June 2025 …
As part of the editing process for Trials of Henry I have drawn advice and guidelines from various references about the craft of writing. One piece of advice came from The Secrets of Character by Matt Bird (Writers Digest Books). He provides a large range of traits and attributes that could be assigned to a character to help the author ensure the character connect with readers.
One suggestion is that the main characters should have a personal philosophy or belief that guides their thinking. The novel or story reveals the character applying the belief while in pursuit of a personal goal and overcoming obstacles to that goal.
I can’t interview Henry Wirz, but I can reflect on his actions, as I have written them, to identify what his underlying philosophy may have been. I created a motto ‘A man’s honour is in the promises he keeps.’ This became the natural springboard for many consequences. It reveals the underpinning belief that if a person makes a promise, they will feel an intense personal obligation to meet that promise. That promise could extend to supporting another person in their goals – which leads to an obligation of loyalty. If that promise is given to a manipulative person, then the manipulator may use the personal philosophy of the one who made the promise, as a means to actions that dominate the promiser’s thinking and actions.
This can create a deep internal conflict in the one who made the promise, as their goals become sidelined.
In the case of Henry Wirz, his loyalty is demanded by his father, sidelining Henry’s dreams of becoming a doctor or a priest. Henry’s loyalty lands him in debtors’ prison, cut off from his family. He is permitted to leave jail early by going into exile for twelve years – which results in becoming even more cut off from his family. Henry arrives in America and marries a widow who helps him to realise childhood dream to become a doctor.
When the American Civil War commences, Henry feels great loyalty to Confederacy which gave him his new home, so he signs up. His wife extracts a promise that he won’t serve in combat. Henry gets noticed by a high-ranking General who learns of the goal to avoid combat. This leads Henry to being assigned a range of murky tasks. At one stage, he becomes wounded and his wife begs him to resign – but the manipulative General expects Henry to do ‘one more thing’ to demonstrate loyalty to him and to the Confederacy.
The war ends, the General dies of a heart attack, and Henry lands in a military prison, again cut off from the world. In his battle to answer charges of war crimes, he comes to realise his dogmatic adherence to his motto was flawed and has left him in a parlous state.
For me as the author, identifying a motto or personal philosophy for Henry revealed not only the core of the story I was writing, but also the path for his character to evolve, and the natural, plausible sources of conflict the protagonist must face to achieve his goals.
As I have recounted in previous posts, reflecting on my novel’s main characters has also led me to reflect on myself. In this case, I have come to recognise that blindly adhering to a personal belief can lead to flawed thinking. While it is helpful to have guiding personal philosophies, it is also important to assess them from time to time to ensure they are not drawing us to an unhealthy or flawed place.