by Becca Puglisi
Like many other kids, I got my first job as a babysitter. You’re probably picturing me as a competent, CPR-trained teenager armed with craft supplies and a boatload of determination. But this was 1981, which means I was a whopping nine years old when someone put me in charge of their kids.
Who does that? The mom who couldn’t get anyone else to watch her little hellions, that’s who. Those kids were everywhere, into everything. And they weren’t listening to me, because just the day before, I was making mud pies with them in my backyard.
It wasn’t pretty, but we survived the afternoon. They ate as much ice cream as they wanted, the mom got a few hours to herself, and I walked away (directly to the arcade) with 75 cents in my pocket. In ‘81, we called that winning.
Some days, being an author feels like the same gig. I think I know the characters. I’m sure of their roles and where they need to go in the story. But they just look at me and laugh. No one does what I tell them to do, and I spend most of my time trying to keep them from burning the place down.
Any babysitter worth their salt has a bag of tricks to help them manage the difficult kids, and the same should be true for authors.
BABYSITTING EMOTIONALLY CHALLENGING CHARACTERS
Some of the most challenging characters are those that are emotionally stunted in some way; they’re unable to experience a full range of emotions, or past trauma has forced them into a guarded position that shields them from uncomfortable feelings. The tricks we’d use to motivate a run-of-the-mill character just don’t work.
And this is a problem, because our job is to guide every character through a journey of self-discovery and revelation that will enable them to achieve their goals. But if they’re unwilling or unable to be emotionally vulnerable, they’ll never face their past, work through their issues, and reach that place of healing and fulfillment. So we’ve got to use methods that will provide the necessary learning opportunities and reflective moments. A tool that works really well for this is a strategically employed emotion amplifier.
An emotion amplifier is a specific state or condition that influences what the character feels by disrupting their equilibrium and reducing their ability to think critically. Addiction, confinement, boredom, hunger, and exhaustion are all examples. These states heighten the character’s emotions and make them more volatile, pushing them to act or respond in ways that often create more difficulty. Employ enough amplifiers, and the character’s situation will worse until they eventually hit rock bottom and will be forced to evaluate their situation and themselves.
In short, amplifiers serve as catalysts to push characters into action and propel them along their arc. Because of their universal nature, they’ll work on most characters, but they’re especially helpful with those who fall outside of the emotional norm.
SOCIOPATHS AND PSYCHOPATHS
Like their well-adjusted counterparts, these characters have goals they’re struggling to achieve. Where they differ is that they lack empathy and are less likely to lose emotional control. But at some point, that’s what we need them to do: lose their cool, act rashly, and see the need for change so they can get whatever it is they want.
It takes a bit more work to trigger a blowup for a psychopath or sociopath, but a potent amplifier like pain, arousal, or danger can strong-arm them into an unfiltered or explosive reaction that will start them on the journey to self-awareness.
EMOTIONALLY NUMB CHARACTERS
Characters who are disconnected from their emotions may appear to readers as if they don’t feel anything. Forging connections between readers and these characters is especially challenging; using an amplifier can nudge them toward volatility, producing feelings readers can recognize and relate to.
Another reason amplifiers work well for an emotionally numb character is because of their commonality. The character may be unable to express what they feel in the wake of an amplifier, but if the writer can make the cause and effect clear, readers will be able to fill in the emotional blanks. This works even for amplifiers the reader hasn’t experienced but has heard or read about, such as psychosis or possession.
HIGHLY TRAUMATIZED CHARACTERS
Past trauma is another universal element of the human experience. It can upend a character’s life, sowing dysfunction in key ways.
Painful experiences force characters to emotionally protect themselves, and not always in a good way. They become skilled at keeping people and hurtful situations at a distance, but their methods often cause isolation and difficulty connecting with others.
When negative feelings do break through, unhealthy coping mechanisms like detachment, disassociation, or avoidance keep the character from experiencing them. If this repeated buffering prevents them from working through the past and moving forward in a healthier way, the damage from trauma remains ongoing.
Unresolved trauma can also lead characters to believe they’ll be hurt again if they let their guard down. This outlook erodes one or more of their basic human needs, and the emotional shielding they’ve adopted to protect themselves keeps them from achieving the goals that would bring their needs back into alignment.
A highly traumatized character who isn’t open to healing won’t be able to tackle their past head on, all at once. Instead, their confidence and self-worth must be built up a bit at a time. This can be done by introducing amplifiers the character can successfully navigate.
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Mikhail paces a path in his living room carpet, sweating and aching while substance withdrawal sinks its claws into him. As his anguish increases, his determination to get clean weakens. He scrolls through his mental list of places to get what he needs to take away the pain. Those names, those faces, those places . . . all are waiting beyond his apartment door.
He takes a step toward it.
“Daddy?” A sleep-heavy voice cuts through his thoughts. Abel, in his duck-print onesie, stands in the bedroom doorway. “Can I have a drink?”
“Of course.” Mikhail’s voice cracks and he hurries to the kitchen faucet before Abel sees his tears. Remember why you’re doing this.
