Effective fiction writing must include a goal that’s either achieved or not by the end of the story. But the best fiction usually includes some sort of redemption.
Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few thoughts about adding redemption to your character’s story arc:
Lessons Learned
In some novels or stories, the character starts out believing that they already know the answer to whatever challenge stands in the way of a goal. In a romance novel, for instance, a protagonist might start out thinking she understands another person, usually of the opposite sex.
As challenges and tension keep mounting, however, the character is squeezed into a corner, where little by little, act by act, scene by scene, the character bumps up against their own beliefs. Maybe the belief is you can’t trust anyone. Maybe it’s “I’m not worthy or they’re not worthy.”
The story must have solid obstacles to erode faulty or stereotypical thinking. Think of how hard it is to persuade others to abandon their entrenched beliefs or values. The obstacles you present must be proportional to those beliefs, even or especially if they’re false.
Back to Values
A second type of redemptive character has strayed away from their deeply held beliefs or values. They’ve rejected or given up what they once truly believed. This is usually the result of a bad experience followed by a generalization that may not be true.
The bad experience broadens so that the character must try to protect themselves (and their hearts) from further damage. If I have a bad experience with someone from the big city and I’m a small town girl, I might rationalize that big city men are “all alike,” and trust no one.
Through each action and obstacle, the character slowly realizes that they’ve strayed from their once firmly held belief that people are in general flawed but good—and that trust shouldn’t depend on stereotyped experiences. This allows the character to return to their values of trust and goodness.
Add redemption to your novel or story, and you’ll create a more compelling read.
Real Revelations
A third way to add redemption to your novel or story is by the protagonist discovering real revelations through overcoming obstacles. In this pattern, a character discovers hidden or vague qualities that upend the character’s knowledge and lead to a change of heart.
In the Star Wars franchise, Luke Skywalker learns that Darth Vader is his dad. Leia is his sister. Those family ties are deep enough to cause Luke to rethink his positions on them. Darth is still evil, but now Luke understands the how and why. His newfound wisdom leads to inner conflict that he must redeem.
The most memorable stories and novels almost always have some sort of redemption in the tale. Readers find redemption magnetic because we all hope our mistakes in life can be somehow redeemed. Add redemption to your novel or story, and you’ll create a more compelling read.
