When Things Are Far More Than Just Things

By Patricia Crisafulli, @TrishCrisafulli

I was on my way to a writers’ conference where I was teaching a workshop on the objective correlative—a rather complicated way of saying “things that are far more than just things” because they trigger emotions in characters and readers, alike. The night before, I had combed my memory and my bookshelves for what I thought were three solid examples: the stolen painting in Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, the sorcerer’s stone in Harry Potter, and “Rosebud,” the little wooden sled in Citizen Kane.

Then, at a stoplight, about fifteen minutes away from the workshop, I absentmindedly reached for the amethyst pendant I had put on that morning. Fingering the stone, I fondly recalled how my late father had given me this necklace many years ago. Suddenly, I remembered something else.

Decades ago, when I was a twenty-something living in New York, my mother paid an impromptu visit. Before she arrived, I hid several pieces of jewelry, including the amethyst pendant, because I didn’t want her to see the presents Dad had been sending to cheer me up during a difficult time. Against the backdrop of my parents’ turbulent marriage, I feared that jewelry could spark a conflict between Mother and me and spoil the weekend.

Soon after Mother arrived, though, I felt uneasy. I told her about the jewelry—and about quite a few other things in our family dynamic that troubled me as well. She listened intently, told me not to worry, and we proceeded to have a really good weekend. A short while later, Mother told me a secret of her own. She had stage four cancer. Three and a half months later, she died.

All those emotions contained in that simple pendant on a gold chain. Here was my objective correlative and, although I felt vulnerable sharing it, I told this story at the workshop. I was particularly gratified when, during some free writing time, several people came up to me and shared their own discoveries after reflecting on the objects in their lives.

The Power of Things

For essayists and memoirists, following the trail of emotions triggered by a scrapbook, an old photograph, or other memento can lead to stories waiting to be told. Similarly, as fiction writers—and, more specifically, as mystery novelists—we can tap into the power of things to reveal the emotional landscape of our stories, from heartbreaking loss to toxic greed. In fact, the way our characters interact with things reveal far more about them than any description.

Here are some thoughts for making the most of the things that are far more than just things.

• The Thing Itself. Objects are part of our stories’ settings—perhaps antique china on the table and lacy curtains at the window, or maybe dented garbage cans heaped with refuse outside the grimy door of a bar. But that’s only description. Somewhere in the mix there may be an emotionally charged object—a cherished memento, a lucky talisman, a beloved heirloom—that means far more. In my Ohnita Harbor Mysteries, I create fictional artifacts that feature prominently in each of my novels—a 14^th century medieval cross, a 19^th century nautical schematic, and, in my upcoming work, a Revolutionary War-era spy map. I devise a provenance for each, tracing its supposed path through history. But more important to the story is how these artifacts come to life as my characters interact with them.
• What’s the Emotion? By triggering emotions, a thing becomes more than a thing—and an object reaches the status of objective correlative. It could be longing for a simpler time, adoration of a loved one, sadness over lost innocence, the joy of a perfect day—and so much more. The opposite is also true—aversion, disdain, or downright hatred triggered by an object and everything associated with it. In my Secrets of Ohnita Harbor, a medieval artifact found in a pile of rummage sale donations evokes awe in some characters, religious fervor in others, and, for the antagonist, murderous greed.
• From Emotion to Motivation. As emotions are stirred for the characters, there’s a shift in motivation. Suddenly, a character is off on a quest to find a lost object—and maybe to find themselves in the process. Or a character may be so blinded by desire for the object (and the monetary value or status it conveys) that they’ll stop at nothing to possess it. Along the way, there’s sure to be entanglement or even danger. It’s not just an intellectual process of uncovering clues and piecing them together. It’s an emotionally wrought experience triggered by a thing that’s far more than just a thing.
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Patricia Crisafulli is a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning fiction writer. She launched her Ohnita Harbor Mystery Series with The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor (Woodhall Press, 2022) followed by the sequel, The Secrets of Still Waters Chasm. Her third book in the series, The Secrets of the Old Post Cemetery, will be released by Woodhall in fall 2025.

Image by Aleksander Polanowski from Pixabay