LinkedinTwitterThe DetailsConnectBlog Facebook Meet the TherapistHome For Writers

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Treatment Tuesday - Wishy Washy

This week’s assessment comes from Carolyn.* She’s writing a medieval fantasy with a romantic subplot involving Frank and Sarah*. Frank is an intense, emotionally repressed Ranger (think: mounted police) about 10 years older than Sarah, whose father was Frank’s mentor in the Rangers. After a bit too much holiday wine, Frank kisses Sarah passionately, but regrets his impulsivity and avoids her for months. When they are thrown together in a series of adventures against the Bad Guys, their relationship changes, but Frank has resolved never to marry because if he died in the line of duty, he didn’t want to leave a wife and children to go through what Sarah and her mother went through when her father died.

So in push-pull fashion, Frank draws closer to Sarah in their perilous crises only to pull away deeply conflicted when he allows his internal judgment to rule. During the big battle of Good v. Evil, Sarah is almost killed by Big Bad Guy, but Frank takes the blow for himself. He has a near-death experience, but pulls back due to his love for Sarah.

This experience finally pushes Frank off the fence. Since the thing he most feared—death—has already occurred, he realizes how foolish he has been to throw away their chance at happiness, no matter how temporary it might be. He goes to Sarah, tells her how stupid he has been, and begs her to forgive him. Sarah, who has loved Frank from the get-go, isn’t sure she can trust him. After all, he’s changed his mind before.

What Carolyn wants to know is this: what should happen to Sarah to convince her that Frank is sincere? How can she trust him? And how can Sarah trust herself after all the changes she has gone through?

* Names have been changed to protect the fictional and the not-so-fictional.

This is such a great question. I didn’t include Carolyn’s entire synopsis, just enough to give readers the idea of Frank’s wishy-washiness and strong internal motivations not to marry. As a romantic, I love books where just friends go to something more than friends. Always makes for a good read.

For Carolyn’s novel, she’s got this extremely powerful external motivation for Frank to realize the error if his thinking. Near-death experiences are life altering for those who report them. But Sarah doesn’t have anything near so compelling, does she? So this is a great realization that you’ve had. Sarah needs some sort of assurance that Frank’s finally made up his mind once and for all…and in this circumstance, his verbal pledge isn’t enough (since he’s declared his love for her prior).

The first thing that comes to mind isn’t necessarily purely psychologically related, although that does factor in…but more so on Frank’s side. Let me explain. Recently, I got back from the ACFW conference and I took Camy Tang’s workshop on the hero and heroine’s journey. It was fascinating, of course, but one thing stuck out to me, and that was the idea of a leitmotif.

Here’s a definition of leitmotif in literature from Wikipedia: a recurring event, object or even a character that the story always makes reference to. For example, in Gladiator, Maximus has the two little figurines of his wife and son that eventually get buried in the arena. In Dragnet, it's Friday's badge, which is taken away and then given back when he's reinstated.

How could this be used for Sarah’s sake? I think Frank needs a leitmotif that is a constant reminder of his vow to stay unmarried. Perhaps something from Sarah’s father—a handed-down heirloom or trinket—would make it even more powerful of an image. Maybe Sarah notices whatever it is (say, a pocket watch), but Frank won’t talk about it or brushes her questions off. Perhaps he opens up to her about his resolve not to marry while he’s fingering the watch. Maybe then he tells her it reminds him daily not to get too close, so as not to needlessly cause pain to others.

Whatever object you choose, it’s got to have significance for Frank. And then you need to have it destroyed or damaged in some irreparable way. Or have Frank himself stomp on it or throw it in a river or somehow imbibe it with a different meaning altogether. You could even have it ultimately stop his death somehow, but that might be a bit cliché, as it happens in movies and films all the time. (Like a policeman's badge protects him from a bullet. See here.)

The psychological power comes in how you portray this object in front of Sarah. Her opinion of its importance is paramount. She’s got to see Frank caress this thing, valuing whatever the leitmotif is. He can’t imagine life without it. That way, when she sees Frank without it, she’ll know he’s really serious. Maybe even more powerful would be for her to see him destroy it or for Frank to tell her why he did with it what he did….for her. Because he’s drop-dead serious about being with her. Then she can know she can trust him. Frank’s internal thoughts have changed, and the proof is in the pudding, so to say, by the evidence of the leitmotif no longer being prominent for Frank.

So it’s an outward way for Sarah to have the same kind of epiphany Frank had with the near death experience. Of course, this is just a suggestion.

