by Darian Smith
In the popular movie and book, Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding, there is a love triangle between Bridget, Daniel Cleaver, and Mark Darcy. They also demonstrate the Drama Triangle. Bridget is a victim of circumstance by attending a party in inappropriate fancy dress, a victim to Daniel’s cheating, and what she perceives as Darcy’s judgement, putting both those men in persecutor roles. Darcy falls victim to Bridget’s own judgemental views and sharp tongue when she takes persecutor role for herself and also plays rescuer to her on a few occasions. The men fight over her, leaving Bridget to rescue them as well. The switching back and forth creates lots of conflict and drama and makes for an interesting story.
Further reading
TA Today by Ian Stewart and Vann Joines, Lifespace Publishing, 1987
Worksheet – Build the Character
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your characters.
Which ego state does the character spend the most time in?
What does this elicit in others? What ego states do other characters respond from?
What behaviour demonstrates that they are in the Parent, Adult, Child ego state?
Is the character most often Victim, Persecutor, or Rescuer?
What behaviour does the character engage in that demonstrates that they are in Victim/Persecutor/Rescuer mode?
Worksheet – Build the Story
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your plot and increase conflict.
With which other characters does he or she spend the most time in the Parent ego state? Why? What would change this?
With which other characters does he or she spend the most time in the Adult ego state? Why? What would change this?
With which other characters does he or she spend the most time in the Child ego state? Why? What would change this?
What story events make the characters change their Victim/Persecutor/Rescuer positions?
How do the characters respond when the positions in the Drama Triangle change? And how does this impact the story?
Conflict of Interest
The Theory
Conflict is a vital part of any story so it’s important for a writer to understand how the characters deal with conflict, how to create more conflict between characters, and how to resolve it at the right moment.
Most people are aware of the Fight or Flight response and this comes to play significantly when faced with conflict. Sometimes the response is to face up to it, sometimes to run away. There’s also the option to simply freeze and do nothing and hope it passes.
When facing up to a conflict there are three basic styles of doing so. They are:
Submit – let the other person have their way
Use logic – put forward a reasoned argument for your way
Get angry – lash out and try to get the other person to submit
People use all three of these styles but generally have a pattern for which one they use first, second, and third. The conflict escalates when they move to their second or third choice. This means a person for whom anger is the last choice will be much more angry and explosive when they get to that stage than a person for whom anger is their first choice. Someone whose first option is to submit will do so over little things that aren’t too important to them. The person whose third option is to submit, however, will be giving up on something quite important to them and may experience real despair when they do so.
Think about your character’s style and their sequence. You can great more conflict in the story by giving characters opposing patterns.
As the story progresses, force the character to escalate through their sequence of conflict styles, thus increasing the tension and stakes in the story as the character gradually becomes more invested in the conflicts and loses more control.
Example
In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet follows the pattern of submission, logic, anger. If the conflict is a small one, and in particular with a family member she cares about, Lizzie is inclined to let it go. She overlooks her mother and sisters’ poor behaviour in favour of keeping the peace. When she feels more strongly about an issue, she will make a reasoned argument using logic, often successfully with her father. When pushed, however, Lizzie will turn her sharp tongue on the offender and they will feel her anger – even if the offender is Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Worksheet – Build the Character
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your characters.
When faced with a conflict, does the character tend to face it, avoid it, or freeze?
Under what circumstances will this change?
When dealing with a conflict, what is the characters preferred sequence of dealing with it. I.e. which if the Logic, Submit, Anger options do they tend to use first, second or third? (Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.)
1.
2.
3.
What sorts of conflicts does the character use Logic for?
What are the behaviours that show this character is dealing with a conflict using Logic? (Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.)
What sorts of conflicts does the character use Anger for?
What are the behaviours that show this character is dealing with a conflict using Anger? (Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.)
What sorts of conflicts does the character use Submission for?
What are the behaviours that show this character is dealing with a conflict using Submission? (Remember that the intensity increases as the character moves from 1st option to 2nd option to 3rd option.)
Worksheet – Build the Story
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your plot and increase conflict.
What other characters in the story have an opposite sequence of Anger/Submission/Logic response?
How can the difference in conflict styles between characters clash and increase the tension and conflict in the story?
What events serve to escalate each character’s conflict? I.e. How do the events of the story force each character to move from their 1st option, to the 2nd, to the 3rd?
How can you use escalating styles of dealing with conflict to pace the story and build to a climax?
Personality Plus
The Theory
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a well-known and very commonly used tool for identifying personality types and preferences. It helps people understand what they are comfortable doing and how to work with others who may have different ways of being in the world.
Normally, doing the test requires a series of questions which give you an idea of where you sit on four different continuums or scales. These combine to give you a particular personality type.
For a writer, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a great way to get a sense of your characters very quickly and to think about how to build conflict between them by matching characters who oppose each other on one or more of the scales.
There is no right or wrong position on any of the four scales. They are simply different ways of being with advantages and disadvantages for each.
The scales are:
Introvert versus Extrovert
This is the measure of how much a person (or character) is introverted or extroverted. Introverts tend to think things through before they speak and are a bit quieter to be around. Extroverts like to talk things through and arrive to a conclusion that way. Introverts recharge their batteries by having time to themselves and find social engagement can drain them. Extroverts recharge by spending time with people. Introverts may seem to have fewer friends but those friendships are on a very deep level. An extrovert may have a greater number of friends that they engage with at varying levels.
These two type
s may deal with a crisis in very different ways – the extrovert by talking to family and friends or going to a party to let off steam and the introvert by going for a walk down the beach to think or finding some other way to get space.
