The Knife Test (or, What ONE PIECE Taught Me About Writing)
Years and years ago (five to be exact), I did a two part blog series on the sadly defunct author group blog The Magic District called "The Author Toolbox." These two posts contain some of my most fundamental writing beliefs, and while one, The Three Hooks got its own repost on this blog and a mention in 2k to 10k, the Knife Test got sadly left behind.
This must be remedied. For 12 novels now, the Knife Test has been a fundamental part of every character I've written. It's the first and last test for every character arc I create, and it's also a ton of fun to do. So, without further ado, I give you the (freshly updated!) Knife Test, my ultimate trial for any character who wants a place in my books.
The Knife Test
The Knife Test is something I put to all my characters. Nerd that I am, the idea comes from an anime called One Piece, which is just about the greatest show ever. If you can get past its cartoony nature and corny humor, there is an amazing story there. (And if you read my Eli Monpress books, you'll probably recognize a lot of themes. What can I say? Steal from the best!!)
In the show, there’s a character named Zoro whose dream is to be the greatest swordsman in the world. Around the end of season one, he comes across the actual greatest swordsman in the world, a man named Mihawk. Now, Zoro KNOWS he is too short for this ride, but he also knows that he might never get this chance again, so he challenges Mihawk to a duel. (Because, of course, the only way to be the greatest swordsman in the world is to beat the guy who’s already at the top.)
Mihawk refuses. He knows Zoro is way below him in skill. Dueling him would be a waste of everyone's time and most likely Zoro's life. When he sees how determined Zoro is, though, he agrees to fight him, but only with a small dagger.
Zoro is insulted. He has three swords, how you fight that with just a tiny dagger? Mihawk counters that the dagger is all he needs. Seeing that he's not going to get his duel any other way, Zoro reluctantly agrees and the fight begins. Zoro (who has been undefeated in the series up to this point) goes all out, but is still defeated in one stroke. The fight ends with Mihawk holding his tiny dagger lodged in Zoro’s chest.
But even with a dagger in his chest, Zoro doesn't retreat. He just stands there, staring at his opponent. Confused, Mihawk says, “This dagger is an inch from your heart. Why don’t you step back? Do you want to die?”
Zoro looks him straight in the eye and says, “If I were to take even one step back, I’d never be able to stand before you again.”
“Yes," Mihawk says. "It’s called losing.”
And Zoro answers, “That’s why I can’t step back.”
Still probably my favorite fight of all time.
And that, that right there, is the knife test. When the knife is scraping your heart, what do you do? Do play it safe, step back, and live? Or do you refuse to give up on your goals? Do you keep moving forward, even knowing you'll probably die?
This is the ultimate test of conviction. All of my main characters have to pass it, and I have to understand (and more importantly, make the reader understand) why. I put my characters through this test in the initial world building stages, and then again over and over throughout the novel. It's the epitome of show versus tell. It’s not enough for Miranda to say she is dutiful. She has to prove over and over again in a dozen different ways that she will put herself on the line for her duty. She has to face that dagger every time, over and over, and never turn away.
I admire conviction in all people (who doesn't?), but I think it's especially important for characters, both the ones I write and the ones I look for in my pleasure reading. The Knife Test gives me a vehicle to show off that conviction. I don’t just say “Character X cares about Y more than his life”, I make her prove it again and again. (Though, of course, I try not to actually kill the character, because then the story would be over!)
Really, though, the mortality aspect of the test is immaterial. We all know the hero most likely isn’t going to actually die, but we love seeing how close he or she cuts it, and, even better, how on earth they’re ever going to get out of this mess. The Knife Test is just a tool for creating circumstances that test a character's mettle, a mental construct to help me wrap my brain around the tension and conflict needed for great character development. It's my way of asking "What does this character really stand for? What would they die for?" Because once you know circumstance or person your character would walk into a knife for without regret, then you know that person inside and out. Once I've got that, all I have to do is put that character into my story and get out of their way.
