Building the Emotional Bridge

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the various types of connections I make with characters. In Part 2 I discussed the difference between the reader/character connection and writer/character connection. In this third and final part I will discuss what a writer can do to build the bridge and invite the reader to cross it.

Showing Character

I must admit that both in reading and real life - I try to save making a judgment about a person until I get a chance to see what kind of person they are. Often when I am reading I withhold my contempt for the antagonist until I am shown why I should hate them. The same hold true with heroes.

For example, in The Black Cauldron there is a character that is set up to be a semi-antagonist to the hero. Even though the characters entrance shows him to be rude and arrogant - I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was not until his true character is revealed (he abandons his comrades in their time of need - twice) - that I finally decide he is worth of my contempt.

On the other hand - Taran the hero of The Black Cauldron does not fully when my loyalty and admiration until he shows just how brave and self sacrificing he is.

Simply listing characteristics of a character does not create an emotional connection. The reader must see the actions of the character whether good or bad in order to form an opinion about them.

Proxy Connection

Another way I come to be attached to a character is through other characters reactions. Going back to The Black Cauldron - part of the reason I love Taran so much is because his friends love and admire him. Their loyalty and friendship to him helps me form the same attachment. It most often helps if I have already made an emotional connection with one of these other characters. In The Black Cauldron Gurgi could easily be my favorite character - and so I tend to feel the same towards other characters as he does. Especially when they are first introduced.

Kindred Spirits

Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables speaks of kindred spirits - two people who are almost instantly connected through some shared experience or goal. It is easiest for me to connect with a character if I can identify with something they have experienced.

In The Black Cauldron I identify with Taran because I to have experienced the struggle of trying to find where I belong. On the same token, I can form a negative connection with a character if I see them doing something hurtful that has been done for me. Like when characters belittle Taran, tease him or make fun of him. Because I have been on the receiving end of such things I instantly feel negative emotions to characters who dish it out.

In short, emotional connections make the story have more depth for the reader. These connections start with the writer having a connection with the character then building the bridge and inviting the reader to cross it. Showing the reader how a character behaves, how others feel about them, and what they have experienced in life - will help the reader cross that bridge.

Reader/Character vs Writer/Character

In Part 1 of this series I discussed my labels for emotional connections. The connections are the different ways we can connection with a character. Next I would like to touch on the differences between the Reader/Character connection and the Writer/Character connection and why I feel the distinction is necessary.

First, let me describe what I see as the Writer/Character connection. As writers we all feel some kind of emotional connection with our characters. This is what brings the character alive for us, and makes us want to tell their story.

Writer/Character

The Writer/Character is where everything starts. The more emotionally connected we are to our characters the more they will come to life on the page. If you have a character in your story that you really don’t feel anything for – they are just kind of there taking up space – they will be cardboard characters. So it is important to take the time to invent something about each character that sparks your interest and allows you to make a connection.

Reader/Character

In contrast, the Reader/Character connection is the connection that one makes with a character when they are reading another’s work. This is what keeps us invested in the story, keeps us turning the pages. On some level we have an interest in what happens to this character.

When I make emotional connections with the characters in stories I am reading – they seem more real to me. And the whole story seems more tangible, more intense. When I first read The Chronicles of Prydain in college, it was because my roommate suggested them to me. I can’t believe I got that far without reading them. Anyway, at one point in the story a character I cared very much about got wounded in a battle. I was so worried about what would happen to the character – that I stormed out of my room – found my roommate – and told that if he died I would never forgive her.

I continued reading. Then when I found out that said character was fine, I was so relieved. I rushed out, found my roommate and gave her I hug. I told her it was okay – the character was fine after all. That is how emotionally invested in the story that the tone of what was going on effected my whole day. Is it any wonder these are some of my favorite books?

Keeping them Separate

So why is it important to separate the Writer/Character connection from the Reader/Character connection? Well first of all – as much as we would like too – writers cannot control the feelings and reactions of their readers. Every person has a different set of experiences and opinions and thus we all respond to things in a different way.

