NOTE: Choose any of your main characters from your current works or finished work. Don’t care who the main character is, they just need to be the main character…only!
What are their wants and needs that are pivotal to the plot…or not?
Are there any conflicts standing in their way to reach their goal?
What is the goal, the objective, the reason for them to do what they need to make the plot happen?
Does this character have inner demons that prevent them from moving forward? Are there any internal conflicts that just hold them back?
How many encounters change them? Do they meet and come into contact with random people who affect them in a way that pushes them forward?
When does the plot really pick up for them, what is the pivotal moment that the plot is truly thrust into action? How do they feel about things getting far more serious than before?
Do they have an enemy or a rival that is standing in their way, if the antagonistic force isn’t intangible?
Bonus Question:
Who is your main character, in terms of them as a person (or rather character)? What is it about them that the other characters who encounter with them, are curious about? Who exactly is your main character? What are they about as a character, in terms of representing?
My main character (at least in the beginning) has a very “we want the same thing; but don’t necessarily share the same goal” relationship with the main plot.
Her selfish goals and desires drives the plot into different directions, because she is motivated by reasons that only pertain to herself, much of her actions are out of survival for herself. She will betray allies, will go great lengths to ensure her and only her goals are fulfilled.
Which, in turn, impacts the characters around her who share her motivations but not her desires, making her a difficult person to work with and trust.
Her alliance to the organization who wants the same thing as she, but not necessarily the same way or with the same goal in mind, are a contributing conflict to reaching her goal. They manipulate and blackmail her into working with them. Threating to make her desires public lest she turn on them. Which means that she has to work by their rules.
Another obstructing force would be her duties to the military sect she’s working with. But more-so because she has to attend to their wants/needs, and their goals/commands for her often lead her away from her goals.
A good level of suspicion is also placed on her. She wants to kill someone. The person she wants to kill suspects this, and keeps her at a distance. Which means they themselves are impeding her journey by putting blocks in her way.
If she were ever discovered, she would be executed. So, she’s sort of on everyone else’s schedule.
She is the best in her military organization and has survived several years in the “worst” (worst meaning the highest death-rate) military sect for several years. She is a veteran in a group that doesn’t have many. She is also close to several aristocratic families and has just been nominated for promotion. Most importantly, she is against the very organization she works for, and wants to take them down.
Her motivations become known to a group who want to take down the monarchy. There’s not many sympathetic people to their cause working on the inside. So when they discover her, and the material to blackmail her with, she agrees to align with them. This essentially makes the plot happen. She now has a motivating factor and goal that directs her.
There aren’t any inner demons that technically hold her back from the main plot. They motivate her through it.
But there are lots of things and traumas that inhibit her arc, her ability to move on as a person (inside), which stunts her emotional growth and ability to make decisions as a grown person without these traumas impacting her every wish and desire. These internal conflicts motivate her, but inhibit her to actually grow as a person.
You could say a lot, but focusing soley on the main plot, the main encounter that truly changes her is when she meets one of the side-characters. These people give her the means, and the direction, to motivate her towards the goals she’s always longed for–even if their motivating factors are part blackmail and part “we want the same thing”.
In book two, these people heavily influence and change her, but to be frank, this isn’t as plotted out. I just know it happens :).
Around chapter five. The pivotal moment she is thrusted into action is when she is kidnapped, and blackmailed.
She feels mostly angry at the seriousness of the situation. She’d much rather work alone, and she hates being threatened. But she takes it on with a modicum of stoicism and self-control she’s worked up through all her years of life. She doesn’t cry or throw a fit, but she’s properly and justifiably perturbed by the interference. She had a plan set up, a plan she was working on years before the plot of the first book is set in order. Moreover, she is made helpless by the actions and threats of others, which makes her even more angry and upset. She becomes resentful. She is not a character whom you want resentment from. But she doesn’t per-say fight the intervention.
