 |
| English: The Thinker (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Even though I have spent my whole month doing just that, I’m having
trouble articulating the steps I used. I’m going to pull up Scrivener,
look at my notes, and try to reverse the process by listing 5 of the
strategies that I used.
- Plan, plan, plan (if you’re a
plotster) the subplot’s progress so it never reaches a point of stasis.
Create set-backs in the long-term goal that lead the character
inevitably towards Points of No Return.
- Try changing the
POV (and thus who has the greatest stakes) in an already written scene
to that of your subplot character. (This can also help tie the subplot
back into the main plot.)
- Introduce an inner conflict that starts off static – until the central conflict knocks it (the inner balance) off kilter. He didn’t like it but accepted it until…
- Show
character’s unmet needs. At least one of these probably motivates
his/her main goal, even if he/she isn’t aware of it. Have the character
take risks to achieve these needs. Consider having the motivations
change in response to changes in self-awareness. I’m protecting her
for her own good —> I need to be needed but am driving her away.
—> I have to change/ make her understand/ make her more dependent on
me.
- When writing, don’t take the easy road. Brainstorm and choose a less obvious reaction. Person A: “I hate you.” Person B: “Took you long enough.”
This list quickly got long (20 or so) so I’ll save some for later.
No comments:
Post a Comment