A plot.
Yes, we've got characters, a setting, all those good frilly bits and beautiful descriptions that make our novels leap to life, but our stories ... well, they just aren't happening. Our characters are milling about in this wonderfully detailed world we've created, yet their lives lack direction and meaning.
In short, the only thing that's missing is an actual honest-to-God story.
Why does this happen to us? If you've ever written a novel or story -- but especially if you're writing it under the time-crunch of 50,000 words in 30 days -- it so often happens that our stories never seem to want to take wing. Why is that?
The thing that our plots are missing is that thing we try so desperately to avoid in our own lives: conflict. Think about your own life and how you, if you're like most of us, try to avoid conflict like the plague. We make nice with the person at work who annoys us. We ignore the idiot behind us in traffic laying on his horn because we dared to come to a full stop at the four-way stop. We smile and nod when our boss/co-worker/parent/spouse/significant other/pastor/postman tells us he or she doesn't approve of the level of work we've been doing lately. (Okay, so the analogy breaks down somewhere along the way....)
This is great for our lives, but lousy for our stories. Think about the stories you tell at parties, or the ones told to you at parties -- they're the ones with conflict. Someone cut you off in traffic so you ran them down and gave them a piece of your mind. You tried to take a bath only to have the faucet decide that was the time not to shut off. You wanted to fit in at your local school of witchcraft and wizardry, but there were staff members and students who didn't think you belonged there, as well as a Dark Lord trying to kill you. (Maybe I didn't hear that last one at a party. Hmm...)
The conflict is what makes the stories interesting, both in our own lives, and definitely in the lives of our novels. If your plot seems stuck, try one of these things to get it rolling again:
- Introduce a new character -- The more grating and unlovable the character, the better.
- Cause a problem for your main character -- The plumbing won't work. The car breaks down, making him late for work. A rabid chicken runs off with his wooden leg. Give him a problem that he simply must solve.
- Give him a dream or a nightmare -- I know this seems like a bit of a cop-out, but if it works, it works. Prophetic dreams are nice, as are nightmares about fears your character has. If your character wakes up screaming, so much the better. That's conflict.
- Back your character into a corner -- Literal or figurative, giving your main character no other option than to duke it out in order to save his life, his soul, or his sanity, is a great way to get things moving
is a wonderful book all about noveling in 30 days, and more specifically about National Novel Writing Month itself. It's written by Chris Baty, the guy who founded NaNoWriMo eleven years ago, so it's like getting the actual information straight from the source. You don't have time to read it right now (you should be writing a novel, after all), but once the month's over, click on the link (or the link in the Recommended Reading box at right), go to Amazon and buy a copy, and read it cover to cover (I'd suggest starting with the front cover and working to the back, but to each his own). If you're just underway on your own novel, I wish you luck. It's great to have you along for the ride. You can check out my current word count with the little blue box at the left. Clicking on the box ought to take you to my NaNoWriMo page, as well.
Sunday's post will be all about how to make your characters seem more alive, and what to do if they're D.O.A. You'll also get my regular Saturday Summary post this week, but stay tuned for a special edition (or two or three) from my trip this weekend to the Capital Area Handbell Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. Until then, happy creating, and happy noveling!
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