Every writer has their own tricks, and this is one of my favorites. I hope you find it useful, or at least interesting! Thank you as always for reading, and I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new Writing Wednesday!
This must be remedied. For 12 novels now, the Knife Test has been a fundamental part of every character I've written. It's the first and last test for every character arc I create, and it's also a ton of fun to do. So, without further ado, I give you the (freshly updated!) Knife Test, my ultimate trial for any character who wants a place in my books.
The Knife Test
The Knife Test is something I put to all my characters. Nerd that I am, the idea comes from an anime called One Piece, which is just about the greatest show ever. If you can get past its cartoony nature and corny humor, there is an amazing story there. (And if you read my Eli Monpress books, you'll probably recognize a lot of themes. What can I say? Steal from the best!!)
In the show, there’s a character named Zoro whose dream is to be the greatest swordsman in the world. Around the end of season one, he comes across the actual greatest swordsman in the world, a man named Mihawk. Now, Zoro KNOWS he is too short for this ride, but he also knows that he might never get this chance again, so he challenges Mihawk to a duel. (Because, of course, the only way to be the greatest swordsman in the world is to beat the guy who’s already at the top.)
Mihawk refuses. He knows Zoro is way below him in skill. Dueling him would be a waste of everyone's time and most likely Zoro's life. When he sees how determined Zoro is, though, he agrees to fight him, but only with a small dagger.
Zoro is insulted. He has three swords, how you fight that with just a tiny dagger? Mihawk counters that the dagger is all he needs. Seeing that he's not going to get his duel any other way, Zoro reluctantly agrees and the fight begins. Zoro (who has been undefeated in the series up to this point) goes all out, but is still defeated in one stroke. The fight ends with Mihawk holding his tiny dagger lodged in Zoro’s chest.
But even with a dagger in his chest, Zoro doesn't retreat. He just stands there, staring at his opponent. Confused, Mihawk says, “This dagger is an inch from your heart. Why don’t you step back? Do you want to die?”
Zoro looks him straight in the eye and says, “If I were to take even one step back, I’d never be able to stand before you again.”
“Yes," Mihawk says. "It’s called losing.”
And Zoro answers, “That’s why I can’t step back.”
Still probably my favorite fight of all time.
And that, that right there, is the knife test. When the knife is scraping your heart, what do you do? Do play it safe, step back, and live? Or do you refuse to give up on your goals? Do you keep moving forward, even knowing you'll probably die?
This is the ultimate test of conviction. All of my main characters have to pass it, and I have to understand (and more importantly, make the reader understand) why. I put my characters through this test in the initial world building stages, and then again over and over throughout the novel. It's the epitome of show versus tell. It’s not enough for Miranda to say she is dutiful. She has to prove over and over again in a dozen different ways that she will put herself on the line for her duty. She has to face that dagger every time, over and over, and never turn away.
I admire conviction in all people (who doesn't?), but I think it's especially important for characters, both the ones I write and the ones I look for in my pleasure reading. The Knife Test gives me a vehicle to show off that conviction. I don’t just say “Character X cares about Y more than his life”, I make her prove it again and again. (Though, of course, I try not to actually kill the character, because then the story would be over!)
Really, though, the mortality aspect of the test is immaterial. We all know the hero most likely isn’t going to actually die, but we love seeing how close he or she cuts it, and, even better, how on earth they’re ever going to get out of this mess. The Knife Test is just a tool for creating circumstances that test a character's mettle, a mental construct to help me wrap my brain around the tension and conflict needed for great character development. It's my way of asking "What does this character really stand for? What would they die for?" Because once you know circumstance or person your character would walk into a knife for without regret, then you know that person inside and out. Once I've got that, all I have to do is put that character into my story and get out of their way.
Every writer has their own tricks, and this is one of my favorites. I hope you find it useful, or at least interesting! Thank you as always for reading, and I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new Writing Wednesday!
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