That's quite a question. Everybody has mojo. Some have it to a different extent than others, and are able to use it to their advantage. I have mojo but have refrained from using it because it is like a loaded gun. Use it unwisely and people will avoid you. Trot it out at an inappropriate moment and whatever situation you are trying to effect may spiral out of your control. And that brings us to why I am writing about mojo in a blog dedicated to helping my readers understand how and why I write.
The reason for it is that I try to create characters who have mojo and show what happens to them when they use it wisely or unwisely. Sometimes it may seem that a character doesn't have much in the way of mojo, but if the reader pays attention to what the character does, they will see that he has restrained himself in its use, only letting the genie out of the bottle when it is absolutely necessary. Just like using a weapon. For instance, in a disagreement with a neighbor, you don't pull a gun or knife because he or she won't keep their dog from pooping in your yard. If you turn a water hose on the dog to drive it away when it's pooping in your yard and your neighbor comes after you with a pickaxe and murder in his eye, then you pull a gun. And, so it is with mojo. Maybe that analogy was a little too strong, I would never use a gun on a neighbor unless forced by circumstances to do so in order to protect myself or others.
Now, of course, whats-is-name made the expression popular with his movies, but the way he referred to it was distasteful. With mojo, you have to be careful. Its improper use may leave people thinking of the character, or a person, as arrogant and overbearing. With the proper application, mojo can smooth the way for a character. Its unconscious use is always to be preferred. For the longest time as a young man, I was inexplicably successful where the opposite sex was concerned and always found myself at a loss to explain it. Then one evening, as I was wrapping up my prize for the night, I was approached by a friend who, in an admiring way, said, "Man! You've got mojo!" It had to be that. I wasn't rich or especially handsome. Maybe it was because I was genuinely interested in the girls I encountered. Whatever it was, it all boils down to the same thing: mojo.
So, yeah, I want my characters to be unaware of their mojo and use it unconsciously as a natural course of living their lives. I think that this adds a touch of realism to the situations they find themselves in and the resolution of their problems. Mojo can help you to create sympathetic characters, but only if you are careful with its application. Write a character who seems to care for nothing but what he wants and you are creating a character who misuses his mojo. It makes him unlikeable and the readers won't want to read about him. At least, they won't unless you make him a villain. I can't imagine him being a hero. Maybe he could be, but if he doesn't care about the others in the story, then he will seem hollow. So, in closing, I say, beef up your characters; give them mojo.
Thank you,
Derek A. Murphy
Author of The Empty Heart: A Collection, Congruencies and others.
Available on Kindle
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