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Article #3
A NOVEL APPROACH

The four important elements in a novel, or even non-fiction, are storyline, characters, setting and scenes.

Let's talk about characters first because there are a number of well-known authors who firmly believe that characters are even more important than a solid storyline, or plot.  I confess, I'm not one of them because to me, if the storyline is weak, strong three-dimensional characters aren't going to help much to alleviate the reader's feeling of a "blah" and "lackadaisical" attitude concerning the objectives of the story.  It's not like making a movie for a producer.  In Hollywood, there's a strong sentiment that a film is made three times:  once when the script is completed; second when the principal photography is completed; and, third when the film is edited.  When writing a novel or non-fiction, you only have one "shot" with the reader.

James Scott Bell, in a recent edition of Writer's Digest, suggests that the most important fundamentals of the characters is something that he calls the Lock System - Lead, Objective, Confrontation and Knockout.  Let's explore some of his conclusions.

L is for Lead.
The protagonist or lead character must be an interesting person and then must form a bond with the reader.  Bell feels that the four dynamics involved are:  Identification, Sympathy, Likeability and Inner Conflict.

1. Identification, the reader must be able to emote with the protagonist.  The latter can be flawed, because that way it makes the main lead human.  The reader feels that there is no difference between them, they are both human.
    
2. Sympathy.  If the reader can relate to the problems of the main lead, then this helps to create a sympathetic situation.  The reader can then become emotionally involved with the protagonist.  There are a number of different techniques that writers can use to create sympathy for the main lead:
    
   ·  Jeopardy.  Another way to evoke sympathy is in putting the protagonist in jeopardy.  If the jeopardy is real and not contrived, the reader will, then, be rooting for the main lead to successfully escape. 
    
   ·  Hardship.  Our protagonist could have faced hardship during his/her whole life which would create sympathy with the reader.  But it is important to mention that the hardship could not have been brought about by any action on the part of our lead character. 
   
   ·  Vulnerability.  Then, there is the vulnerability of the main character.  This could take the form of either a physical or emotional weakness.  Also the lead could be frail for a number of reasons, completely unsophisticated or even weakly in health.  And therefore, the reader is worried about whether our character will be alright in the end.
    
3. Likeability.  Likeability of our main character is important.  The reader always feels good about a person who is likable and tries to do the right thing.
    
4. Inner conflict.  Inner conflict makes the reader feel part of the emotional trauma of the protagonist.  Once the reader is hooked on the dilemma facing the lead, the battle for the reader's individual attention is practically guaranteed.

O is for Objective.
James Scott Bell points out that our main lead must have purpose, in other words, the character has an objective for his actions.  Incidentally, an objective can be for the character to either want to get something or get away (leave) from something or someone.  In Frederick Forsyth's "Day of the Jackel," our protagonist detective wanted to prevent the assassination of the Prime Minister of France, Charles DeGaulle.

The objective of staying alive, always makes for good suspense and the reader, again, becomes involved with the main character.

C is for Confrontation.
After our main lead decides on a course of action to achieve their objective, confrontation makes the story more interesting.   Opposition from other characters makes the story more exciting; it's important to pick the right opponent that can logically thwart the efforts of our lead.  This usually puts the reader on the edge of their seat.

K is for Knockout.
The reader always reacts better if the story has a strong ending, not necessarily a happy one, though.

A wishy-washy draw doesn't really do anything for the reader.  They want closure, and generally strong closure.  This gives the reader a sense of finality to the story which is very much like an emotional catharsis.  Even if the ending leaves a reader with a sense of remorse because it didn't end like they would have wanted it too, there's still a sense of resolution.  And, isn't that what it's all about?