I am still pondering John
Eldridge’s book Waking the Dead in my devotions each morning. Meat takes a
while to chew and digest.
He mentions
four streams coming out from the throne – one in-particular called ‘counseling’. Of course, first and foremost we seek God’s counsel in His word.
But we also often receive help
from others. Professionals and friends.
Then he made this statement: “In
every great story the hero and heroine must turn to someone older and wiser for
the answer to some riddle. Dorothy seeks the wizard; Frodo turns to Gandalf; Neo
has Morpheus; and Curdie is helped by the Lady of the Silver Moon.
I thought of the authors I
read, the ones I treasure, want to own a copy of, and for the most part I find this to be true.
Formula romance has two crises in their plot lines that threaten and separate
the protagonist from the one they love, leaving them in need of advice- often from a friend and
sometimes a professional.
The resulting happy conclusion finds
those in my favorite tales learning something about themselves they had
forgotten or buried. They emerge truer to themselves and find: Love, career, or
mission.
What riddle in your story line is needing to
be solved. If you do not know, ask your characters to tell you. They have
buried or forgotten something wonderful about themselves. Weave that in and you
will leave your reader satisfied and wanting more from you.
3 comments:
Diana, you've reminded me of the book John Eldredge co-wrote with his wife, Stasi. It's called Captivating. You've inspired me to consider the things I've learned from good books to help form the inner motivations and struggles of my characters.
Now I need to add Waking the Dead to my book wishlist. Wild at Heart is another wonderful book of his that is good to consider when formulating the male character's heart issues.
Thank you, always, for encouraging us to dig deep as we write.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Ahh, yes. And sometimes our characters tell us even more than we wanted to know about them. I had my murderer all picked out in one, and it turned out to be someone entirely diff.
Wendy, I loved Wild at Heart- you are right- it would be great to use for male character building. Thanks for that idea.
Linda, that is funny! Those dang characters!
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