Writing Essentials: Choice & Consequence

In the previous post we had a look at how contrasting the Ego/Shadow/Self dynamic helps us find organic tension within the character journey.

Tension is created in the contrast when there’s a conflict between how our character perceives themselves and who they truly are deep down.

When the Ego is convinced of one thing, the Shadow is whispering another, and the Self sits at the center of our character with the truth of their identity, we get direction for our character journey.

-       The Ego becomes what is stated in our story, what’s in the text, because that’s our character’s conscious.

-       The Shadow becomes what’s insinuated in our story, what’s in the subtext, because that’s our character’s subconscious.

-       The Self becomes what’s foreshadowed in our story, what we’re building to, because understanding themselves is part of what leads to the big revelation at the end of our story, when the truth of what it’s all been about is presented to the reader. That aha moment aka the climax.

Direction is found when resolving this internal conflict becomes the motor for our character journey, affording our narrative a sense of forward momentum.

So, how do we ensure the text and the subtext work together to create the foreshadowing necessary to make our climax resonate with our reader?

Choice

We go back to the Ego/Shadow/Self dynamic and take another look at what makes our story character driven:

·       Our protagonist begins at point A, unaware of who they are truly meant to be, and is set on a journey of self-discovery.

·       As they discover they are led to make choices, some good and some bad, with each choice teaching a lesson designed to open them up to more and more self-awareness.

·       This is because each choice makes them confront aspects of themselves that they never realized held sway over them.

·       Shadow aspects such as shame, guilt, fear, regret, and so on.

·       Each aspect brought to light teaches our protagonist that what they thought was true within their own self-perception is marred by self-deception.

·       Shifting their self-perception brings self-acceptance and self-honesty, connecting them with who they truly are.

·       This begins the integration process, allowing them to start making better and better choices for themselves.

·       These better choices will reflect the reason why they are on their journey to begin with and will warrant them reaching a satisfying endgame.

Choice is key to our protagonist’s growth because choice relates to action.

When a character takes action, they show themselves and reveal the current level of character growth to the reader. 

A character who remains passive in their own journey is difficult to relate to because as humans we know what it means to react and respond to our life, even if it’s only on a subconscious level.

If action leads to choice, then to anchor the choice to a moment of character growth, the choice will need to result in something.

The most straightforward result of a choice is for it to bring a consequence.

Bring on the Tension

A choice resulting in a consequence is an excellent way to ensure tension remains taut within our narrative.

Why is tension important?

Because tension creates anticipation in our reader.

Anticipation of when and how the tension of a scene, a sequence of scenes, or the character journey itself will resolve.

A consequence related to a scene, or a sequence of scenes, eases the tension momentarily as it offers a resolution to that specific part of the character journey while keeping anticipation in place of what’s to follow.

Here’s the fun thing about consequences: they’re best used when they depend entirely on the choice our character makes in the moment.

We have our character react to an event within a scene and this event is either designed to bring them forward on their path to self-awareness, or it’s designed to set them back.

Moving forward or facing a setback is what keeps our narrative interesting. It can’t all be smooth sailing. Some lessons are harder to learn than others, right? Keeping the narrative open to both alternatives - moving forward or bumping up against an obstacle - keeps the reader guessing.

A setback is never meant to stunt our character growth but is rather a great way to dig deeper into our character’s flaws and clarify them to our reader.

Example: A character trapped in a room who must begin their journey by overcoming their claustrophobia isn’t going to start looking for a way out in a calm and rational manner. Rather, to even begin to imagine a plausible way of escaping, their phobia will be the first internal obstacle they have to overcome.

The setback in this scenario is that, until they make a better choice for themselves than allowing their phobia to rule their reaction to their situation, they will remain stuck in that room.

The consequence: staying trapped indefinitely.

Momentum is found when the character manages to recognize that they’re in control of the situation, and that if they can talk themselves out of their overreaction, they can make choices that may win them their freedom.

The consequence: being granted the hope that they may get out.

In the next post we’ll dig into Good vs. Bad Choices and how they help inform Consequence via the character journey.