An intangible antagonistic force would be the guilt and shame she feels towards a situation in her past. She has been set on a path of vengeance at the pleading of another, and for a promise given to another. She loves this person, but this person’s insistence she get vengeance prevents her from self-growth and self-thought. She has dedicated her entire life to their goals and wishes. Her career, her relationships, the things she studies. She has never had to truly think beyond this goal, about her future, anything.
A tangible real antagonist would be the leader of the organization she’s made an allegiance with, and the man she has sworn to take down–and, of course, his wife.
They represent, essentially, what happens when you succeed at everything you’ve strived for, and are left with absolutely nothing. This character gets everything she has ever wanted, and is left feeling empty, and helpless, and with no one to fall back onto for help. She is a helpless character who despises her own helplessness and sees no way out, so she nurtures herself off her own anger and pain. When that is removed, she is a husk.
What happens when you rebuild a character when they’ve fallen to their lowest point? That is what she represents. That is, in essence, who she is–or who she will become.
What are their wants and needs that are pivotal to the plot…or not?
Treymor, the mc, wants to escape the guillotine without his true love, Callistus, getting harmed, but Callistus is the actual murderer, so if Treymor doesn’t sacrifice himself in place of Calllistus, then the king’s elite guards will arrest Callistus if only to make Treymor surrender to them.
Are there any conflicts standing in their way to reach their goal?
Other than being locked in a tower dungeon, Treymor has essentially reached his goal in that Callistus is safely away, as far as Treymor knows now. He just has to figure out how to escape from this tower before dawn when he’ll get the blade.
What is the goal, the objective, the reason for them to do what they need to make the plot happen?
Not sure I understand this question…? But the plot has happened in the past in this book anyway. The prisoner is sitting in a tower cell, confessing his sins to a friar before he gets beheaded in the morning, so the whole story is him explaining how he got to be in this situation.
Does this character have inner demons that prevent them from moving forward? Are there any internal conflicts that just hold them back?
Hmm…again I’d say the inner conflicts in this sense are in the past. It’s all about how Treymor became so selfish and hedonistic, then changed and became self-sacrificing because of his love for the prince.
How many encounters change them? Do they meet and come into contact with random people who affect them in a way that pushes them forward?
Originally he was a kind and decent person, but when his father assassinated the royal family something snapped in Treymor. He lost his best friend in that attack, and came to realize his friend died without ever having been alive. Treymor thus decides he’s going to experience every pleasure in life before he dies, so he becomes a decadent libertine.
When does the plot really pick up for them, what is the pivotal moment that the plot is truly thrust into action? How do they feel about things getting far more serious than before?
When he discovers the dead prince actually survived the attack
Do they have an enemy or a rival that is standing in their way, if the antagonistic force isn’t intangible?
The prince’s uncle was put on the throne after the attack, and he’s an oppressive tyrant who would kill his nephew if he knew he was still alive
Who is your main character, in terms of them as a person (or rather character)? What is it about them that the other characters who encounter with them, are curious about? Who exactly is your main character? What are they about as a character, in terms of representing?
Mostly other people are curious about why a self-indulgent libertine like Treymor is never truly happy; why there’s a melancholy bleakness behind his smiles. Not sure I understand the second part of this question. Do you mean, does the character represent an idea or theme? If so, then I’d say no–he’s exactly what he seems: just a pleasure-seeking hedonist who eventually comes to realize there are more important things than satisfying his selfish desires all the time. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
I’ll talk about Their Posthumous Lives duology, Richard.
He’s not the only MC, but he’s one of the main protags that appears in both books.
Richard ultimately wants to get rid of all the filthy rich people and liberate the slaves, but he also has the goal of killing a legendary detective Mallord who is a seer like him. Richard believes the world needs only one seer EVER.
Well, for starters, Richard doesn’t know where Mallord is. Also, his visions keep showing things he needs to do before he can even glimpse the future of him and Mallord (which will reveal where Mallord is).
