I am delighted to introduce an author who hails from my hometown of Houston, Texas. Sandra Bretting writes for the Houston Chronicle business section and just released her debut mystery, Unholy Lies, which deals with secrets in a small Texas town. Welcome, Sandra! And a big congratulations on your new book!
Defending Your Writing Choices Without Getting Defensive
The woman at the book club where I’d been asked to speak wasn’t trying to be rude, I’m sure. She only wanted to know—rather loudly—why one of the main characters in my book is a preacher’s wife who goes off the deep end.
“Why do writers think all preachers’ wives are wackos?” she demanded.
It didn’t help that she’d asked the question in front of a room full of women made bold by several bottles of merlot.
“Well, um . . . ” I stammered. “The story started with her husband, and I needed to give him a reason to cheat on her.”
Fortunately, my answer satiated her, because she fell silent. It took a moment for my blood pressure to return to normal after that, though. It wasn’t that I’d been challenged; although I had. What bothered me was that I’d been made to defend my story and given responsibility for the entire history of western literature, it seemed.
Looking back, what I should have said was this: “Can’t speak for all writers . . . but I wrote it that way because it was right for this situation.” Nothing more and nothing less. Forget about giving a mini-lesson on backstory or character motivation. I, as the writer, wanted to make that character a little crazy.
Now, I’m not a proponent of negative stereotypes. I don’t purposefully set out to perpetuate the idea that all pastors’ wives are wacko . . . that all Latino men are macho . . . that all married men cheat on their wives.
For this story, I needed a character who had certain traits that would make her husband’s betrayal seem more plausible. And to be honest . . . she grew to be my favorite character in the book.
The idea that all preachers’ wives are written a certain way never entered my mind. Because I’ve never met a crazy preacher’s wife. Because in my experience, the ones I’ve known have been intelligent, capable and most importantly, sane.
But back to the issue at hand. Why did the reader feel the need to question my choices? Ultimately, it was because she cared. A lot. And that’s a good thing. If people didn’t relate to the story; if they didn’t put themselves into the characters’ shoes and walk around for a while; they wouldn’t care.
Which is exactly what I find myself doing right now. I’ve almost finished Love You More by Lisa Gardner. I’ve loved it, except . . . I would have written the ending differently. Because I don’t write thrillers, the mystery writer in me wanted the killer to be someone else. But you know what? It’s Gardner’s book. She had to live inside their heads for months at a time, not me. She had to make choices about what they said, what they did, and what they ate for breakfast. Not me. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to recommend the book to anyone else. But ultimately, I question her choices because I do like it.
So, the next time someone ambushes me (because that’s what it felt like) at a book-club meeting and demands to know why I’ve made certain choices, I’ll take a deep breath first. And thank my lucky stars the reader cared enough to ask me that.
By the way . . . the woman who posed the question? Not even married to a pastor. Turns out she’s a district attorney here in southeast Texas. Apparently someone who cares about her fiction. Someone like me.
Sandra Bretting writes feature stories for the business section of the Houston Chronicle. A native of California, she attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and formerly wrote for the Los Angeles Times and others. Her debut mystery, titled Unholy Lies, was released in November from Five Star Publishing.
Good morning, all. And TGIF!
Good Morning, Sandra! Stories–they sure have a life of their own, don’t they. And sometimes characters just demand to be written a certain way, and sometimes you need them to play a role, as your preacher’s wife did. I’m always excited to discover not only who my characters are, but what they are going to do. And ultimately, the story is yours (and theirs), so you don’t have to justify anything to a crotchety reader. Some will like your choices. Some won’t. And that’s just fine. But I am continuously amazed at the things readers say about my characters–who they like, who they don’t, and why. But, that says more about the particular reader than it does about my story.
And, I applaude you for your ability to switch seamlessly between journalistic rigors and fiction…not easy!
Hi Deborah,
Nice to meet you …
Last night I went to another signing, where everyone debated (quite extensively 🙂 why one of my characters chose to wear hats. To be honest, I was just looking for a hook to give her some personality, but people imagined all sorts of reasons for it. Interesting what you said about readers sometimes projecting their own issues onto characters…
i once got an email from an irate reader who told me my main character should never be allowed to impact the life of a child. That was a low blow:) Actually, it made me laugh.
I guess that’s one of the main take-aways I’ve gotten from having my first book out there. Everyone has an opinion about these characters and what they should say/do. It’s been fascinating to see …
Hi Sandra,
Welcome to MSW! I love it when readers get passionate about the characters and the choices they make. But you have to follow your instincts. I remember once I had set up a romance between two characters, but when it came time to write the next book it just didn’t feel right. The romance didn’t click. So I gave the heroine a different man. Some readers complained, but you have to go with what your gut tells you. Can’t please all of the people all of the time…
Congratulations on the release of UNHOLY LIES!
Thanks for the warm welcome, Laura.
My favorite comment last night at the book-club meeting was when a woman burst through the door and told me, “I just want to kiss Park!” (One of the characters.) I had to laugh …because that’s exactly how I felt when I was done writing him! I love how real these characters become in our minds.
Welcome Sandra! Great to have you as a guest blogger.
Boy have I been there with some readers wanting to know why I didn’t make the characters do something else.
But I’ve learned to say: “You think I have any control over my characters?” and laugh. “I just write down what they tell me.”
I know…don’t you feel insane sometimes? Someone asked me to describe my “process,” and when I said I feel like I go to a different place in my head, I could only imagine what a psychologist would say to that!
I tell the groups i talk to that writing is simply a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia… And, I used to date a psychologist (I know, I was asking for it). And when he tried to broach this “reality issue” I had with my characters, i told he could talk to me about anything accept that…the content of my head was off limits.
Welcome Sandra. The comment above about hats cracked me up. I’ve had people comment about the most random things in my books. You never know what will strike a chord with a reader.
Hi Kendra,
The other side of that coin is that sometimes readers notice things that we writers have missed. That inquisitive intelligence is why I like readers so much!
Hi Sandra! Sorry I’m late to the party, I’ve been gone all day …
I can totally relate. GONE GIRL anyone? I so wanted to rewrite the ending. The book was brilliant on so many levels, I really liked it, but then Nick was less of a hero than I thought he was. I wanted him to make a different choice.
Anyway, I’ve gotten the same kinds of questions. I remember in my first book, I had people mad at me because a major character died in the middle. I had to remind them that *I* hadn’t killed him, the villain had, and it surprised me, too. 🙂 … And I have had readers upset with me when a major character was raped. And my mom threatened to disown me if Patrick died in FEAR NO EVIL, so he ended up in a coma for nearly two years. (Yes, he was going to die … life is messy. But now he gets his own book soon.)
Welcome and I hope you can visit again! Any friend of Laura’s is a friend of ours 🙂