Quick Writing Reminder: Concept vs Character

 by Alison Janssen

 

Are you letting your concept overwhelm your characters? Have you let a binary outcome take precedence over emotional growth?

 

This might be easier if I use an example: What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman is what I consider a binary concept book. Is this woman one of the missing Bethany sisters? That's the question driving the narrative, and it's a simple binary. Yes or No.

 

Here's another example: The Crime Writer, by Gregg Hurwitz. Did the main character, now suffering memory loss after a brain tumor, murder his wife? Yes or No.

 

Binary concepts are wonderful, and they can create fantastic tension and opportunities for playing with your readers' expectations ... but they should be jumping off points, not end points. Ultimately, it's how your characters discover the answer to the question, and how they react to that answer. Your book isn't about concepts, it's about characters.

 

Both books I cited above focus on the characters within the concepts, and are strong examples of piquing a reader's interest with a simple yes or no, then filling in an entire world of motivations and possibilities, fully realizing the characters -- making them more than a means to a simple answer.

 

If your WIP could be classified as a binary concept book and you're finding yourself in a corner, check your priority list. For the characters themselves, the Yes/No answer quest may  be paramount, but for your readers, remember to show *why* the answer is important, *what* the tension of the binary choice does to the characters seeking answers, and *how* the outcome affects their worldviews.

Comments

[Dale Spindel]

I am not planning to write a mystery novel but I almost wish I were because your advice is so good. I was not familiar with the phrase binary concept as a literary reference and I will be paying attention to it now when I read.

[Alison Janssen]

Oh, thank you Dale! I just made up binary concept (or made it up with regard to books), I don't think it's an official literary term. But I'm glad you found it intriguing!