Stories Need Their Obstacles

After a quiet, snow-filled Thanksgiving weekend, I reentered the world a little worn down and more than likely with some kind of bug. This is not how I wanted to start off my December, but let's be honest: what we want and what we get are rarely the same thing. However, when life gives you lemons... fall on a cliché. So I am going to offer a few notes on why we need our stories to have obstacles.

If I read a biography of, say, President Lincoln, and it covers the Civil War era, I know how it's going to end. If I watch a movie about someone famous, I kind of know they are going to succeed. This is an inherent problem with a lot of stories - there is a baked-in knowledge that the person makes it through. And if the main character is guaranteed to survive and make it to the end, what's the point? Well, that part is where the author has to really work their craft. In a well-written book about, say, Lincoln and the Civil War, the problems and setbacks should be showcased in a way that actually makes me think, "Oh no! They might lose the Battle of Gettysburg! How will the Union survive?" The adversity should become as real to the reader as it was to the Union Army. 

In case you are thinking, "Well, the story I am writing is good on its own; it doesn't need me to showcase the problems," you might want to reconsider. One thing about a character facing problems is that the reader gets to see how that character thinks, feels, and operates when confronting adversity. It is a great chance to invite the reader into the character's head and know them very intimately from their worst possible position. If I read about a character pursuing a goal and the obstacles just seem to rise then fall, why am I concerned about this character? Where is my investment in them? If I feel like everything is a foregone conclusion, then why am I reading this story?

The other part to remember is that obstacles and setbacks shape who the character will be when they reach the end of the story (I won't use the Lincoln metaphor this time for obvious reasons). If my goal is to write about a character's rise to power, and in the end they achieve power, that's great. However, the unknowns the reader will discover are things like how the journey changed the character, what they gained and what they lost, and who they ultimately became. If our character reaches the pinnacle of power but loses their attachment to people, or the journey corrupted them, or they are awash in regret, well, that's a big reveal for the reader to discover. 

Don't be afraid to put your character through trials and tribulations - they help the story and you can make sure the character makes it through. And, if your story is based on real-life events, dig into those events to turn them into things the reader experiences in their own way. Because even if the reader knows the story will end with a bad night at the theater, they will feel like they participated in the story.