Connecting Readers with Your Characters, Guest post by Lauren Carr
Last night, I bailed on a book. I’m not a
quitter. Firmly, I held to the belief that by the time I got one-third of the
way into the story, I would care enough about the characters to strive onward
to “the end.”
I feel guilty for jumping ship on a fellow
author’s book—especially since this book had been selected by my book club. Yet,
when most of the other club members stated that they were moving on to the next
month’s selection, I figured that gave me a license to do the same.
The overall complaint: They couldn’t
connect with the book’s characters.
Why couldn’t I, or anyone in our book club,
connect with the characters in this book? The writer never allowed us to get
close enough to them.
Every writer dreams of readers getting
pulled into their book. The best way for that to happen is to have your
characters grab the readers and yank them into the plot to go along for the
ride. But before that can happen, the characters need to get close enough to
the readers to grab them.
For example, after several chapters into
this murder mystery, I realized that I had yet to meet the murder victim. Granted, the victim in this cold case
mystery was long gone when the book started, but still …
Every detail in the mystery was reported
via narrative as the protagonist read reports and discussed the case with her
colleagues. Through the detective investigating her disappearance, the readers
learned the victim’s name, that she was a student, and the date she
disappeared. We learned that she had parents and the major she was studying in
college. Basically, the reader learned nothing more about the victim than what
appears on the average resume.
In order to get close enough to the
characters to connect with them, the writer needs to allow the reader to meet
them.
Sometimes the premise can make this
difficult. Once, I beta read a cozy mystery for a writer in which the amateur
detective investigated the case via gossip from various investigators and witnesses.
There were no visits to the crime scene. No direct dialogue with any suspects
or witnesses. The protagonist learned everything second or third hand.
Think about this. If the protagonist is
experiencing the storyline second-hand—then the reader is experiencing it third-hand.
Admittedly, this can be an issue for
writers of mystery (especially cold case mysteries), suspense, or thrillers where
the protagonists are investigators brought into the story after the fact. For
example, the novel opens with the police detective arriving on the scene after the murder. However, there a
tricks and tips to bring your readers up close and personal.
Involve Your Characters and Keep them
Close: Keep your characters up close to the plot,
either by time, place, or motivation. One common technique is to make the
protagonist have a personal stake in the outcome. The antagonist targets him or
the victim is a personal friend.
Often, readers will joke about how common
it is for the whole family tree of the amateur detective in a cozy mystery
series to have been murder victims, witnesses, or suspects—all in the name of
connecting the protagonists to the plot!
Actually, the protagonist does not need to
be that close for the reader to connect.
In one murder mystery I read, the detective
simply looked wistfully down at the victim, a sweet looking young woman. His
partner asked him what was wrong, and he replied that the victim reminded him
of a sweet Italian girl from high school who had won all the boys’ hearts.
“Oh, the one that got away, huh?”
“No, the one that I married,” he said.
At that moment, readers connected to the
victim via the detective who took a personal interest in the case simply
because she reminded him of his wife.
Other techniques for connecting readers to
distant characters:
Prologues:
If you are writing a police procedural or detective novel where the crime is
committed before the protagonist is introduced, consider opening your book with
a prologue. It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out scene. Mine are usually only
about five pages long. Introduce the readers to the victim. Let them experience
the event, the fear, the horror, first hand. This will grab your reader by the
throat and yank them into the book. This type of prologue can serve a dual
purpose if your novel has an otherwise slow opening.
Flashbacks:
Most writing rules strongly suggest using flashbacks sparingly. If you are
writing crime fiction in which your detective is not personally involved with
the victims and witnesses (say a police procedural) you may want to consider
using flashbacks, written from the witness’s or victim’s point of view during
the investigator’s interviews with them.
This will take your readers one step closer
to the action. Also, during the flashback, you are putting your reader into the
witness or suspect’s head. This trick will engage them in the action.
That’s the whole idea. Before your readers
can become engaged in the action, they need to connect with your book. The best
ones to connect with your readers are your characters—but they can’t do that
unless you let them get up close and personal with your readers!
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling
author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over
twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and
turns!
Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to
her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West
Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI
agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those
cold cases that keep them up at night.
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about
how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime
fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made
appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She
lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry,
WV.