While putting the three-year-old back to bed, he notices one of Abel’s stuffed animals on the floor. He carries it to the living room, wedges a chair against the front door, and places the bedraggled giraffe on it. All night, through shakes and fever, he stares at the stuffed toy, an unlikely guardian against the darkness on the other side, until the sun rises and the shadows disperse.
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The trauma that created Mikhail’s addiction is still there, and he may not be ready to work through it yet. But introducing an amplifier in the form of substance withdrawal provides a stepping-stone opportunity for him to successfully navigate just one night of his recovery journey. This gives him strength and purpose, both of which set him up for more growth in the future.
Amplifiers are super useful for getting a character where you need them to go—especially if they’re resistant to change or have some emotional challenges. To get them there, we need to stop babysitting and start life coaching. Use amplifiers to provide opportunities that will help them grow personally, generate tension and conflict in the story, and keep readers glued to the pages.
For more information on amplifiers, challenging characters, and how they can contribute to character growth (and steer story structure, generate conflict…the list goes on!), keep an eye out for the 2nd edition of The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus, releasing on May 13th.
by Becca Puglisi (@beccapuglisi) April 21, 2024
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What about you, scriveners? Do you use emotion amplifiers? How do you deal with emotionally challenging characters? What are the most challenging characters for you to write? Check out Becca’s post on redeeming your villain.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and other resources for writers. Her books have sold over 1 million copies and are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online resource for authors that’s home to the Character Builder and Storyteller’s Roadmap tools.
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
THE EMOTION AMPLIFIER THESAURUS:
A Writer’s Guide to Character Stress and Volatility
STRESS YOUR CHARACTERS TO THEIR LIMITS
Characters who are in control of their emotions rarely slip up, which makes for boring reading. To avoid that pitfall, channel your dark side and introduce stress. That will make it harder for them to think clearly. Your weapon of choice? An amplifier. Pain, arousal, dehydration — conditions and states like these make it difficult for a character to emotionally self-regulate. This sets them up for overreactions, misjudgments, and (hopefully) colossal mistakes they’ll have to fix and learn from.
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featured image by Andre Hunter for Unsplash
Great storytelling advice, Becca. Thanks.
Sort of on the topic, I’m creating a series where I’ve used a unique tool to help develop the main characters. I’ve plugged them into Jordan Peterson’s online psychological assessment tool that analyzes their Big 5 personality and emotional traits. It’s amazing how this helps with clarity in understanding what makes these characters tick.
And, yes, I know I’m going to enrage the haters by using the JP word. Happy Sunday to you, Ruth, and Anne!
To Garry Rodgers: I’ve always loved the idea of using personality tests to help us get to know our characters. They typically tell you not only their strengths but their common weaknesses, which can be great to exploit. /evil cackle… Becca (The WordPress elves aren’t letting Becca respond to comments anymore. No idea why, which is why Anne is pasting them in here. Grrr. 🙁 )
Hello Anne & Becca,
Fascinating stuff. I haven’t previously heard the term “emotion amplifiers” but I certainly have employed them. Thanks for giving me new vocabulary & a new way to think about such things.
To CS Perryess: This is why we’re getting the word out! Amplifiers aren’t something most writers know about—though, like you, they’re likely already using them. But as with most aspects of storytelling, they work a lot better when we’re aware of them and are using them deliberately. (from Becca)
Wonderful advice, Becca. I do subscribe to the Writers Helping Writers blog and have found a wealth of information.
You are right that we can’t keep putting characters in the same situations and expect them to change. We have to mix it up, provide an AHA moment, not matter how small. Like the stuffed giraffe that gave Mikhail a different focus to help him through the night.
We writers often want big, emotional, splashy moments, when sometimes the most mundane object or action can work as well or better. And, it’s unexpected. Never a bad thing.
Here’s wishing you, Anne, and Ruth a quiet, peaceful Sunday.
To Benda Nichols: You’re so right that we need a variety of experiences to get our characters where they need to go. Explosive events have their place, but some of the most poignant moments come from everyday, commonplace challenges. From Becca.
I had one of those characters who kept everyone at bay and it did take a lot to break through to him. I like the idea of using those amplifiers to make it happen.
To Alexjcavanaugh: Sounds like a great example of a character who could use an amplifier to get him moving the right direction! from Becca
Wonderful post and explanation of emotional amplifiers. I could also so relate to babysitting at nine years old. I hear babysitters are making as much as $25 an hour now. Maybe a good part-time gig. 🙂
To djkaye: It’s true. The first time I had to hire a babysitter myself, I almost died. Would’ve been cheaper to stay home, lol. (from Becca.)
Lol, no kidding! 🙂
The babysitting story cracked me up, Becca! Terrific explanation of emotional amplifiers. I use past trauma a lot for one main character. Though she puts on a confident front, she’s broken inside.
The 80s were full of great content, lol
Rosalyn, babysitter for Calvin and Hobbes, is getting more than that. And earning every dime.
She certainly worked hard for the money ;).