Writer's Craft Article by Karen S.
Wiesner
Arrested Development
Based on CPR for Dead or Lifeless Fiction {A Writer's Guide to Deep and
Multifaceted Development and Progression of Characters, Plot, and
Relationships} by Karen S.
Wiesner
Character Plot Relationship Developmental Signs of Life
Animated
Evidence of functionality, breathing,
heartbeat, the spark of life.
Living
Not simply existing and going through the
motions but possessing fully developed external and internal conflicts.
Interacting
Dynamic, realistic, and believable
relationships.
Vitality
and Voice
Three-dimensional character attributes.
Engaged
Definable objective and purpose of being
along with goals and motivations.
"I
misjudged you. You're not a moron. You're only a case of arrested
development." ~Harvey to Cohn in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
In the field of
medicine and psychology, the term "arrested development" means a
premature stoppage of physical or psychological development, or the cessation
of one or more phases of the developmental process resulting in a lack of
completion that may produce potential anomalies. Arrested development can be
applied to many situations, including writing. It's something that happens
often in fiction with the three core elements of every story--Characters,
Plots, and Relationships (CPR)--becoming arrested in their development.
We live in a
publishing era that can easily be viewed with growing concern given that the absolute
requirement of developing CPR in a story is being sorely neglected in books
made available for purchase. In the ideal, a reader wants to immerse himself in
a glorious story that pulls him into a fictional world so realistic and
populated with three-dimensional characters, plots, and relationships he never
wants to leave. He's paid for that, after all, so why shouldn't he get it?
Instead, he's saddled with a story that starts bad and only seems to be getting
worse. Why would anyone keep reading? The author obviously didn't care to do it
right. Despite the time and money invested in this endeavor, it's just easier
to walk away. Whether subpar writing is done out of laziness, a lack of skill
in crafting, or simple ignorance, having a reader drop a bad book and never
come back to it (or to the creator) is the last thing an author should want or
allow.
USING CPR {DEVELOPMENT} ON DEAD OR LIFELESS FICTION
Deep,
multifaceted development of characters, plots, and relationships can only be
achieved through three-dimensional writing, something I've written in-depth
about in my writing reference Three-Dimensional
Fiction Writing (formerly titled Bring
Your Fiction to Life: Crafting Three-Dimensional Stories with Depth and
Complexity). All of those concepts are crucial to character, plot, and
relationship (which I'll call CPR often from this point on) development.
What
makes a person alive? According to WebMD,
the three organs that are so crucial to life that you'll die if they stop
working are the lungs (breath), heart (blood and oxygen), and brain
(functionality). The three work together and without them (or life support), a
person is either comatose or deceased.
I would
add a fourth component that may not bring around true death to live without: A
person needs a soul to live and do
more than simply exist--and that
means there's an objective or purpose in being. Arguably, a lack of soul can
steal all the joy out of living and/or never provide the "spark" that
exemplifies life.
If you
noticed the CPR Signs of Life Acronym Chart I included at the beginning of this
article, we can certainly say that it's possible to see the animation in a
character that provides evidence
of functionality, breathing, heartbeat, and the spark of life. To truly be living, characters aren't simply
existing and going through the motions. They possess fully developed external
and internal conflicts. They're interacting in dynamic, realistic, and
believable relationships. They have three-dimensional character attributes that
give them both vitality and voice. Finally, they're engaged in what makes life
worthwhile with definable goals and motivations.
Characters,
plots, and relationships need to be breathing, blood and oxygen flowing through
their veins in order to function, or they're in a vegetative state or just
plain dead. The soul of the character is what turns an ordinary paper doll into
a vibrant, memorable personality.
In
fiction, the potential for zombies is only too common, and I don't simply mean
zombie characters. Plots and relationships can be just as zombie-like. Who wants to read about
something that's alive (i.e., not dead) but not really living either? Even in
books about zombies, it's the heart-beating, breathing, functional characters,
plots, and relationships that make the story come to life. (By the way, if your
zombie is living--as in iZombie
style--and not simply alive, it's not a true zombie by definition.) As we said,
a soul--providing unforgettable character traits, conflicts, and interactions
with a very definite "life spark" that makes a reader care and
immerse himself in a story--is imperative to make the characters, plots, and
relationships compelling.
CPR development
is a two-step process:
1) Establishing: Foundation begins in
plotting and planting the seeds of development for the CPR process right from
the very first scene in a book. You wouldn't just plunk down a plant you want
to flourish in an area where it won't get sun, rain, or the nutrients it needs
to survive, would you? Plotting and planting are all about properly setting up before setting out, anchoring and orienting readers before leading them with
purpose through your story landscape. That's something that needs to be done in
every single scene of a book with the basic
grasp of setup. The
longer it takes for a reader to figure out where he is and what he's doing
there, the less chance he'll engage with the story and agree to go along for
the journey.
2) Progressing: The one thing a story
can't and should never be is static.
Development isn't something that stops with the foundational introduction or
establishment of threads. Development keeps happening throughout a story. Every
single scene that follows the first must show a strong purpose in developing,
revealing and advancing characters, plots and relationships in a wide variety
of facets. Progress must be made to push past the point of plotting and
planting seeds to cultivating the core element "blooms" that pop up
into the landscape in every scene. The only way to achieve three-dimensional
development of characters, plots, and relationships is to actively take each opportunity
to establish and advance the elements that--if properly sketched--should appear
in an organic way along the path to telling the story.
If your
characters, plots, and relationships that make up each scene in your story are
truly three-dimensional and properly developed and advanced, your book will be
so vivid, readers will be haunted by the unforgettable, vibrant world conveyed
through your words even after they finish reading.
Karen S.
Wiesner is the author of CPR for Dead or Lifeless Fiction {A
Writer's Guide to Deep and Multifaceted Development and Progression of
Characters, Plot, and Relationships}
Volume 6 of the 3D Fiction Fundamentals
Collection
http://www.writers-exchange.com/3d-fiction-fundamentals-series/
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/writing-reference-titles.html
Happy writing!
Karen Wiesner
is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series. Visit
her here:
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog
http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor
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