Here’s why it pays to read widely, outside of your preferred genre.

Ideas spring up like wildflowers from all sources—there for the picking.

Part of my morning reading for the past couple of weeks has been a book called Mostly What God Does by Savannah Guthrie.

I am not pushing religion on you.

I’m just open to new ideas, new ways to improve my life.

Anyway, in the final chapter, I gleaned some tips for writing dimensional characters from this unlikely source.

As usual, these tips translate to the real world, too, and can help us ferret out our “Purpose.” (This is advice from Oprah Winfrey by way of Savannah Guthrie.)

As we know, Oprah fashioned a life for herself despite being dealt a crummy hand, and a childhood of poverty and abuse.

What led her to success?

Early on, Oprah asked herself, “What is my purpose?”

A simple question, really.

It’s a question people often ask themselves.

It’s also a question writers ask about their characters.

What is their purpose?

But for many of us, it’s such a loaded question.

Let’s make it easier to respond.

You’ve heard of the principle of Chekhov’s gun?

If you introduce a loaded gun in chapter one, it better go off by the end of the book.

In other words, every seemingly irrelevant detail in your story, must have a purpose.

Don’t just assign features or personality traits to you character without giving them a reason for being there.

Don’t waste a good quirk.

Maybe your character’s blond hair opens more doors and presents more opportunities.

Maybe your character’s height lets them squirm around people without being noticed.

Maybe your character’s incessant chatter leads to them being put into a room alone where they discover some secret that unlocks the problem.

Maybe your character’s anxiety heightens other senses which helps them find creative solutions for problem-solving.

If a detail is worth mentioning, it’s worth using to your story’s advantage.

A fun exercise: List all the attributes of the main character in your WIP.

Then assign each trait a purpose, a reason, for being there.

The same goes for your novel’s setting.

Use the town as a valuable part of the plot.

Let the setting be more than a pretty face.

Use the scenery, the buildings, the empty streets.

As for us real people, we should ask ourselves how we can use our quirks, traits, and given talents to our advantage and for the benefit of others.

Everything we have, everything we are, can be turned into something useful.

Physical characteristics, psychological profile, health issues,hobbies, talents, strengths, weaknesses—if we can figure out how to help ourselves and others with the hand we’ve been dealt, I think we’ve touched our purpose.

Until next time,

~ Gail

Countdown: 16 weeks left of 2024

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