As to how she can trust herself after so many changes, you indicated that she might take up to six months to “decompress.” I actually like this idea. It will give her time to contemplate the change in Frank, as well as give Frank time to really prove himself (by calling on her, respecting her wishes, etc). The trick will be in how to make that time period fun for the reader or pass quickly to get to the meat of her decision to either accept him or not. So I think you’ve got a built in way for her to reacquaint herself with, well, her self.

The other thing to remember is that the heart knows what it wants. It’s the head that imposes concerns or doubts. Sarah knows her heart is in favor of believing Frank and his declaration. But her head says, “Stop! He’s done this before. You can’t believe him this time.” So the time will give Frank the opportunity to address the doubts of her head while reinforcing the desire of her heart. So I’d keep just the decompression time.

Hopefully this has given you some ideas of what to incorporate into your story to give it the punch you’re looking for.

Feel free to use the anonymous commenter option to tell me what you think or ask any additional questions for clarification. Best of luck!

Wordle: signature

13 comments:

SM Blooding said...

Another AWESOME post, Jeannie! I love this! I might have to find a way to use a leitmotif in my latest book with Leah and Paige. That might be pretty awesome, actually! Thanks, dear! You rock!

Frankie

Liana Brooks said...

Carolyn- Sounds like a very promising story! Good luck!


Jeannie: A leitmotif, is that what they're called? One of my character's has a duffel bag he carries around everywhere. I was wondering how to symbolize he'd crossed over and gone rogue, having him leave it behind might work. :o) Thank you! This was an excellent post, as usual.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

You are amazing, Jeannie!

I must pay more attention to Camy's offered courses. I always seem to miss them, somehow.

Jen said...

That is such an interesting topic. I've watched several movies where the leitmotif was used but I had no idea it had a name or a specific significance for a writer. Hmmm, this gets my creative gears grinding! Thanks for this awesome post. And good luck with your story, Carolyn :)

Jen

Jessica Nelson said...

Oooh, love the idea of leitmotif! Not sure I've heard too much about that but I agree, it's a great literary device! Thanks for sharing!

Stephanie Faris said...

I love the head/heart photo!

Letitmotif -- I like it. I've seen it done in so many movies and books but didn't realize there was a name for it.

Carolyn said...

Actually, there is a leitmotif in the story. It's already built in, I just hadn't looked at it that way. Frank smokes a pipe. It is something that Sarah's father always did, and he picked up the habit as sort of a rite of passage into a man's world. When he smokes, it reminds Sarah of her father, as well.

Frank is a very tightly controlled person, so this habit is just about his only outlet.

I realize that this is a Tolkein-esque touch (aka the hobbits and their pipe-weed) but since there are so few mild vices that people in a pre-industrial society can adopt (no chocolate or coffee... just imagine!) I'm keeping it in anyways. And, it reminds me of my grandfather.

After his near-death experience, Frank loses the desire to smoke. He just doesn't do it anymore - doesn't feel the need. So that could be the signal to Sarah that his emotional connection to her father's death has been broken.

It also could be a good example for the readers. I imagine that this will end up being a YA novel (though it isn't right now) and thought that it would probably be a no-no to have a main character who smokes.

Carolyn said...

Thanks Liana! I am very frustrated right now that I am so busy I have no time or mental energy to write, but hopeful that I can start working on it again soon.

Happy National Day on Writing, everyone!

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

carolyn - that's AWESOME for a leitmotif. seriously. i think it'll do the trick just fine. :) and good luck with it!

Carolyn said...

Thanks! IF ONLY I didn't have to work for a living and could just stay home and write. I am so exhausted right now I could cry, but I have several more hours until my son goes to bed and I can collapse.

Ava Walker Jenkins said...

What a great idea! You did an excellent job of describing how to use this device so effectively. I learned a lot from your post! Thanks

Nighfala said...

Me, too. I've seen this used in plenty of books and movies, but didn't realize that is what it was called.

Carolyn, I know how you feel. Hang in there, your time to write will come! I think you have a great story idea.

Carolyn said...

I just wanted to add that, in terms of giving a character time to recover from her adventures... I don't think that will really work in terms of pacing. Since this is a subplot, it has to resolve fairly quickly, although it may not be as realistic as I would like.

I have often marvelled that characters such as Wolverine or Batman or Miss Marple or Aragorn or (insert hero's name) ... don't have nervous breakdowns. It's miraculous how they cope!

Post a Comment

Both comments and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoyed your time on the couch today.