Build Your Story: 8 Strategies for Writing Innovative Setting with Impact
Deprivation
“Because the hero is
in the world of the common day, the hero’s struggles are usually more like our
struggles; they are common-day struggles, the kind of struggles we, the reader or
viewer, might be involved in.” James N. Frey
Have you had a few late nights recently, or decided to diet,
or quit smoking? How cranky are you? Sometimes making daily choices can impair our ability to think clearly, or
react quickly. But once we know our own bodies, we also now how to compensate
for what we consider to be a temporary lack of competency. Or give us enough
wisdom to know how to deal relationally with those closest to us.
What could happen when your character is unaware of a
medical condition, or lack of vitamins, or dangerous allergy until deprived of
a protective natural covering? Those who live in natural disaster areas know
what basic food supplies need to be kept as emergency rations, but what if they
don’t include a food that becomes a ticking bomb deprivation for a character.
Or their resources have been destroyed or stolen?
A friend of mine recently experienced a severe case of food
poisoning. On day three she forced herself to work barely long enough to make
an important presentation, and then returned to bed.
What is important enough to your character to endure
physical discomfort in order to fulfill a commitment? At what point does the
level of pain make that impossible?
What are the hidden dangers?
Response
Another key ingredient will be your character’s instinctive
reaction to danger whether real or imagined. To discover the potential damage
put your character into that moment of choice. Overwrite all the sensory
details. Then write up the scene twice, once for each possible decision: to
flee or fight, or to submit. Think of the actual danger too. Will he fight with
valor if the threat is physical but run and hide if it’s emotional? Or vice
versa?
Share: How did your
character’s reaction surprise you?
Read deep, marcy
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