Before reading, you can find my bias here.

In my writing, I’ve recognized a framework I keep using over and over, no matter what I write. This framework has three pillars: system, person, and care. I keep returning to systems that reduce people down to function, and care that insists the people are people and not functions.

If you need a general refresher, you can find the overview of this framework here.

Today, I wanted to exmaine the care part of this framework, because care isn’t just loving words or sweeping romantic guestures. So what is care? What kinds of care exists? And how do you show it on the page and across a novel?

What is care?

Care, in the case of my framework, is nothing more than attention for another person turned into action. This can be done out of kindness, or it can be used to manipulate someone. A lover can notice what comforts you, a friend can notice what helps, and a villain can notice what makes you easier to control. None of them are inherently better or worse forms of care (or care-shaped attention) than the other. It depends on what your story needs.

Care can be as big as the ‘I returned to you’-moment at the end of a romance, or it can be as small as ‘I remembered your favorite snack and brought you some because you’re stressed about your deadline’. Care can be done without words, or it can be done with orders (“You need to eat.”). As long as it fits your story, it can be care.

What kind of care exists?

Care is nothing more than the actions people take for another person.

A lover bringing a hairtie because the protagonist forgets hers routinely is care.

A villain bandaging the hero’s feet after taking away their shoes and making them march is care-shaped attention - even if it’s manipulative.

A buddy cop remembering their partner takes coffee with two sugars and a splash of milk despite being angry at them is care.

If you don’t know what kinds of care would exist for your story, pick two characters in your story, and make two lists:

• What does A notice about B?
• What does B notice about A?

There can be overlap in these, there can be stark differences. Think about the characters’ skills, personality, what they would like to receive, what they think is important to the other, etc. to construct your list. Think both big and small.

Now, attach the things they noticed with concrete actions.

• He forgets to eat when he’s focused.

Becomes:

• He forgets to eat when he’s focused.
  • So she brings him food.

Or:

• The hero is always so stubborn
  • He needs to relax, so I, the villain, am going to help him do that. Everyone likes a vacation, right?

Do this for both your lists.

How to show care?

Now that you have a list of care, or care-shaped attention, pick one. How could this show up on the page? If you want to, you can write a little scene.

Keep the following questions in mind:

• What does the giving character notice?
• What do they do with this knowledge?
• What does this action offer, cost, or demand in turn?

Now how do you use this?

Great! You’ve established people can care, and that other people have opinions about that care, but how do you show care in a novel?

You show it with progression:

• The first time the love interest shows up with flowers, but the protagonist is allergic to flowers.
• The second time, the love interest shows up with an ornate gift, but the protagonist has no room for it.
• The third time, the love interest shows up with something practical ‘because I noticed you could use this’.

Suddenly there’s relationship progression, through three different acts of care-shaped attention. The first one was based on stereotypes, the second one didn’t take into account the protagonist’s living situation, and the third one hit the nail on the head - because the love interest paid attention, and acted on that attention.

Conclusion

Care is nothing more than attention to one person leading to action for that one person. How that shows up on the page and the reaction to that care depends on the specific story, but it’s fundamentally about two people paying attention to each other.

So what was your favorite character interaction? Why?

Good luck writing your care!