As I mentioned in Part 1, when I was reading The Peasant Queen, I had a (color/connection) with the antagonist King Gregory. I was rooting for him. I wanted to see him abandon his evil ways and win the girls heart. But, after being repeatedly hit over the head with how terrible King Gregory was – I finally relented and settled into being disappointed that he was not the character I wanted him to be.

I do not like it when a writer tries to force me to feel something about a character. I don’t like having my strings pulled like a puppet. In my writing, I try to present my characters in a way that will allow the reader to form their own opinions. Of course, they will always be colored with my personal feelings about the character. But it is okay as long as you leave the door open for the reader to make their own decision.

So, in the next part of this series I will talk about how a writer can build the bridge to an emotional connection with a character, and invite the reader to cross it.

A Rainbow of Connections

So… I have decided to do my first series of blog posts. It will be a three part discussion on emotional connections with characters. Here is a brief outline:

• Part 1: A Rainbow of Connections
• Part 2: Reader/Character vs. Writer/Character
• Part 3: Building the Emotional Bridge

WARNING: The following may contain spoilers. If you have not read a book I mention, you may want to skip over that section.

Before I was a writer, I was a reader. To me the two most important things about a book are the characters and the story. I am willing to look over a lot of short comings if I like one or both of these elements.

My favorite characters are the ones that I make some kind of connection with. But there is not just one kind of connection – there is a whole rainbow full of them.

Blue: The Sympathetic Connection

When I have a Sympathetic Connection with a character – it means that I identify with either their experiences or their emotions. For example: Harry in The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley is kidnapped and torn away from the world she knows and must learn to live in a new world. I moved a lot growing up and know what that feels like. I made a connection with Harry because I have experienced the same emotions she was feeling.

Indigo: The Empathetic Connection

Empathetic Connections are related to Sympathetic Connections. Except with an Empathetic connection I can understand the situation or feelings of the character but do not directly identify with them. Catherine in The Meeting Place by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke loses her daughter. I do not have children – but I can imagine what kind of pain she must be going through.
Another example, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – Katniss makes a decision at the end of the book. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision she makes. But I understand it because I understand Katniss and what she has been through.

Orange: The Friendship Connection

Sometimes when I am reading a book, I start to feel a sense of friendship towards the character. Two of my favorite characters in Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling are Ron and Hermione. I like Ron and Hermione because they are the kind of people I would hang out with in really life. In fact, I have actually had friends that are very much like Ron and Hermione (especially).

Tangerine: The Endearment Connection

Slightly different from the Friendship Connection is the Endearment Connection. For me this is when a character is endearing to me. Sometimes it is almost a motherly concern for the character. But usually it is somewhere between friendship and affection. Case in point Dobby from .

Purple: The Hero Connection

We look up to heroes. We honor and admire them. When I make a Hero Connection to a character it means I am routing for them to win. I want their quest to be a success, to see them win the battle. I want them to prevail at all costs. I often become very loyal to such characters – and even when presented with supposed evidence of their guilt or evil – I give them the benefit of the doubt.
For me, Aragorn from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien is just such a character for me. I see his potential to be a leader and a good king. So I want his efforts to be successful.

Black: The Villian Connection.

So far all of the connections I have talked about so far have been geared towards the protagonist. Now I would like to touch on two connections that we can make with the villains of the story. The first is – The Villian Connection. This kind of connection is made when I truly loath a villain. I find myself using another example from Harry Potter: Umbridge. *shudder*
I hated Umbridge so much I was tempted to not read the scenes of the book in which she was present. Or not read the book at all. That is how much I hated Umbridge.

Red: The Rogue Connection

When I like a character that I should not like, because he is evil or bad, that is a Rogue Connection. For example, when I read The Peasant Queen by Cheri Chesley I liked King Gregory. I felt sorry for him and really wanted to see him change his ways and become a better person. Of course he was the antagonist so we are not supposed to like him.

The moral of this story is that there are many different kinds of emotional connections and that each one has its purpose. In the next part of this series I will share my thoughts on the Reader/Character connection vs. the Writer/Character connection.