A few days ago I got the writing itch again (it's happening more and more often now -- maybe reading all these books is making it worse -- or BETTER?) and I went over to Rachel Aaron's site to read her posts on upping word count from 2k to 10k a day (!!!), editing, and plotting.
I started scribbling about the MC, her friends, and the background of the world I was creating and when I was done I glanced over it and realized two major problems:
1. I don't have an antagonist (I sometimes have them right from the beginning, but it's rare)
2. The stakes aren't high enough (low tension)
I feel like the second problem could be solved by having a great answer to the first problem.
I'm pretty good at outlines, typing fast, and am getting better at world building, but I am LE WORST at plotting.
Luckily, it's a skill and I can develop it, and I
can spot a good plot or a bad one pretty quickly (especially in
movies), but when I create a story I usually fully visualize a character
and then vaguely wonder where their story is going. If they even have
one.
So while I'm at the beach this weekend, I'll attempt to ferret out a bad guy/girl and several ways to make my MC's life miserable. And also weave those into some sort of loose plot until I can think of a brilliant and entertaining tale.
I *really* love the world and the sets of characters...I just hope they sit me down and spin a good yarn so I can dictate.
What makes a great villain? Who are some of your favorite villains in literature?
Any tips on plotting for me? (Any good books you can recommend that have stellar plots?)
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