Trust your characters and they’ll trust you enough to tell you their story. This links back to the tip from November 8 (your characters are not you).
Telling your story can be a difficult thing. I’m speaking as an actual person, not as a writer of novels. Think of all the people who have revealed their stories about abuse in the Catholic Church or through the #MeToo movement. Why now? Have you ever asked that question? Why have people felt empowered to tell their stories now, at this particular moment in history? I think it’s partly because they felt like their stories would be heard. They felt it would make a difference, that it would matter. They trusted all of us to make it worth it.
I think it’s probably the same for the rest of us. I know it’s the same for your characters. No matter the kind of story you’re telling, it will benefit from genuine characters. Those are the kind of characters sent from Storyland Central Casting (see tip from November 10). But just like normal people, your characters have layers. Sure, they’ll show up. They’ll do the minimum, going through their paces, reciting their lines. But if you want to really get to know them? They’re going to have to trust you. They need to know you won’t laugh at them. They’ll need to know you won’t pity them. You won’t be disgusted by their secrets. You won’t sell them out for a cheap laugh. You won’t judge them.
I see you raising your hand. You want to ask me, ‘How do I show my characters that I trust them?’ You don’t try to change them. Because how long do you, in real life, hang out with people who wish you were different than you are? Not long, right? So when your characters walk into your novel, let them be who they are.
Next? Be patient with them. Trust that they’re in your story for a reason. Don’t try to force them to spill their guts first thing. Just be available. They need to know that if they entrust their story—their whole story—to you, that you’ll do what you’ve promised. You’ll tell it.