About Stories

Want Need Ghost Lie

Profile Picture for Philip A. McClimon Philip A. McClimon on

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/your-characters-inner-conflict-want-vs-want/

The Rolling Stones knew it. A character can’t always get what they want, but if they try sometimes, they just might find, they get what they need.

It is also to be noted that what a character wants is often predicated upon a lie that character believes. The “ghost” in the character’s past has traumatized them in such a way that they have set upon a path of healing. The only problem is the trauma had made them believe something that isn’t true, and consequently they seek a remedy that isn’t truly the cure.

This is what I am thinking about today as I toy around with the prospect of beginning the process of beginning the process of a new story. That story is the fourth short story prequel to Emma Spaulding: Paranormal Detective. The want/need, Ghost/Lie dichotomies are a helpful way to “crack” a story and make sure every word counts.

Profile Picture for Philip A. McClimon

Philip A. McClimon is an author who likes to write about the end of the world (post apocalyptic, Sci/Fi), mostly because he thinks the shopping would be awesome (No crowds, everything free). He likes heroes that are the strong, silent type and not necessarily male. By silent he means up until the time there is something snarky to say, usually before, during, and after doing something cool. He writes Urban Fantasy under the name Billy Baltimore for no other reason than that he likes the name. Many of the same rules for his other stories apply to Billy’s, strong silent types, smart mouth, does cool stuff, but these stories take place in a made up town called Hemisphere and involve stuff you only ever hear about on late night conspiracy talk show podcasts, which are, if you think about it, pretty awesome too. So, that’s Phil. He’s not strong, rarely silent, and isn’t known for doing a lot of cool things. But his characters are.