A great way to get on an intimate basis with the protagonist is to take a tip from actors.
Get into character.
Why would you want to go through all that trouble? You're not playing a part.
You're writing a book.
I'll answer that question with another question.
Why do people read novels? There is more than one answer to that.
But, the main reason is identification.
That's not to say that the plot isn't important.
It is vital.
We will go into plot in detail in future articles.
Yet, the most intriguing plot in the world won't go very far if nobody cares about the characters.
Of all of the characters in your novel, the one that your reader wants most to identify with is the protagonist.
He or she has to have a burning desire that he will risk life and limb to obtain or avoid.
The protagonist's most compelling need will drive the story forward.
The reader will feel what the protagonist feels, want what the protagonist wants, and take the protagonist's journey with her or him from the beginning of the novel to the last word.
That is, if you've done your job.
So, let's listen to what our protagonist has to say and get into character.
If you've read what my author said about me, you know my name is Amanda Chambers.
I am a psychiatrist.
I feel strange and vulnerable sitting on this side of the desk.
It's not just having personal questions asked of me.
I ask this of my patients.
However, I would like to make it perfectly clear that whether they choose to answer the questions or not is always up to their own discretion.
I would, most certainly, never insist that they give me personal information they are uncomfortable about revealing.
Of course, I encourage honesty.
There is no point in them coming to me if they don't wish to tell me the truth.
But, it is always their decision.
Not so, with me.
I must lay everything out for you and my author.
I cannot lie, or even evade the truth.
For me, that is like being stripped naked.
That said; let's get it over with.
Naturally, I don't remember my time in London.
I was only one and a half years old when we moved to Canada.
My sister, Emma, was born about six months later.
I don't think I was much different than most youngsters in that I wanted my own identity, apart from my sister.
I'm not excusing how I treated her.
I wasn't unkind to her, exactly.
I mostly pretended she wasn't there.
I know that wasn't nice.
I wish I could change that part of my history, but I can't.
My parents think I'm responsible for her death.
I can't say that I blame them.
I knew she needed me.
I knew she had a problem with alcohol.
She was insecure and awkward.
She looked to me for help.
What did I do? I ignored her.
I was disgusted by her drunkenness, and I'm sure she knew it.
I could have helped her.
She listened to me.
I could have gotten her into treatment.
I did nothing at all to help.
If only I had given her a ride home that night, she would be alive.
As it is, we don't even know what happened to her or where she ended up.
I didn't take her home.
I didn't even make an honest effort to find out what happened to her that night.
Of course, my parents blame me.
It was my fault.
To make things even worse, after letting my sister die and hurting my parents so badly, I end up with an alcoholic husband.
I know all the psychological reasons why children of alcoholics get into those kinds of relationships.
I was on guard for that.
I swore I would never be with anyone who had a drug or alcohol problem.
That's why I delayed getting into a serious relationship for so long.
I wanted to be certain of what I was doing.
Still, I messed it up.
But, I'm not going to abandon him the way I abandoned my sister.
Maybe it's karma.
He doesn't always treat me well.
I won't walk away, though.
I got myself into it and I deserve what I have.
So, that's that.
I try not to get too emotional about life.
I analyze things as logically as I can.
I strive to maintain as much control as possible.
Before I go, my author wants me to explain my most compelling need.
You might thing it's getting forgiveness from my parents, or having a more loving, functional marriage.
While both of those things would be wonderful, they aren't the things that would relieve this horrible sadness I carry with me all of the time.
I don't know how I feel about life after death.
They say that energy can never be created or destroyed.
It can only change forms.
If that's true, maybe my sister is still around in some capacity.
What I want more than anything in the world is to show her how much I love her.
I want her to know that I miss her and I am so sorry for how I treated her.
If there was some way I could show that to her, if I could make it up to her in even the smallest of gestures, I might not have to carry this heavy brick around in my heart for the rest of my life.
Now, we understand our protagonist and her needs.
We know how the heavy burden of guilt has affected her and how far she will go to rid herself of it.
She is deeply wounded.
This gives her an opportunity for growth, which is something we must have for our protagonist.