Which Character is the Heart of Your Novel?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I read an article a few weeks ago on io9 about how Bones is the heart of Star Trek. As a huge fan of Leonard “Bones” McCoy (both the DeForest Kelley and Karl Urban incarnations), I completely agree. The balance between the emotional doctor and the logical science officer was not only fun to watch, but allowed the show's writers to explore different views on a topic and examine it from several angles. And created most of the best laughs in the series.

Great stories have emotional centers. They have a character who considers the emotional impact of our protagonist’s actions and how the plot events impact the protagonist. When characters are too focused on end goals and results, this heart character stops everyone to point out how a particular plan or action is going to affect others.

In my series, The Healing Wars, Aylin is without a doubt the heart of the tale. She cares about people (especially my protagonist), asks the hard questions, and makes everyone think about how their actions are going to affect the world and people around them. She’s even willing to do what it takes to protect her friends from themselves if she has too. When the stakes get too big and start to overwhelm everyone, she’s the one who brings it down to what matters and makes it all manageable.

Which is a huge benefit to have in any story where “saving the world” is part of the plot. Heart characters allow you to remind readers (and characters) why this monumental goal is personal. It shows how small actions and sacrifices can affect the larger world and bring about change. It takes what is too big to comprehend and makes it small enough to understand.

Take a look at your current WIP and ask:

Who is the heart of your story?

While stories don’t need every character archetype, I think the heart character connects a story in a way that resonates with readers. We love the lovable character. We want to understand why everything that happens matters. The heart character also gives us someone to care about even when the other characters are being less than noble.

What character embodies the emotional questions and ideas readers will feel and ponder?

Any story that explores larger thematic questions needs a heart character to keep those questions grounded. Pondering what it means to be human loses impact when everyone is being rational and acting in ways that real humans wouldn’t. Emotions are messy and irrational, and that side of human nature is worth representing.

The heart character is also useful for asking the questions characters don’t want to think about. The best friend can see why the romantic heroine is sabotaging her relationships, the mother can see why her son is hiding from his friends, the child can ask the innocent questions that only a kid can ask—yet cut right through the BS adults often surround themselves with.

Which character cares for the others, both emotionally and/or physically?

When the protagonist hits the Dark Moment of the Soul or the All is Lost moment in the story, a heart character is often the one who helps them through it. No matter how many mistakes have been made, how many people have been pushed away, or how bad the choices to get there were, the heart character forgives—even if they make the protagonist earn that forgiveness.

The heart of your story will capture the hearts of your readers, so it’s worth spending a little extra time to get this character right. And if you discover you don’t have one—decide which existing character would be stronger if they were a little more emotional and focused on the people around then. You might just find your breakout character readers will love.

Who’s the heart of your story? Who’s the heart of your favorite story?

Find out more about characters and point of view in my book, Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems.

Go step-by-step through revising character and character-related issues, such as two-dimensional characters, inconsistent points of view, too-much backstory, stale dialogue, didactic internalization, and lack of voice. Learn how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix those problems.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems offers five self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you:

• Flesh out weak characters and build strong character arcs
• Find the right amount of backstory to enhance, not bog down, your story
• Determine the best point(s) of view and how to use them to your advantage
• Eliminate empty dialogue and rambling internalization
• Develop character voices and craft unique, individual characters 

Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems starts every workshop with an analysis to pinpoint problem areas and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. It's an easy-to-follow guide to crafting compelling characters, solid points of view, and strong character voices readers will love.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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