Chemistry is Everything

If you’ve ever been job-hunting (and you're more than a couple of decades old) you know the digital age has created a huge change in the process. You have to fill out an application online, or you have to submit your resume to hundreds of online job boards where employment software will sift through the candidates before a real person ever sees them. You are just one of thousands. You have to know how to design your resume correctly and put the right words to get attention, but not too many power words. There’s a science behind it.

A candidate could have the perfect resume and all the right credentials but when he or she goes for the interview the chemistry is missing, and so the search continues.

(I’ll clarify here that when I use the word “chemistry” I’m referring to how people connect in general, how personalities click. I’m not limiting the word to the chemistry of physical attraction one would hope is present in a romantic relationship.)

When my daughter was looking for her first job as a teenager, my husband used a few old-school techniques and drove her around town to apply in person. Most places told her she’d have to apply online, sure, but there was one place where she actually met the manager and that person liked her.

They connected.

The manager, like all the rest, requested that my daughter apply online to fulfill their company requirements, go through their process. The manger remembered  my daughter and searched for her online application. New to the job market, no experience to speak of, my daughter landed her job all because of chemistry.

Chemistry is everything in life. It is everything in story. You can have a great plot and all the correct twists. You can have complex characters, but if those characters don’t have chemistry between them, the story won’t work. I’ll even take things a step further and say you can be missing a strong plot but if you have the right chemistry between your characters, they can carry the story and make it great.

It affects everything about the story—the dialogue, the conflict and even the ending won’t have that satisfying feeling if the chemistry isn’t working. 

Again, I’m not talking only romantic tension. All the characters--not just those involved in romance--have to  have positive or negative tension or energy that doesn’t clang or grate, but fits together well enough to make the story sing.

That’s a tough one because as writers, how do we make sure all our characters have the right chemistry?

Often it’s like in real life. It is or it isn’t. It’s either there or it’s not.

I started thinking along these lines last night when I watched the movie What Happens in Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. This isn’t a movie I would normally choose to watch because the title put me off a little, but it was on and I ended up being pulled into the story because the actors had great chemistry. Then a behind the scenes special came on where they discussed this topic. The creators talked about choosing the characters—not just the romantic interests but their sidekicks who hated each other—based on the chemistry they had. They claimed the chemistry between the characters carried the movie.

They're right. I considered, too, how many books I haven’t liked or movies I’ve hated because that important element was off.

Stars Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones comes immediately to mind. Remember that one? Anakin is now ten years older and he meets Padme again and they fall in love. The chemistry between those two was horrid. In this case we are talking about romantic chemistry. (We won’t talk about the acting) I could hardly stand to watch because the characters lacked chemistry between them.

I’m having that trouble in a story I’m working on. I have everything in place but there is something off between my hero and heroine. Nothing I can put my finger on specifically, but the chemistry just isn’t there.

My answer to this is to keep working with them, molding and shaping them, changing them out if necessary until I find the right “actors” for my story. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

How important do you think chemistry is? Can you think of movies or books where you felt the characters had the best chemistry? The worst?

Post a comment with your thoughts on the topic and I'll enter you in the drawing for my upcoming July release--Riptide! Don't forget that I need your email address in order to contact you. Once I've drawn a name and made contact, you have one week to reply back or I'll need to pick another winner. I'll send you a copy when I receive my author copies.

TREASURE HUNT

Two surprises await high-stakes repo man Jake Jacobson on his latest job. First, old flame Kelsey Chambers. Second, gunfire! Seizing the luxury yacht should have been easy, but he hadn't planned on Kelsey's appearance. or that smugglers would hijack the vessel to find an antique map hidden on board.

The map is Jake and Kelsey's only leverage...but it carries a price. Without it, they're as good as dead. With it, they're the target of a relentless hunt. Their failed relationship has Kelsey afraid to rely on Jake again. Can she count on him with their lives on the line?

Blessings!
Beth