Give up, or Give in? Fight, Flight, or Forfeit.

 

Consider the following diagram a Cheat Sheet!

 

The Plot Arc & the Character Arc

In ACTION!

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The movie, ‘SECRETARY’

 

The Hero & Heroine’s (Semi/Uke) Mirrored Issue:

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Both characters feel that PAIN = LOVE, however, they both express this in opposite fashions.

·      She uses Physical Pain on HERSELF to relieve her Emotional Pain by hurting herself.

·      He uses Physical Pain on OTHERS to relieve his Emotional Pain through disciplinary actions.

 

Plot arc

# - Character Arc

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Introduction

0 – Talented & Troubled

Boy meets Girl – Mirrored Issues trigger Emotional Conflict

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·      A wonderful typist, but otherwise clueless, girl becomes a secretary for a dominating, but soft-hearted, lawyer.

 

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Inciting Event

1 - Denial – Instigation

Response to Emotional Conflict exposes Issues.

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·      Her desire to please him drives her to cut her clothing.

·      He sees this and recognizes her “self-punishment.” He demands that she stop her self-destructive behavior.

 

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Defiance

2 - Anger – Provoked

Issues instigate a Dilemma prompting a Fight/Flight response

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·      She goes on a date and is seen by her Lawyer.  

·      The lawyer’s emotional conflict (his growing feelings for her,) drives him to begin disciplining her at work. He spanks her for a typing mistake.

·      The secretary discovers that his spanking brings her an emotional release and an emotional connection to her lawyer. She begins to encourage his discipline by making more mistakes.

 

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Reversal

3 - Negotiation – Intolerable Surrender or Unacceptable Rescue

Conditional compliance to resolve Dilemma

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·      Despite the fact that his secretary is blooming right before his eyes, the lawyer sees his behavior as being destructive. He decides that he is wrong in his discipline and stops.

 

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Crisis

4 – Despair - Reversal - Worst Case Scenario

Disaster strikes bringing Emotional Consequences - Issues Surface

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·      Desperate to get her lawyer to discipline her, and give her the emotional connection she craves, she mails him a worm. (He truly hates bugs.)

·      The lawyer discovers that he cannot stop disciplining her, (she won’t let him,) and fires her.

 

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Ordeal

5 - Sacrifice – Forfeit & Surrender

Desperation forces confrontation of Issues & Emotional Conflict

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·      Her boyfriend proposes marriage.

·      Out of guilt over HIS feelings for her, and pain at losing her lawyer, she agrees. In her wedding dress, she realizes that she does not love her boyfriend, she loves her lawyer.

 

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Confrontation

6 - Acceptance - Bitter-sweet Revelation & Talents Reborn

Acceptance of Issues presents solution to Crisis.

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·      In her wedding dress, she confronts her lawyer. She demands that he love her.

·      He insists that what he’s doing is wrong.

·      She insists that it’s not – that it’s just a different kind of love. They belong together.

·      He demands that she sit at his desk – with her hands flat on the surface -- until he comes for her. (It’s a test.) He doesn’t believe that she could possibly love him. 

 

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Resolution

0 – A Promise Kept

Emotional Conflict resolved - Relationship secured

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·      She sits at his desk for days, dealing with family and friends about her personal choices concerning who she loves, and why.

·      The lawyer has been monitoring her progress the entire time and realizes that she does love him, just as he is and for what he is. He comes for her.

·      Happily ever after – for them.

 

The END.

 

Enjoy!

 

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DISCLAIMER: As with all advice, take what you can use and throw out the rest. As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT.

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Ookami Kasumi

http://ookami-kasumi.livejournal.com/