So far my main characters are going on a quest to a place and for most of the story are trying to get there, but nothing really changes about this plot detail from chapter to chapter until the end. So how do I change that?
Jun '22
Aug '22
I'd love to help, but first give me some more details.
you want to move the plot forward but what is the plot?
Surely the plot isn't just them traveling. I assume traveling is a result of the plot and not the other way around.
This is where world building would come in; developing your world enough so it functions outside of your characters. Each location your characters travel to should have its own personality: its history and culture, its own government (if applicable) based on its location in relation to things like landmarks, water, and other places. You don’t need to go all out when it comes to worldbuilding, just enough to make the setting believable.
Also, your antagonists or villains, if you have some, should not be stagnant over the course of the story. Even if the protagonists are not there, they should be doing something to further their own plans.
Lastly, you can give their destination a subplot of its own. Maybe the place is falling apart or being invaded and you can cut to that during lulls in the main plot.
Try to put in more points where the antagonists directly try to stop the heroes. For example, they send mercenaries or thugs to attack them, or they send a spy to try to undermine the unity of the team or lure them into a trap.
Another idea is that during the journey, they learn some vital information or collect items that will help them against the final challenge, or are tested by the four generals of the big bad or something. Having one emissary of the big bad who keeps bothering the heroes is a good way to make the big bad feel like they're intervening without making the big bad look weak by directly failing to stop the heroes over and over.
A common problem in quest narratives is that it feels like the big bad is just sat in a castle at the end waiting for the heroes. Having the characters arrive in a "safe town" they were set to stop in along the way... only to discover the big bad recently destroyed it because their army is progressing faster than the heroes expected, will really add a sense of urgency.
Speaking of urgency, add a ticking clock. "We have to reach the Fortress of Evil before the Winter Solstice or Lord Bad Guy will do the Ritual of Ascendancy and become the Lord of Winter!!!" or "I must get to the Heart of the Everwood before this spreading curse-mark reaches my heart!" feels a lot more urgent than them just kinda... travelling there in their own time. Keep reminding the reader of that ticking clock and have characters seem genuinely concerned about how setbacks are costing them time, of have them need to take risks or use unusual means of transport or short cuts to get there because of time pressure.
The plot is about Heiroe valiant, a great hero who gets dubbed the chosen one, only for the real chosen, named Nobody atall, one to show up out of the blue. But he’s an Oil beast, this worlds equivalent to orcs, so if his chosen one status gets out he will be killed and the world will have no savior. That means that even though Heiroe believes he is the real chosen one, he has to take Nobody on his quest to stop the dark lord.
I actually don’t know what to do with this premise. It unfortunately just sits there for a while, and the moment that makes it important again is the moment the premise breaks because Heiroe reveals the big secret. I don’t know what to put in between the two. I almost had a chapter where Heiroe tried to steal nobody’s eyes because he thinks he’ll gain chosen one powers this way, but scrapped that idea because there’s no way to make a hero that steals peoples eyeballs likable.
Yeah I think that’s one thing the story needs. The world so far is a vague urban future fantasy, and half of the chapters don’t really expand upon the world.
Haha unless you build up to it. and make your audience root for him to get those eyes, Uchiha style. If you watch naruto Itatchi slaughtered his whole village, parents included was a villain and still everyone's favorite.
So you have point A: characters and a mission. And point B: the end game. Sometimes the true plot isn't so much about what needs to be done as it is about the characters themselves. It looks like there is some real potential for character development. I'm not sure if your in to skeletons, as in story structure building tools. Simple bubbles with branching paths.
Heiroe meets Nobody (option 1.) They travel un hindered.
Heiroe meets Nobody (option 2.) They travel and Nobody is abducted. (Or they hate each other instantly and then Heiroe is abducted and Nobody has to detour to save him, and now Heiroe's hatred is misplaced and awkward. ) this branches Option 1: he learns something while abducted. The information sends him.... anywhere... Option 2: he gains some kind of important treasure from his captors, (maybe it's cursed, maybe people are after it, maybe it will help with his mission, maybe its a slave/person that they have to detour to return safely.)
Basically, a web of what if's
I also find that background helps the stories immensely. It gives characters motives and makes them feel real. IT will also drive them forward. My characters drive themselves based off their personalities and sometimes that means I'm detouring a few chapters, or they completely destroy my plans but I let them do what comes natural.