Anything Richard does is because he’s following his visions. It’s just glimpses of the future, but it’s enough to drive his actions which, in turn, drive his portion of the plot.
He has an actual inner demon, who, unbeknownst to him, has the power to withhold visions. Charcoal might already know some of the answers to Richard’s ongoing questions, but he’s not keen on sharing them because, as he thinks in the story, he’s stuck with this egocentric immortal human for the rest of eternity. He thought he should be allowed some entertainment.
But as for real inner conflicts, Richard has none. Nothing is holding him back.
The moment he meets an escaped slave woman, Anastasia, is when he finally has someone whose future might intertwine with Mallord’s. This is actually where the series begins.
Yes, Mallord. They’ve indirectly associated in the past.
Richard sees Mallord as a threat because Mallord is also a seer. Both can predict each other’s future and also act accordingly to save themselves.
That’s a tricky enemy to fight.
Another tricky issue comes up later, but Mallord is protected by an angel which is the direct counterpart of Charcoal meaning that for Richard to be able to kill Mallord, Charcoal must kill the angel first. This is extremely hard to do because being counterparts, they are equally matched in power.
A false move could mean the forced return to the underworld for Charcoal and death for Richard. The soul of Richard will be reincarnated some decades or centuries later in a completely new era, home, and life, so Richard isn’t afraid of death, but he wants to see his current goal through. He sees himself a dark hero, and he wants to make history.
Whenever some person encounters Richard for the first time, Richard without any disguise whatsoever, the person is filled with fear and curiosity. While Richard is an open book in terms of his villainy (he will admit to murder if directly asked, and describe in detail if prompted), he’s also shrouded in mystery.
But he’s also really good at flipping the conversation over to you. He makes the other person feel special, important, and wanted. “What is your story?” he’ll ask. He’ll get into your head and before you know it, you’ve invited him to a coffee, to a dinner, to your house. You’ve told him your secrets. He has you now and you can’t get away.
Riley wants to confess to his mother that he has a smoking fetish, which he feels might be wrong because his father died as a result of smoking.
I suppose he is his own worst enemy in that regard. He does think his mother would have a negative reaction, but he just wants to get it over with, and he seems to have hope that she won’t.
He feels guilty about his fetish, and wants to know if his mother would think it’s a betrayal of his father’s memory.
Perhaps his own anxiety? The story is the letter he writes to his mother, and it probably says something that he didn’t initiate this conversation in person (though the reason I wrote it that way was because it just made sense to write it as a letter).
It’s hard to say, since the story is written as a letter, and it’s not particularly long, either (I wasn’t initially trying to, but now I’m trying to make it flash fiction). He doesn’t really explain any encounters, though he is hoping for one with his mother that ultimately resolves his question of whether or not he’s doing something wrong. He doesn’t meet anyone in the course of the story, but he does mention videos he watches, and there is a paragraph about a YouTuber he likes and his parasocial interaction with her, though that’s not the focus of the story.
I don’t think I can really say. The letter (a.k.a. the story) is the whole plot, but I guess it’s just because Riley can’t stand hiding this possibly upsetting thing from his mother and wants to have a resolution even if it doesn’t turn out beneficial for him.
I’d say Riley is his own worst enemy. Perhaps in a certain sense, his mother might be, since he’s writing to her and is concerned with what she would think, but I don’t imply they have a bad relationship (especially considering he wants to tell her this thing, which he might not even think of doing if it was dysfunctional).
I don’t completely understand the first part of this question, to be honest. My main character is a young man who’s tormented by his sexual desires and their conflict with the love he has for his parents (one of whom being deceased, which, to Riley, makes it seem like he’s dishonoring his father’s memory). I didn’t think about what he represented, but I suppose he represents people who struggle with guilt over lustful feelings, and him informing his mother is reminiscent of LGBTQ+ people coming out, though I’m not trying to equate the two.
