"In the planning stage, I make sure that all my characters have secrets that will be revealed gradually during the course of the novel. Such secrets will motivate all sorts of unexpected action and furnish the surprise element that I'm trying for. Before I ever get to the writing, I examine my characters for those secrets they may be hiding, and I plan ways in which such secrets may affect the lives of other characters in the story."
- Phyllis Whitney, Guide to Fiction Writing
What a brilliant quote. It has me thinking about the delicious and wonderful secrets my characters are hiding and how this will add drama, problems and trouble to the plot. Oooooh, I do love a good secret.
So, what about you?
Do your characters have something they're trying to hide?
Is it a fear? Maybe something they did wrong? A mistake they made? Something they're ashamed of? Is it a secret wish or dream? A betrayal? Is it their family? Or friends? Is their secret who they love? Or who they hate? Maybe their secret has to do with one of their flaws? Or what if their secret is something they know about someone else? What if it's actually someone else's secret?
*Whatever it is, make it good and juicy!
Happy Love Day everyone!
Hopefully your day is full of sweet secrets and surprises!
*Go check out this great post about one Extra Good and Juicy secret by Kevin Hiatt.
Great quote. I love stories with secrets. Some of my characters have secrets. It's easy to hide the ones whose viewpoints the book isn't in, but not so easy with the view point character.
ReplyDeleteTrue....but your main character can still have secrets, they'll just be hidden from the rest of the characters.
DeleteI started writing a reply, but after 3 paragraphs I figured I'd probably just better put it on my blog or else I'd take up pretty much all of your reply space.
ReplyDelete:)
I LOVE your post. Brilliant.
DeleteI love secrets (for my characters, that is).
ReplyDeleteYes! For the characters....not so much in *my* life though!
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