Into the Fire

It always makes a difference when you know who you’re writing for—who your target audience truly is. Most of us would like to think we have a universal audience for our masterpieces, but in reality we most likely have a specific group who will show the most interest in our stories.

In several of the books I’ve read lately there is one issue that has repeated itself: the characters lack character. Now don’t get me wrong here: I don’t want or expect “perfect” characters, and of course everyone knows the antagonist is anything but “perfect”. Characters should be flawed and have their struggles in order to be real, some moreso than others, but we ought to see something we either like, love, or appreciate about the protagonist. Something we can grab hold of and root for, someone who can still maintain a shred of character in the midst of ugly trials, temptations, and challenges. Otherwise, in all honesty, who cares what happens to him/her?

Even when an author chooses to make the protagonist “normal” but then twists his circumstances so tightly to cause him to fail, I need to see a remnant of his sound judgment, his desire not to fail even if and when he does. And this brings us to our audience and for whom we’re writing.

Heroes such as James Bond don’t need to be anything but sexy, clever, and skilled. It’s great when we actually see some character in his actions, but really we don’t expect much from him except to be on the “right” side of evil even when he must incorporate what would tend to be evil in anyone’s else’s actions. Confusing? Not for a spy thriller. I’ve rather enjoyed the newer “Casino Royale” and “Quantum Solace” because the movies chose to show a more “human” Bond, the person behind all the bravado and super gadgetry. And however fun I thought these two films were, my favorite Bond, James Bond, will always be Sean Connery. Second, though, is Daniel Craig.

Anyway, if you’re writing a thriller, your audience wants action and a bit of horror. They want to be tense, fearful, and at different times without hope because that’s exactly why the story is thrilling. It takes humanity to the enth degree of challenge, beats him down, and then waits for his resurgence and redemption. Depending upon how the writer chooses to give glimpses into the protagonist’s character, the reader will either root for the protagonist himself or root for the good to defeat the evil. The better choice, in my opinion, is to establish a connection to the protagonist: a character point which draws the reader into the protagonist’s predicament from an emotional standpoint, not just the superficial rooting for the “good” guy. If the protagonist is devoid of anything much to establish his decency, vulnerability, compassion, heartbreak—something to make him a worthwhile choice for a hero, then it’s much harder to be absorbed with his success or failure, and I think it would take an exceptional writer to accomplish a real link with the reader. With James Bond we have incredible allure, respect for his resourcefulness and innate abilities and skills, his daring, and his suave devil-may-care attitude when he’s just been through or is in the midst of a form of hell on earth. We can’t help but admire him even if his moral fiber is less than pristine.

Thrillers are considered plot-driven, but without a protagonist who demonstrates a hint of character developed within the storyline, why should we care if he defeats the antagonist when we have a hard time distinguishing between the two of them? I’ve read two novels recently which attempted to thin the line between the antagonist and the protagonist. From a Christian worldview we can understand the equivalency here. We are all sinners. Those of us who have yet to surrender to Jesus Christ have a greater yielding factor to evil actions. Our moral meter is skewed even if we maintain a form of one. It’s easier to portray either heroes or villains without a knowledge of the Lord. The challenge when writing Christian fiction is to establish three dimensional characters without making them caricatures and without equating their actions and motivations with the evil character even when they touch. Sinner or saint, we never shed our humanity.

We’ll get back to this for other genres. Got an opinion?

Father, we are all sinners. Jesus, you are the Savior of the world. Holy Spirit, you show us what we need to do when evil confronts us, and you provide a way out of the mess—if only we heed your leading. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.