Good Choices are Essential for Compelling Stories

Recently I was discussing the first draft of a novel. The climax came when the main character was torn between a job presentation - her boss claimed she would let everyone at work down if she didn't make it in that day - and her baby's health. Now, call me irresponsible, but there aren't many circumstances when I'd put my work ahead of a very ill child and none of them seemed applicable here.

I'm prepared to accept that, had I read the whole novel rather than a synopsis, I would have been swept away by the main character's dilemma, but in general compelling stories feature characters making difficult choices. The choices need to be proper ones, and the more evenly weighted they are, the more compelling your story.

Does Superman save Lois Lane, or the world? Does he follow his head, or his heart? Will Lizzie accept the repulsive Mr Collins and save her family fortune? Or turn him down and risk penury? Frodo could return to his beloved Shire and leave the ring at Elrond's house. Pip could give up his snobbish aspirations of being a gentleman and go back to Joe Gargery's forge and marry Biddy. Would you shop your child to the police? Or would you burn everything that linked them with the crime?

The more compelling the arguments are on both sides, the more compelling your story.

Making Good Choices

I don't know about you, but in my real life there's an awful lot of hanging around and doing small repetitive actions such as teeth brushing, showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast and so on. If we included every single one of them in every single novel, then each book would spread to 1000s of pages - if they were ever read. So a writer's first job is to make certain selections of the kind of actions they're going to include, and most of us do this automatically - I don't think it's ever occurred to me to write about a character going to the loo for example, and I can only remember one bit of student work where it featured.

So, we choose not to include basic bodily functions. If you accept this premise, from here it's not a hard step to accept that as writers we are continually making choices, and there is no absolute requirement to include any information at all. Most importantly this means that you leave out any boring bits. There is no reason for including them. If they bore you, they'll bore the reader.

If your character needs to pass the next two weeks but not much happens, then simply write, 'the next two weeks went by without anything happening.' If your character had a puppy when she was 8, it may have mattered to her, but is it relevant for the reader now? If not, then you don't need that bit of backstory. If you've written that the character went by car, would it be a more interesting choice if the car broke down and he had to go on foot, or call a taxi? If he goes by foot he might see something interesting, by taxi and the driver could have a conversation with him.

Choices, choices, choices. You are making choices all the time. Learn to make good ones and relax about ditching bad ones.

Dilemmas, Dilemmas

I've just done something awful. I've thrown away my daughter's Christmas money. I am truly sorry about it, but in my defense, leaving your money wrapped up in a tissue at the bottom of a used supermarket carrier bag along with old sweet wrappers and then leaving the bag to fester for several days in the sitting room is asking for trouble. Especially when the days you leave the bag festering coincide with rubbish day. And even more so when you are congenitally untidy and it's not the first time money has been lost due to being left hanging around with used bus tickets.

So I feel sort of justified in accidentally throwing the money away. But I also feel guilty for not checking thoroughly. But justified because it's really a bit much to expect me to check through all her rubbish on the off chance. And guilty because she's feeling broke at the moment. And justified because her room is a tip, and the bathroom is a tip and she never clears up after herself. And guilty...and justified...and guilty...

My dilemma - should I replace the money?

I don't know what to do. But I know it would make a good minor dilemma for a character. (Minor because it is very domestic and, hey, it's only money we're talking about, not life or death.) A good character dilemma is one where both sides are equally attractive or unpleasant, there are pluses and minuses for each side. If I'm tough now and don't replace the money, then maybe she'll start being more careful with her possessions. But it was my fault, even if I didn't do it on purpose. I don't know what the right thing to do is, and if I were writing this scene, I'd go through the options as I have done here. Hopefully, readers would also find the choice a difficult one to make. Then the character would make their choice and the novel would play out the consequences, good or bad.

Good dilemmas make for good books. Sophie's Choice by William Styron comes to mind, with its heart-rending central dilemma. We can talk about them, debate them, have arguments about a good dilemma. Meanwhile, back at home, I'm still dithering which is not an attractive character trait. Dilemmas, dilemmas. What would you do?