One thing you need to concentrate on when plotting your story is what Lawrence Block called the "would-he-really?" question. There's an art to this. As a writer, you owe it to your story and to your readers to make incidents "the most interesting choice", but you also need to pay attention to "would-he-really?" The questions you put to yourself as you write go as follows:
What could happen now?
What is the most interesting thing to have happen now?
What is the most likely thing to have happen now?
Then comes the important part: "Given this character, in this situation, would s/he really do this most interesting thing?
If the answer is "No", then you have to change the imperative to make it work. That is, you fix things so the obvious thing (which is usually not interesting) becomes impossible or less likely. For example, if people are outside a burning building, the most likely thing is for them to stand there and gawk. The most interesting things are either to leave immediately or else to enter the burning building. Under what circumstances would the character choose one of these interesting alternatives?
What could happen now?
What is the most interesting thing to have happen now?
What is the most likely thing to have happen now?
Then comes the important part: "Given this character, in this situation, would s/he really do this most interesting thing?
If the answer is "No", then you have to change the imperative to make it work. That is, you fix things so the obvious thing (which is usually not interesting) becomes impossible or less likely. For example, if people are outside a burning building, the most likely thing is for them to stand there and gawk. The most interesting things are either to leave immediately or else to enter the burning building. Under what circumstances would the character choose one of these interesting alternatives?
RSS Feed
