You have Character A and Character B. You have them in Place at Time. What you don’t have is your plot. You turn to the tried-and-true method: giving your characters a goal. The idea behind pointing your characters towards a goal is to give them a motivation. Character motivation is the reason a character does… Continue reading Why Character Goals Aren’t Driving Your Plot
Tag: plot driven
Character vs. Plot Driven
When it comes to moving your story forward there are usually two driving forces: plot and character. Because each one drives the events in a story a little differently, this gives us plot-driven and character driven stories. With plot-driven stories, the events drive each other forward. High taxes from the king cause a famine in… Continue reading Character vs. Plot Driven
Plot: Recovery of a Loved One
The recovery of a loved one scenario provides a goal right from the outset, which can make it useful for plot-driven stories. You can check out the other plot scenarios here. A seeker attempts to find the lost one. When thinking about roles and how your characters fill them, this breaks down pretty easily. You… Continue reading Plot: Recovery of a Loved One
Plot: Faulty Judgement
In many ways, a faulty judgement scenario is very much like mistaken jealousy. However, in the case of faulty judgement the focus may be on the actions that need judging, rather than the outcome. You can check out the other plot scenarios here. A judge passes blame onto the victim instead of the guilty as… Continue reading Plot: Faulty Judgement
Plot: Mistaken Jealousy
Mistaken jealousy takes a little bit to understand as a plot, but becomes a wonderful scenario for character and plot-driven stories once you do. You can check out the other plot scenarios here. A jealous person covets a possession belonging to an accomplice due to the interference of an adversary or mistake. Role-wise this is… Continue reading Plot: Mistaken Jealousy
The Written Vixen 