“Third, deliberate practice involves challenging yourself to move past the things you can do easily and into the realm of what you can’t do, or can’t do well.” (Barbara Baig, Spellbinding Sentences)
Writing Exercise: Pushing Beyond Comfort in Character Development
Key Techniques Illustrated by the Quotation
1. Deepening Emotional Complexity – A strong character isn’t just defined by their actions but by the emotional contradictions and psychological nuances they navigate. Deliberate practice requires pushing characters beyond predictable reactions.
2. Writing Beyond Familiar Voices – Many writers gravitate toward familiar character types or perspectives. True growth happens when we step into voices, experiences, or psychological spaces that feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable.
3. Unresolved Tension in Character Arcs – Writers often resolve internal conflict too neatly or too quickly. Deliberate practice requires exploring what the character can’t yet resolve, what they struggle to articulate, and how that struggle shapes them.
500-Word Writing Prompt
Write a scene in which a character is forced to confront a personal weakness they’ve long avoided. This moment should not be an external crisis (e.g., a house fire or a bank robbery) but rather an intimate confrontation with their own limitations—whether it’s their inability to forgive, their struggle with self-worth, or a truth about themselves they refuse to accept.
The scene must:
• Take place in a setting that reflects or intensifies the character’s struggle.
• Include a secondary character who unknowingly (or knowingly) challenges the protagonist in a way that forces them toward discomfort.
• Avoid easy resolutions—by the end of the scene, the protagonist should still be grappling with their flaw, even if they’ve had a moment of self-awareness.
Example of a Weak Response:
• A character realizes they need to apologize and does so immediately, feeling relief.
• The internal conflict is spelled out directly with little subtext.
• The scene lacks specificity—generic emotions rather than distinct personal stakes.
Example of a Strong Response:
• A character is confronted with an apology they know they should give but can’t bring themselves to say, revealing their deeper fear of vulnerability.
• Internal conflict plays out in small, telling details—a clenched fist, a memory that intrudes at the worst moment, a line of dialogue that comes out harsher than intended.
• The secondary character’s presence complicates the protagonist’s emotional state rather than simply acting as a sounding board.
Evaluation Criteria for a Successful Response
• Emotional Depth: Does the character experience real struggle with their limitation, rather than an easy realization or resolution?
• Psychological Specificity: Are the character’s thoughts, reactions, and hesitations deeply personal rather than generic?
• Unresolved Complexity: By the end of the scene, is the character still struggling in some way, rather than arriving at a clean epiphany?
• Engagement with Setting: Does the setting heighten the tension or reflect the character’s internal state?
• Authenticity in Dialogue and Subtext: Does the interaction between characters feel layered, with meaning lurking beneath what is said?
Follow-Up Questions for Workshopping and Revision
1. Where does the character resist change, and how does that resistance manifest on the page?
2. Are there any moments where the character’s inner struggle is too obvious or too hidden?
3. How does the secondary character challenge, rather than merely support, the protagonist?
4. What details could be refined to better show internal conflict without over-explaining?
5. Does the setting feel like an active participant in the emotional stakes of the scene?
Recommended Reading
“A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri – This story is a masterclass in unresolved emotional tension. It follows a couple navigating the quiet but deeply painful unraveling of their relationship, forcing them into an emotional confrontation neither of them is fully prepared for. Lahiri’s use of setting (a temporary blackout) heightens the internal and external conflict, making it an ideal study for this exercise.
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