Mallord’s want that he doesn’t want to admit is that he really misses being a detective a.k.a everyone’s hero. He doesn’t like being in eternal hiding from fame. He doesn’t know what he needs, but he thinks people need him. He likes being needed.
The hidden desire gets him involved in the plot when he goes behind his wife’s back to go see some mediums asking for his assistance.
His family. Not a good thing to say, but Mallord retired because of his family, so you could say his family is in the way. He retired to protect them.
Mallord goes to talk to mediums because he really cannot stay retired
More like inner demons that make him move forward. You see, Mallord lost a colleague and a friend. He kicks himself for it because it was a few months after he retired that Bailey got killed during a mission. Mallord is a seer detective, so he thinks he could have prevented it. If only he was there, Bailey wouldn’t have died, is what he thinks.
He doesn’t want that to happen again. He doesn’t want it to become an “if only” situation.
He reunites with another former colleague who introduces him to these mediums who want his help. And then because he was involved with the mediums and something happens to them, he becomes involved in the courtroom with their case. And then suddenly he’s saving people from a gun-shooting thief in a cafe.
Little by little the detective comes out of hiding and gets so bold, he is found out by his wife
It really picks up when his son reveals something to him. His son, Michael, is involved with the wrong people and witnesses something terrible that the leader is doing.
Mallord is giddy inside, to tell you the truth. Now he can be a detective without hiding it from his family. Maybe even be a hero to his son?
Only an immortal assassin and his demon, a gang of thieves and deadly cult members, more gangs out for money and blood, and possibly also the god of death and his minions, no big deal
Mallord is representing an ego trying. He’s trying to save the world. He’s trying to be a hero. He’s trying to be a good father to his son and daughter. He’s trying to be a good husband. He’s just trying.
But the problem is, he also has an ego with a hero-complex because after so many decades of being called a legendary detective, it got into his head.
Only when he fails for the first time, does he realize he wasn’t as perfect as he thought he was. And then, he’s just flawed for a while.
Mallord represents a flawed person who realizes how he’s flawed (it’s in contrast to his father who is flawed but never learns). Mallord has a kind, selfless heart, and yet, he cannot let go of the awesome feeling being a hero gives him, and he acknowledges that.
Deborah wants to explore her bisexuality, which she has barely explored, partly due to homophobic societal mores and partly because she was in a faithful and loving relationship with her now-late husband.
I’m not sure. She has her first lesbian sexual experience during the story, but she does feel a little unsure of herself, as she hasn’t really explored her bisexuality, and there’s also her still dealing with the death of her husband.
She wants to feel free to explore her sexuality.
Through most of her life, homophobia was accepted, which certainly didn’t help, and even though she doesn’t hate herself at the moment, the fact that it existed still makes her kind of nervous and maybe colors her experience with another woman. There’s also the fact that she’s grieving her late husband, who has been dead for a while but not a super long time.
Two in the story. As a teenager, she almost kisses her rabbi’s daughter, but it doesn’t go further. Most of the story takes place when she’s significantly older, and she has sex with a female escort, which helps her get to finally explore her bisexuality after so long.
It’s a short story, so the whole thing is the pick up, I guess. The plot was sort of thrust into action when Deborah had her encounters, and it’s mostly framed around her encounter with the escort. She is nervous at first, but even though she’s come out to some people before, she is finally exploring her bisexuality.
I don’t believe so, but perhaps during the encounter she has as a teenager, one could say the person who walks in on her and the rabbi’s daughter. This person is somewhat minor in the sense that they’re not really explored, but they contribute majorly by making the protagonist feel like her same-sex attractions should be suppressed.
I’d say Deborah is for the most part an average woman. In the story, the characters who deal with her are encountering Deborah’s attraction to women, and her inexperience in that department. She represents people who have had to deny or suppress their nonheteronormative feelings, and to a lesser extent, people who are dealing with sexual repression in other forms.
Side note: I haven’t started this story, and it might change in different drafts. I already want to divert a little from what I wrote here.
