Fear itself

[khiemtran]

What do your characters fear the most?

What situations would the readers most fear those characters being in?

Comments

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Ooo, good questions, especially the second. I usually can answer the first, but never thought about the second. I know Grisha, of my WIR, fears failure/being inadequate, but the situation that would get the readers worked up emotionally for him? I hope I did that by having him forced to do something he's not emotionally prepared to do, but if he doesn't, he'll fail.

I don't usually think about such things when I write, but that's an interesting thing to look at in revision.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I think, from memory, the situation I would have feared most for Grisha was finding that his parents were indeed traitors and having to confront them. This, more than them merely being dead. When the actual outcome came out, it was a relief.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that insight. I haven't gone through all your notes because I was waiting for when I was ready to do the revision. The 3rd beta reader is obviously not getting back to me, which is a shame because he's ex-military and I wanted his take on that aspect of the story. So on with the revision.

It is interesting to see what other people think of our characters and the situations we put them in.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've been thinking lately about the sorts of situations that my characters end up in. I'm starting to shift now to a more character-based than a plot-driven approach. The situations are now tuned more closely to the characters. Hopefully, they'll test the characters more and keep the readers engaged more than just having escalating crises.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed many plot-driven stories, but I think as a whole, character-driven stories are more compelling. My stories don't take shape unless I have the right characters, so I'm probably biased.