Oh, Woe Is Me: Strengthening Character Goals

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Characters drive the plot, because they want something badly enough to act to achieve (or avoid) it. But don't make it easy on them.

When I'm plotting a novel, one of the first things I ask is "What does the protagonist want?" It's a critical question to understand my plot and even my novel, because if I don't know the goal, I can't possibly write a novel that illustrates how the character tries to achieve that goal.

And that's what a novel is at the core: a character trying to have their way and get what they want.

What they choose to do is going to create the plot. Why they choose to do it will create the motivations and stakes. Together, characters, motivations, stakes, and plot make readers want to read on. I've found understanding the why make it's a whole lot easier to figure out the what.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com