All right, time for part 3 in an ongoing series about my weaknesses as a writer. This week- PLOT! My heavy dependence on plot as the main force of a story is really a dead giveaway that I was only really prolific as a writer before high school, e.g. when I was a kid. When you are a kid, plot is everything. Who cares who the heroes are as people, what are they DOING this week? What new planet are they going to? Who are they killing? Yes, my body may be 21 going on 22 but my writing mindset is 12, and a shallow 12 at that.
Here's the thing. Plot is actually one of the more disposable aspects of writing, or at least that's the way I see it when i step back and think a bit. Flat, lifeless main characters can derail a plot full of wonderful and exciting developments. I tend to write in a very close 3rd person narrative, which means that the reader and one character are going to spend a lot of time together. Why, in the name of all that is holy, can I never seem to make that main character interesting, motivated, alive? I blame my strong ties to the pre-teen world of fantastical adventures and my lackadaisical attitude toward self-improvement. The take-away from this awful bout of self-deprecation is simple- THINK ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS AS PEOPLE, LAVISH ATTENTION ON THEM. If they are gripping, plot will flow from them. If they are bland sacks of meat, plot will be sucked in.
SONG OF THE POST
Romance is Boring by Los Campesinos!
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