Character Craft: Wound & Hinge
Now that we’re all clear on what a round character is, let’s turn our attention to one of the many elements that helps to shape not only that character’s journey, but their outlook (and this gets a little into point of view, or POV, but we’ll talk more about that in a future post!).
The story usually begins right when life forces the character into a situation where their old 'wounded' way of behaving no longer works. This helps connect the character work directly to the inciting incident of a story.
Defining the Character Wound
It comes from a past trauma or event.
This trauma can be big T Trauma or little t trauma.
It’s often something the character doesn’t know they carry.
A character’s wound is often tied to their deepest desire. For example, if they want to find belonging, their wound may relate to an event or trauma where they experienced the opposite. Perhaps they were bullied, or felt like a fish out of water. Bullying can be big T trauma and feeling like a fish out of water can be a little t trauma — though this doesn’t have to be the case.
This wound can be something they’re aware of, or something they’re unaware of. Maybe it’s from an event or trauma they’ve suppressed in their memory or perhaps they don’t realize that they were brought up in a home environment that was rife with emotional abuse.
At least, perhaps they don’t realize it until they’re an adult in relationship with other characters or until they have to act with confidence or be decisive…
Character wounds can often make characters say or do things that plunges them into unfavorable circumstances. After all, if a character acting from a wounded place only uses their agency to elevate their situation to more favorable experiences, the story’s narrative drive would fall flat.
The wound also defines the hinge moment, when the character’s desire finally outpaces their fear. This becomes important for the character arc of change. In other words, it breaks down the lie the character believes.
The final thing I want to impart to you about character wounds is that they impact the character’s outlook on their world.
Let’s See it in Action
Let’s look at an example. In Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick’s wound, which he doesn’t realize or understand at first, is that he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love.
We don’t know why, but I’m willing to guess it has something to do with his relationship with his mother because he says:
"That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks: but that I will have a recheat winded in my forehead, or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick, all women shall pardon me"We don’t get much more of his backstory than this, except for when he talks about living as a bachelor soldier with his friend and how he misses the days when he’d see a fellow soldier get excited about new armor instead of love.
And, we can suppose the nature of his wound — believing he’s not deserving of love — when he questions Beatrice loving him… but he quickly becomes convinced of her love because of what he overheard.
Then he decides to change.
Well, things go differently in a play, but this makes a good example of a character wound.
Before this moment in the story, Benedick only treats Beatrice with derision. Yes, he’s flirting with her when he’s insulting her but he’s also, simultaneously, trying to push her far from him to protect his wounded heart.
Only when he becomes convinced that she does love him does he begin to realize he might be worthy of being loved, and then denies to become the very sort of person who is worthy of being loved.
Of course, this all happens very rapidly, and I’m not advocating for that when healing a character’s wound through their journey.
But what we can learn is that Benedick’s outlook on the world is informed by his wound when he says:
"One woman is fair, yet I am well; another is wise, yet
I am well; another virtuous, yet I am well; but till all
graces be in one woman, one woman shall not
come in my grace. Rich she shall be, that’s certain;
wise, or I’ll none; virtuous, or I’ll never cheapen
her; fair, or I’ll never look on her; mild, or come not
near me; noble, or not I for an angel; of good
discourse, an excellent musician, and her hair shall
be of what color it please God."It’s clear he doesn’t think much not only of love (whose fool he is determined not to become), but also of women.
However, after this hinge moment, he says of Beatrice:
"They say the lady is fair; ’tis a truth, I can
bear them witness. And virtuous; ’tis so, I cannot
reprove it. And wise, but for loving me; by my troth,
it is no addition to her wit, nor no great argument of
her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her!"Now he is complimentary, to all but her wit, but that’s more a moment of self-deprecation acknowledging that his wound is still healing than a real detraction of Beatrice’s character.
In other words, Benedick goes from listing a hundred impossible reasons to reject a woman (protecting his wound) to finding every reason to embrace one (following his desire).
And so we see his wound healed. His outlook changes. His arc moves along.
Your Turn
Get professional, deep-dive feedback on your character development.
Are you worried your protagonist feels "flat"? Do you have a great plot but feel like your characters are just moving through the motions? The secret to a "round," unforgettable character lies in the relationship between their Wound and their Agency.
How it Works
When you purchase this intensive, you aren't just getting a proofread. You are getting a structural analysis of your character's soul. To get the most out of our time together, I invite you to prepare the Four Pillars of your character:
The Wound: The past trauma (Big T or little t) that shaped them.
The Lie: The false belief they hold about themselves because of that wound.
The Outlook: How that lie colors their view of the world and others.
The Hinge Moment: The point in your story where their Desire finally outpaces their Fear.
What You Get
In-Line Manuscript Feedback: Detailed comments on your 5-10 page exercise (up to 2,500 words) focusing on character voice, internal logic, and subtext.
Personalized Audio Summary: A 3-5 minute audio recording where I talk through my overall impressions, "aha!" moments, and specific suggestions for your character’s arc. It’s like having a private story meeting with an editor.
The Process
Purchase: Secure your spot by adding this service to your cart.
Personal Outreach: Within 24 hours of purchase, I will personally email you to introduce myself and provide a link to a private folder where you can upload your "Four Pillars" exercise.
The Deep Dive: Once I receive your work, I’ll spend the next 3-5 business days immersing myself in your world.
Delivery: You’ll receive an email with your marked-up manuscript and your custom audio file.
