Here's
some good advice: keep your plot unpredictable. While that's easy
to say, it's not so easy to do.
I
picked up a great tip on this challenge recently: use your critique
partners, not just for review, but for breaking through those tough plot
bottlenecks.
Try
this exercise: set the stage (your MC had a huge fight with her best
friend), and ask your critique partners what might happen.
Wait for the first answer (she storms off and
refuses to talk?) and avoid this at
all costs: the predictable plot.
Delve deeper, seek
alternatives. Brainstorm more answers with your partner. Does
your MC tell other friends her side of the story, so that the basketball
team shows its divided loyalties? Maybe. Does she cry on a
badboy’s shoulder – the badboy her friend has crush on? Or maybe she’s
so upset, she steals her father’s car to get as far away from the fight as
possible… What happens then? Where does she go? That’s what
everyone wants to know and where you should drive your plot.
You’re the writer, the
creator, the omniscient presence, the grown-up. You
drive. Drive your main character crazy. Test her, push her, force
her to learn through doing, just like real life.
Remember: “Your main
character is not your best friend.” You are not only allowed to
put this ‘person’ into uncomfortable situations, you are supposed
to. That’s your job.
Keep at it: tease,
challenge and frustrate your characters. That’s when you’ll see what
they’re really about. At some point you’ll be able to take your hands off
the wheel and let them lead you on their journey of self-discovery and
change.
Then you’ll have arrived at an interesting
story.
Lots of good advice here, Julie! I am thinking and wndering a lot about your basic premise though: Avoid a predictable plot at all costs. While I agree that a predictable plot can be a bad thing, I wonder, can a super-unpredictable plot be bad as well?
ReplyDeleteRecently I read a book (for grown ups), that went off in such an unpredictable direction in it's final section. As a reader, this really annoyed me (as it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the book).
Also recently, I was watching a television program , I said, "Their car is going to get stolen". "What?" exclaimed my husband... but sure enough, a few seconds later it did. Being able to predict this (but not too easily) gave me a fun sense of satisfaction as a viewer.
So, I guess I agree that you want to avoid being TOO predictable (but young readers can enjoy making a prediction that comes true too :o)!
Thanks for an interesting post, Julie.
ReplyDeleteBesides keeping your plot unpredictable, it's also important to keep your character imperfect. A quirk or habit will make your character much more believable and interesting!
Good comments. I agree with you Brianna -- TOO unpredictable is also unbelievable. And it has to be believable to be a good story.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Sharon, nobody's perfect, and characters should not be either!
Another reason to be in a good critique group! Open-ended discussions provide the author with all sorts of choices/suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of "good" first impulses. I have to work at letting my characters be unpredictably bad. But, when I do let them make mistakes, it's so much more fun for me as a writer!
ReplyDelete