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@DelightinLife I’m not going to look through allll those posts, so hopefully I’m not repeating anything you’ve already been told. XP
Usually when I have a protagonist with no plot, I a) let it stew for a bit if I have time or b) (if I want to do the story now) I take a look at the character and analyze what sort of conflict he’d need to make him…do protagonist-y stuff. And once I have the conflict or villain idea, I can start building on the villain. What does he want? Why does he want it? Why would the protagonist risk everything to stand in the way of this guy?
And that’s basically what my method is. 🙂Writing Heroes ♦ Writing Hope // janemareeauthor.com.au
*runs in late and stands staring at the gobs of good advice*
I love you people.
@DelightinLife personally, when I’m having plot issues it’s usually a problem with the protagonist. And when I come down to it, it’s usually because he hasn’t got any contradictions. He’s too predictable to do anything unexpected. Every character has something that they want, and something that they need. For instance, I might want to eat cookies, but I need self-control. Usually, what they want clashes with what they need, and the course of the story is played out as a war between those two pieces with the protagonist struggling between them.
Think of every circumstance and person you can throw in his way to intensify that struggle, and plot will pretty much end up happening on its own.@Dragon-snapper, hmm, having a house with wooden chairs in it, if you came over, would be a definite violation of fire codes.
You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)
@DelightinLife Ah, looks like you’re well taken care of here. XD
Actually, I’ve been having trouble with this meself so super-thanks for starting this thread!*is probably geeking out about something*
@delightinlife
I think someone has already said this, but the best way I can think of to start a plot is to create some conflict. Make something go wrong and figure out how the characters can fix the problem. Also, a great way to start is to brainstorm. Think about your characters, your story. It helps. 🙂 Anyway, that’s my brilliant advice. 😉A dreamer who believes in the impossible...and dragons. (INFJ-T)
@kate-flournoy @ingridrd @graciegirl @jane-maree
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and input!
@graciegirl *bows* Thank you. I’m glad I could be of service. 😀By the way, does anyone have any of their thoughts to add to the questions I posted earlier in this topic (about what problems lords had to deal with, and what a spy would do in the Middle Ages?)
Thank you!
Also, I need some more help. 😀
I have a character I love that’s been in my mind for a while and I really want to put him in this story. I guess he has some of the qualities of an ENTJ \ ENTP. I really wanted him to be the spy in my story, but I’m getting frustrated because he doesn’t really fit the context. 😀 Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to play around a little bit and see if I can fit an ENTP\ ENTJ as a medieval spy?
I’m thinking I could change his personality a little bit and not have him be so strong willed (that part makes it hard, because if this character reacts to things because of his strong will and more intense\fiery personality it could blow his cover. 😀 )
Thanks again!!
*streaks into the room and crashes against the far wall, leaving claw marks over the paper as she slides to the ground with a screech*
MY PSYCHOLOGY SENSES ARE TINGLING. I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED.XD
Sorry. Couldn’t resist a dramatic entrance. 😉
Hmmm… Well, if you can push him a little closer to the ENTP side of things, you have the perfect recipe for a spy. But really, any type can be made to fit any role. It’s just a matter of figuring out how they would do it differently. For an ENTP, they love, love, LOVE messing with people. For an ENTP spy, life would probably be one big intellectual game-board just sitting there waiting to be played. I’m thinking less of a sneaky spy, more of a daring one. Crazy plots and counter plots and counter-counter plots, breezing through everything with a charming smirk and leaving confusion in his wake.
A spy doesn’t need a quiet personality. He just needs to trick everyone else into believing he is what he’s not.
Same goes for ENTJ, though I’m thinking an ENTJ would be more into both daring and efficiency. Probably knows all the rule-books by heart and has tossed them aside and made rules of his own and sticks to them with iron determination. Once again. Spies don’t have to be quiet; they just have to avoid getting caught. 😛This is somewhat general; of course a lot depends on the deeper details of the character, but I definitely think you could pull this off as is. *nods**persuasively*
Thank you! That’s awesome! 😀 Great advice. “A spy doesn’t need a quiet personality. He just needs to trick everyone else into believing he is what he’s not.” I didn’t really think about that before, but it’s true. I guess I pictured spies more as having a quiet personality, blending in, more thoughtful, etc.
I’m excited to write about this character, but I’m still a little stuck on the story. *Sighs* I have most of the characters and their relationships in my head so far, but only a vague start of a plot. (Which is why I started this thread. :D)
Would it be ok please, if you do a bit of brainstorming with me for a few minutes? Just to get some ideas, perhaps?
@DelightinLife my pleasure! What can I do to help?
