Lessons in Courage from Novels
By JoAnn Ainsworth Maybe you’re like me in this way. I learn life lessons from book characters who show courage in the face of adversity. When a heroine gets herself out of hot water, I say to myself, “I should try that.” My stories are about people going about everyday life. Something slams into them that knocks them of kilter. It could be a scheming person or a physical threat or Mother Nature acting up. Whatever the cause, my heroines must respond. There’s no getting away from it. Just how she’ll respond is something I often don’t know until I start writing the scene. It’s one of the aspects I like best about writing. I know the crisis I’m going to throw at the heroine, but I don’t always know how she’s going to face it. Will she crumble? Will she fight back? Will she take another direction or turn a blind eye? I know where I want the story to go, but that character might not be the one to take me there. The answer comes from the heroine hers...