Medium NaNoWriMo Writing Prompt #4
In honor of National Novel Writing Month 2016, Medium is offering a weekly writing prompt now through the beginning of December to spark your imagination and help you write fifty thousand words in November!
This week’s prompt is…
Your main character has faced obstacles. What is the defining moment of their transformation that helps them endure their plight?
At some point in your story, your main character has to transform. This draws the reader in and allows them to relate to your character. Maybe they suffer a loss, or their job ends and they have to deal with the fate that follows. Does it break them enough to see the world in a different way, or do they choose a different path of life that frees them from their troubles?
One character I admired in the first book of the A Song of Ice and Fire series (which became the Game Of Thrones TV series) was Catelyn Stark. She represents a strong character whose role plays a classic example of what happens when a character transforms, accepts their plight, and changes in response to their situation.
When Catelyn’s husband was beheaded by the Lannisters, her character changed from hopeful mother/wife to placid and more decisive.
Other characters in the story were bitter and wanted to enact revenge on the Lannisters. Yet Catelyn repeatedly called for them to seek peace, with the words:
We can’t really bring him back from the dead, can we?
Her actions were different from the Cate we knew when she left Winterfell, when she sought revenge and tried to take out her enemies. She knew that beyond capturing Jaime Lannister, if she went on to fight the Lannisters there could only be more tragedy to come (and she was right, sadly).
In your story, what obstacle has your character faced that has truly transformed them to endure their fight towards their goal?
- Does the obstacle bring your character closer to the reader to sympathize with them as a person?
- If your character had to move on from these obstacles, how much stronger would they become?
- Does your character’s transformation feel realistic?
Even if you don’t write a response, support NaNoWriMo participants by highlighting your favorite lines in their responses and recommending their posts.
Good luck!
