Wednesday Lumen: The Cost of Getting What You Want

Wednesday Lumen: The Cost of Getting What You Want

A protagonist becomes unforgettable not by conquering the flaw at the crucial moment, but by using it to win and discovering that triumph itself is the seed of collapse.

Two craft techniques at work

1. Misalignment between want and need

The protagonist pursues a concrete external objective while resisting the internal change required to sustain it. The tension between pursuit and blindness generates momentum.

2. Flaw as method

The flaw is the character’s preferred way of solving problems. Under pressure, they rely on it more fiercely.

3. Escalation through choice

Each attempt to secure the goal increases risk, exposure, or moral cost. The scene ends with a decision that alters the future.

Two-hour writing session: 500-word exercise

Write a 500-word scene that unfolds in no more than fifteen minutes of story time. Your protagonist stands on the verge of obtaining something pursued for months or years.

Before drafting, write one private sentence that defines the external objective with precision.

The scene must contain:

A specific, measurable goal that can succeed or fail within the moment.

A behavioral flaw that shapes dialogue, timing, and tactics.

An internal need that remains unspoken yet legible through subtext.

A complication that forces a choice between protecting self-image and risking loss of control.

Constraints:

No explanatory backstory paragraphs.

No naming the internal lesson.

End with an action, not reflection.

Weak execution example:

A novelist wants an agent. She feels insecure because of past rejection. She realizes she needs confidence. During a phone call, she decides to believe in herself. The agent signs her.

This version summarizes rather than dramatizes. The flaw has no behavioral presence. The stakes do not escalate. The outcome carries no cost.

Strong execution sample:

A public defender is about to finalize a plea deal in a high-profile case. His goal is clear: protect his win record and secure a future judgeship. His flaw is moral grandstanding disguised as principle.

In the corridor outside the holding cells, his teenage client insists she covered for her brother. He recognizes that pursuing her claim could dismantle his carefully built case. He lectures her about accountability. He reframes her fear as weakness. He reminds her how tired her mother looks in court. When she hesitates, he lowers his voice and describes the certainty of prison if they gamble on trial.

The deeper need for courage and humility surfaces through absence. He signs the agreement when she nods. He straightens his tie before facing reporters.

The flaw directs every move. The goal is achieved. The cost is ethical and relational.

Evaluation criteria

Clarity of objective. The goal must be urgent and concrete.

Embodied flaw. Remove the flaw and the scene collapses.

Escalation. Each exchange tightens stakes or narrows options.

Subtextual need. Readers infer what must change without being told.

Consequential ending. The final action creates a new imbalance.

Workshopping and revision questions

Where does the protagonist choose image over truth?

What does another character perceive that the protagonist refuses to see?

Which line most clearly exposes the flawed method?

Does the final action feel safe? Push one step further.

What future cost has been quietly set in motion?

Published model

Study the university disciplinary scenes in Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee. The protagonist seeks to preserve dignity and authority. His entitlement shapes every response. His refusal to concede reveals the need for moral reckoning. Each decision expands the damage.

Two-hour structure

Twenty minutes to define the goal, flaw, and hidden need in private notes.

Seventy minutes to draft the real-time scene.

Thirty minutes to cut explanation, heighten escalation, and sharpen the final action.

AI Disclosure Statement:

This writing prompt was created in collaboration with ChatGPT, an AI model by OpenAI, to support creative practice. ChatGPT assisted with idea generation and drafting; the final text was edited by the author. The illustration was created using Google Gemini.