Character Plot Workshopping.

[Caelum]

Upon suggestion, I have reposted this here. It was originally written out in my scrap book, inclusive of continued ramblings on further aspects of writing structure. What would be completely amazing is if anyone cared to take the below and workshop their PC/s with it in this thread. Later I will workshop one or more of my own. Caelum, in particular, requires a complete rehaul of his original structure. Further, if anyone who does so actually wants my input, I will be happy to provide it; but in order to keep my throat intact and from being called a lamo hypocrite, I’ll not critique anyone’s without request. First and foremost: Give your character a goal. Seriously. For the love of all that's holy. Before you do anything else. Give your character a goal. Big or small. Ridiculous or sobering. Sweeping, irrational, epic, selfish, tiny, plain. Obtainable or not. Worthy or not. It fails to matter insolong as it is a goal and it is theirs. This is necessary for a multitude of reasons, but primarily for the fact that: Goal + Conflict = Plot = Story The formula is that simple. That is how any decent writer in the history of the world has achieved success. One of my favorite novels, The Curse of Chalion by Bujold, has a protagonist with a clear, concrete goal that he is striving for the duration of the book. You know what that goal is? To sit down. I kid you not. This is a tale of faith and politics, sweeping histories, intricate world, resonate characters and it is built entirely upon: Protagonist Want to Sit Down + Everything Continually Keeping Him From Doing So = Plot Skeleton = Awesome Story Built Off Of It Frodo wanted to get into Mordor and destroy the ring. Gatsby wanted the girl. The Count of Monte Cristo wanted vengeance. Hamlet wanted to bring his father's murderers to justice. Cersei Lannister wants unthreatened autonomy. Sam wants to eat green eggs and ham. Give your character a goal. Whatever it is. It will keep you moving with them. Which Leads Me to the Second: the Character Diamond I could write a dissertation on this, but this is a pretty good explanation on both what it is and how to do it yourself. I will nutshell here. Characters are people who possess both hard traits and soft traits. Permanent and flexible. There are doubtless many adjectives you could use to describe your character, and many of them can be categorized beneath broader headings. Some of these descriptions are situational and others reflect more constant aspects of the character. You create a character diamond by finding four of the "broader heading" words. Two of them must be reflective of constant traits. The pair of constant traits are divided between positive and negative. The other two broader heading words must be reflective of common yet still situational traits and also divided into a positive and a negative. Example: Dor's constant traits are "loyal" (positive) and "distrusting" (negative). Her situational traits are "direct" (positive) and "flighty" (negative). So what the hell kind of good does this do, right? Easy. In addition to assisting you in developing your character, it works right back into a character's goals and thus their plot and finally their entire story. The constant traits are not supposed to change. They are traits you are to remain true to with your character always, no matter what. (I say that, but I will also now say that they can change but only, only, only the character earns that change through epic plot work.) As these traits will always exist with your character, they enable you to better a) ascertain their goal, b) learn how these traits will both aid and hinder your character toward their goal. In other words: (a)Goal + (b)some of the Roadblocks and grease towards Goal (= Plot = Story) The situational traits do all the things the constant traits do. Use them in the same manner, but what they can do that the constant don't is crucial: they are more inclined to alter and in doing so display the evolution of your character during the course of the story. Third and Finally, Plot Structure 101 This is a pretty good over view of the standard Three Act Plot. I am a big fan of the three act plot versus the Five Act and rare others. As I'm getting tired and feeling incredibly self conscious about all of this, I will stick tonight with the three act. Rule the first - Do not make the mistake of paying attention to plot alone. Plot, I mean, as defined as the series of events that culminate ultimately into the story. If you have created a fully dimensional character (and cast) with goals, these things will happen organically much of the time. Not all of the time, of course, but often enough. The Three Act Plot is broken down as follows: Act One Set the stage. Provide pertinent backstory. Introduce the character/s. End the act with the Turning Point (also known as the conflict and Plot Point One). Act Two The conflict is all up in your business. This act is all about the conflict, the inner and outer journey, the struggle and the fight. Upping the stakes. Speeding up. Momentum. It ends with Plot Point Two (or the Climax or the Second Turning Point) to turn the story in a different direction. It's the "almost lost, last second save", the "holy crap giant secret revealed that changes everything", the "finally got the super magic sword necessary to achieve goal". Act Three Wherein your character either achieves or fails to achieve the Goal. The Three Act Plot (and the Five Act and any other I haven’t rambled annoyingly on about yet) can be layered. Circles within circles or, as Frank Herbert said, plots within plots. You can have one Plot Structure for your whole character and then a Seasonal plot structure inside of that and then thread plot structures inside of that. In fact, the more you have, the better in my opinion. Example: Caelum’s Character Plot: Goal (Go Home) + Conflict (Home Is The Bloody Torn Up Ukalas) = Plot (Finding A Way To Heal the Heavens) Caelum’s Fall Season Plot: Goal (Make it to Denval to Find Out WTF is Up) + Conflict (Denval is Long Way Away and Dangers Abound) = Plot Skeleton Caelum Thread Plot 1: Goal (Find Teacup Piggy to Make Money With) + Conflict (Pigs Are Slippery) = Plot Skeleton Caelum Thread Plot 2: Goal (Get Food In Belly) + Conflict (Piggy Doesn’t Wanna Die) = Plot Skeleton *The above is not my actual workshop, just a quick Exhibit A. Obviously, these are over simplified; but that’s the entire point. It helps me to oversimplify what I’m doing because ideas tend to come at me full of flesh and madness. This way I can figure out the basics of what I want to happen and can remember to apply my character traits towards the help and hindrance of resolving the conflict. Insolong as I don’t lose track of my character’s goals and traits, the plot with all its multitudes of greater detail will not stall. Will not. And if in Act Three of any layer where Character Achieves or Fails to Achieve Goal, the Goal is thusly changed, all the more interesting. Goal + Conflict = Plot = Story Write on. - katie.

[Caelum]

It ought be noted that you can workshop your PC with this character diamond/goal plot structure using whatever layout you want. The best one will be whatever makes the most sense to you. It can be simple and short or complicated and long. You can do a broad outline or a detailed synopsis. Whatever is going to aid you with your goal is perfect. Here’s the short version of my emo boy’s. (The long version is coming.) My goal in rehauling his original character structure is to clarify both his intentions and their evolution, primarily because I’m still writing flashbacks to tell the story of his pre-creation storyline and, in doing so, hopefully better explain to the reader not only who he is, but why. Caelum Constant Traits: Dedicated (Positive) & Bitter (Negative) Situational Traits: Well Intentioned (Positive) & Desperate (Negative) the Ultimate Goal: To go home. Ultimate Conflicts: Home is defined here as being in the Ukalas, have to be ascended again by Syna, and even if ascension occurs the Rift stills exists in Syna & Leth’s adjoining realms. therefore, the Penultimate Goal: Heal the Rift, thereby making oneself worthy of being ascended for a second time. Penultimate Conflicts: Even the gods have not been able to heal the Rift yet and Caelum’s bitterness is abbreviating his redeemable qualities.