Oh dark lord definitely needs motivation. Also look up the diagram for "hero's journey." A man once wrote a book about how many of the great stories/adventures fits, that path set up. Anything from StarWars, to harry potter, to king Arthur. Just fill in blanks.
I'll piggy back off of @IndigoShirtProd and use my story as an example.
World building.
First a theme and idea: A gothic-esque world filled with vampires.
Next roughly draw out a map of said world or continent. (pencil paper, digital etc.)
Third give some of these places meaning: Some spooky woods, incase I needed them, a dam that could be a political focal point, a church headquarters should I choose religion to play a big role. Doesn't have to be used but there if I need it. etc.
Mine ended up with four main countries Ruled by 4 major vamp houses. I gave each of those four houses a major trait that sums up their personality and rules. "Order loving and iron-fisted control, greedy gluttonous party lovers, savage nomadic raiders, and a sad sullen depressed trade culture. Each ruling vampire has a back story and motives, Each want to effect the world according to their principals. And thus elements in the story sometimes change based off those whims.
You can also use real-world elements to inspire architecture, weapon design, and fashion, in my case I picked loose elements from cultures, (like a Japanese, Spanish, or sea fairing flavor. It affects fighting styles, and aesthetics.
there is a main plot that my characters have largely ignored for their own personal problems, but I try to make sure that it's always hanging over their heads, pushing them towards the end game.
But yeah if you have a map, you can ask Why is this place here? who is here, what do they do here?
Let the world effect your characters and let them respond to it. If you want the world to feel the plot figure out what Mr. Bad guy is doing to your world, and figure out how the world responds to saviors' prophecies and bad guys. let your two joe shmoes get caught up in it.
Clarifying question: what do these two characters want?
Even in a plot-centric story, the big secret to plotting is that the external plot elements ARE character stuff. Every part of the plot should be happening because a character (be it your protagonist, antagonist, etc.) wants something and is trying to get it.
So, you've mentioned two characters here. What strikes me is that the only thing you've told us is what external thing happens to them. But what do these characters want? They had lives before this dubbing-of-chosen ones event happened. What did they think of it? Does one of them want nothing to do with it and immediately does a runner, forcing the other to track him down and conscript him? Is one of them a glory hog with a reckless streak who sees the entire thing as an opportunity to be remembered in song, and so he seeks out every opportunity to do public deeds, regardless of how dangerous or unwise?
We can extrapolate this a bit further. You said that one of them has been dubbed the chosen one even though they aren't actually the real chosen one. Okay, so we have somebody with power who can dub heroes and cares about keeping secrets - what do THEY want? Do they want to ensure that the entire thing goes according to some script, leading them to interfere and stage manage the entire affair? Do they want their chosen one to quietly off the real chosen one and take his place and powers? What will they do to make sure what they want comes to pass?
Going further, you mentioned that the real chosen one's identity is a not only a secret, but on in which if it gets out the REAL CHOSEN ONE will be killed. That's really interesting - normally it's quietly offing the people who know before they can talk, etc. So, who would commit this act, and what do THEY want? Why is it so important to them that the real chosen one act in secret or not at all, to the point that they're willing to throw the entire world they're living in under the bus (including themselves) to ensure it? And what will they do to interfere with the mission to make sure that it plays out according to THEIR script?
So, you've now got four different parties: a dubbed chosen one, a real chosen one who will be murdered if anybody ever finds out what he is, a group that is dubbing a chosen one and managing his quest, and a group that will stop at nothing to keep the real chosen one's identity secret. All of them are going to want different things at different times, and will probably be acting at cross-purposes and getting in each other's way. And that's without taking into account whatever this chosen one has been chosen to fight against (and what does whatever that is want?).
Figure out how they all interact, and you've got your plot.
closed Aug 4, '22
| Topic | Category | Replies | Views | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can you help me fill the blanks? (nvm it’s done) | Answered | 2 | 209 | Sep '24 |
| Scifi Hasn’t been removed actually I’m just sad | Answered | 2 | 353 | Jun '24 |
| Book Cover Won’t Update–Help! | Answered | 1 | 299 | May '24 |
| Deleted - deadline has expired | Answered | 2 | 495 | May '24 |
| What time period should my comic be set in? | Answered | 10 | 282 | Sep '24 |