Yay! Thank you!
*Deep breath* Well, let’s see.
Right now one of the ideas I do have for the plot is to have the spy go to the kingdom in which the story takes place, in order to spy out the land to prepare for an attack.
I don’t really want betrayal or treachery in my story, but I need a place to go from there.
A few questions I have been pondering (& have asked my dad, and others on KP) have been:
I love to write in kingdoms set in a world of my creation, with castles kings, and knights, but I do take things from the Middle Ages (like what they drank, ate, and some of the lifestyle, etc) and incorporate them into my stories.
Right now I am stuck because one of my characters is a lord but I’m not entirely sure what kind of things he would do.
What kinds of problems did lords have to deal with in the Middle Ages?
Also, another one of my characters is the spy that comes to prepare for an attack to bring justice, but I have no idea what kinds of things a medieval spy would do. What kinds of things would he try to figure out about the kingdom? What would his first step be upon arriving there?
So that is kind of where I’m at right now, is trying to figure out an interesting plot that does not involve betrayal or treachery and that ties all the characters and their stories together, while making the story itself interesting. (As I like adventure and interesting plots! 🙂 )
Also, I did end up figuring out some direction with what the king and Lord Cedric (the second in command to all the kingdom, kind of like Joesph was to Pharaoh) are doing. Right now, my dad gave me an idea for two lords to be squabbling over resources in the land, which causes a famine (or some lack of food, because one of the resources is grain\crops\good farmland.) The spy might come from that area of the kingdom.
Anyway, I want the spy to come because the king is being unjust and he has a passion for justice, so he is sent to prepare for his army to attack and bring justice.
Some of the other characters I have are a peasant family in the kingdom the spy comes to, Lord Cedric, a lady in the castle (Lord Cedric’s niece) and my main girl protagonist (though I’m not quite sure who she is yet.)
Anyway, I am kind of stuck on where to go from there. The spy comes to the kingdom and will need to find out information, but then I don’t really know what to do next. I don’t want betrayal or treachery in my story, so I don’t want him getting found out, but I do want some conflict. What could be his first step in arriving in the kingdom? What are some possible things that could happen once he arrives that would bring conflict? (Besides betrayal, treachery, or him getting discovered. 😀 )
The last few questions on what the spy would do and how to bring conflict without betrayal or treachery are what I’m particularly stuck on right now. 😀
Thank you!
@DelightinLife wow… *scratches head* Uhh… well, this is properly enormous. 😛
A few possibilities of what could happen to make it exciting… what if he runs into someone he knew in his former life and has to face old sins or maybe just decisions that clash with how he’s living now? How major is this ENTP guy in the story? How important will his character arc be? Does he have one?Any particular reason you don’t want treachery or betrayal? Those are both great tools for bringing out theme and enhancing the message.
Hmm… I really can’t say for certain, dear. I don’t feel like I know enough. But one tip for good conflict— it never comes from the external world. The beliefs and passions of the characters are what drive the conflict. Only because someone believes will they dare to act, transferring their beliefs into reality and clashing with those who oppose them. That’s good conflict. So if you want conflict for this spy, you may not even have to look any further than the next character over. Are there other spies? Does he have to work with anyone? Do they agree on all methods and ethics of their ‘craft’?
Just some questions to get you thinking. 😉
Thank you for the suggestions, and for taking the time to listen!
Hmm, I actually would like the conflict to come more from the present as a spy in this specific kingdom.
Umm, the ENTP guy is my main character. 🙂 So he is pretty major. As for character arc…I think I have some ideas. I don’t usually plan anything before I start writing, I just write and then get an idea for something that happens in the future and make up the middle as I go along. 🙂
So that’s why it’s been harder this time. I first got an idea for this character when acting out a Playmobile story with my sister about a family who lived on a farm and had 25 kids (a lot whom they adopted.) It was really fun to play all the kids personalities and the family aspect of it! The character I made up with more of that personality was a 12 year old boy living on a farm with his 24 brothers and sisters. I loved his character so much I wanted to write about it, but then I have the challenge of putting a character with similar personality from a more modern farm story to a medieval setting as a spy. 😀
I think I have an idea now though, and I am looking forward to writing tomorrow and see!
Yes, I don’t feel peace about including treachery and\or betrayal in my story, so that’s a personal boundary I set for myself a long time ago, and just something I don’t want to write about.
Conflict with other spies…Hmm…I will have to think about that and see. 🙂
Thanks again for brainstorming!
Read you around!
(PS: How do you do certain smily faces, like the face that’s winking or the one with the tongue sticking out? Just curious for future reference 😀 )
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