Sensing versus Intuition
The Sensing person relies on their senses and what they can see, touch, etc. The Intuitive person sees patterns in the world around them and is able to reach conclusions based on these patterns even when the physical evidence isn’t there. In a high school exam, for example, a character who sits on the Sensing side of this scale will get their answers right because they have learned the facts and figures. A character who sits on the Intuition side will get the answers right because they have learned the principles involved and are able to work out the answers because of this understanding.
Thinking versus Feeling
For Star Trek fans, this is a bit like Vulcan versus Betazoid. The Thinking person values logic and the Feeling person values emotion. Each side will tend to make their decisions accordingly. For example, a Thinking person buys a house based on location, number of rooms, etc and the Feeling person because it feels like home. Feeling people go with their gut. A character on the Thinking side of the scale might make a good scientist but be poor at understanding people. A character on the Feeling side of the scale might be great with people but sometimes fail to see logical solutions.
Judging versus Perception
The names on this scale are a little confusing but probably the best way to look at it is in terms of whether the character likes to plan ahead and follow the plan or if they make things up as they go along. Someone on the Judging side of the scale plans carefully and sticks with the step by step plan but has trouble adapting if things change. Someone on the Perception side of the scale tends to leave things to the last minute and operate without a plan, making things up as they go along, but they are excellently adaptable to change.
Example
In the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, Belle is seen to be a classic introvert. She likes books, spends a lot of time in her own world, and can be mistaken for a bit stuck up by those who don’t know her. Gaston, by contrast, shows the worst side of an extroverted nature, loud, boastful, and desirous of attention from the crowd. Little wonder they don’t get along and the mismatch of understanding of this creates some dramatic conflict.
Further reading
http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
Worksheet – Build the Character
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your characters.
Where does the character sit on the Introvert/Extrovert scale?
Introvert-5—4—3—2—1—0—1—2—3—4--5-Extrovert
What behaviour demonstrates where they are on this scale?
Where does the character sit on the Sensing/Intuition scale?
Sensing-5—4—3—2—1—0—1—2—3—4--5-Intuition
What behaviour demonstrates where they are on this scale?
Where does the character sit on the Thinking/Feeling scale?
Thinking-5—4—3—2—1—0—1—2—3—4--5-Feeling
What behaviour demonstrates where they are on this scale?
Where does the character sit on the Judging/Perceiving scale?
Introvert-5—4—3—2—1—0—1—2—3—4--5-Extrovert
What behaviour demonstrates where they are on this scale?
Worksheet – Build the Story
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your plot and increase conflict.
Who is their opposite on each scale?
How do they clash as a result?
What story events will challenge them in this area? E.g. If they are an introvert, can the story require public speaking? If they are strongly Thinking, how can the story require them to deal with another character’s emotions?
What events play to their strengths?
Giving Grief
The Theory
Grief is not just about death. It occurs any time there is a loss. When the loss is significant, like a death or a limb, the grief often becomes cyclical, returning in waves to be triggered by small things, but decreasing in intensity and frequency over time. In some cases, people can get stuck in their grief but usually processing grief takes time.
Grief is often glossed over in literature because it can be difficult to represent, depressing to read, and potentially slow the story down. It’s important to realise, however, that a realistic character will grieve and a writer needs to think about how to show this. Often it’s shown by having a character lashing out in anger or going on a drinking binge, but these are fairly cliché now and not the only ways people deal with grief in the real world!
There are stages of grief that a person may go through, however they do not necessarily go through them in order and they do not take the same amount of time. Sometimes only focussing on one or two are necessary to demonstrate the process in a story.
The stages may include:
Shock/Denial – a disbelief about what has happened
Physical Reaction – trembling, weak knees, chills
Emotional Response – crying, wailing
Anger
Idealisation – seeing only the good in what was lost
Guilt – feeling responsible for the loss
Behavioural Issues – acting out in disruptive ways
Realisation – understanding that what was lost was not perfect
Learn new ways of being
Find a new place in the world
Acceptance – accepting the new world without what was lost
Example
In my short story collection, Shifting Worlds, one of the stories shows a snapshot of a character dealing with grief over a shocking event. The story is called Spring. In it, the main character and his wife are dealing with an unexpected personal tragedy. The story focusses almost entirely on the first stage of grief, Shock and Denial.
While the story progresses, the character continues through the necessary actions of what is happening, outwardly trying to be strong and supportive for his wife and do what needs to be done. But the sense of shock and disbelief is shown through an unreal sense of time, strange details of the surrounding world, and metaphor that demonstrates emotion. The reader never sees the character break down, but the bewilderment and shock is clear.
Further reading
On Grief and Grieving, By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Scribner, Reprint edition, 2014
Worksheet – Build the Character
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your characters.
Which of the stages does the character experience throughout the course of the story? (Circle or tick where appropriate.)
Shock/Denial
Physical Reaction
Emotional Response
Anger
Idealisation
Guilt
Behavioural Issues
Realisation
Learn new ways of being
Find a new place in the world
Acceptance
What behaviour do they exhibit to indicate where they are in the grief process?
How intense is the grief for them?
Does it come in waves? How often?
What triggers moments of grief for the character? Are there particular memories or items that set it off?
How does this impact their ability to deal with the requirements of their life/story actions?
How does it change their goals, views, beliefs?
How do they come to accept the loss and find a new way of understanding the world?
Worksheet – Build the Story
Answer the questions below to use the theory in this section to develop your plot and increase conflict.
How do other characters deal with a grieving character? With kindness/misguided good intentions/ frustration? How can this create more conflict?
