The Difference Between a Task and a Goal When Plotting

By Janice Hardy

Does your protagonist really need to do that?

Many writers struggle with plotting because they add “stuff”to a scene without thinking about how that stuff affects the story. They think“All scenes need a goal, so let’s add a goal,” but what they write is a scenewhere someone cleans a room, delivers a package, or walks across the village tograb an ale. It feels like progress since the protagonist is active and moving,but they’re not pursuing a goal. They’re only completing a task.

And tasks aren’t compelling. They’re filler disguised as plot.

Tasks might fill pages, but they don’t fuel the story,because there’s nothing to be gained or lost by completing them. A room getsclean, a package arrives, and an ale is enjoyed, but they have zero effect onhow the story turns out.

What the plot needs, are goals.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com