Once you've explored all of the relevant ideas for writing a book,and believe you have the foundation for your story well in hand, it is time to get down the task of actually writing your book. As I have touched on in other articles, characters are a vital element associated with this process. But an equally important feature is plot structure. How does one develop a plot that is engaging enough to keep your readers turning pages? In my mind, the answer to this question still revolves around charaters: knowing how they are going to act in a fixed set of circumstances and, most pointedly, knowing what they need.
Let's face it: knowing what drives your characters has more to do with making a captivating plot than almost anything else. That's because understanding this key piece of knowledge helps you with the second critical element of plot development: creating conflict.
Let's suppose as an example that your lead character is a soldier who has been injured in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also imagine he thinks foul play is connected with his injuries; he thinks they were the result of another soldier wanting to eliminate himâ€"perhaps someone who's got something to gain by his dying.
What is our protagonist inclined to do with this information? Here's where conflict comes in. Does he investigate the circumstances and have a conversation with the person he thinks is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does have this knowledge, will confronting this person be enough. Maybe our hero suspects a companion he joined the division with, one he discovers has been having an affair with his bride. This of course would add a whole new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will unavoidably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the numerous roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be compelled to keep turning pages to discover how things are going to turn out. Additionally, as your personality responds to these hurdles, he will endure change, another strong facet of plot development, and a key to engineering great suspense. How will these conflicts change him? Can he remain a good individual and use restraint when he learns that his wife has been cheating on him with his best friend and that this supposed ally attempted to kill him? Or, conversely, will he do something to try and settle the score?
However you decide to end your story, if it's done properly it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that's the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
Let's face it: knowing what drives your characters has more to do with making a captivating plot than almost anything else. That's because understanding this key piece of knowledge helps you with the second critical element of plot development: creating conflict.
Let's suppose as an example that your lead character is a soldier who has been injured in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also imagine he thinks foul play is connected with his injuries; he thinks they were the result of another soldier wanting to eliminate himâ€"perhaps someone who's got something to gain by his dying.
What is our protagonist inclined to do with this information? Here's where conflict comes in. Does he investigate the circumstances and have a conversation with the person he thinks is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does have this knowledge, will confronting this person be enough. Maybe our hero suspects a companion he joined the division with, one he discovers has been having an affair with his bride. This of course would add a whole new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will unavoidably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the numerous roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be compelled to keep turning pages to discover how things are going to turn out. Additionally, as your personality responds to these hurdles, he will endure change, another strong facet of plot development, and a key to engineering great suspense. How will these conflicts change him? Can he remain a good individual and use restraint when he learns that his wife has been cheating on him with his best friend and that this supposed ally attempted to kill him? Or, conversely, will he do something to try and settle the score?
However you decide to end your story, if it's done properly it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that's the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
About the Author:
Michael Snow is the writer of ZION'S WEB, the premier novel in the Zachariah Burton detective series. As well as writing novels, Michael maintains a blog site which contains some engaging and illuminating blogs including tips on writing a book.
No comments:
Post a Comment