Dynamic Characters

Admire your heroes, but hold yourself back from the kind of dazzled love that blurs perspective. You're a writer, not an acolyte.

Theme is how much order, how stringently, you've imposed on your fictional universe. It's also what kind of order: happy, malevolent, despairing, random, hidden-but-there, etc. What do you want your fictional world to say about the real world?

Man Learns Better,” which is the inverse of the second plot. In this, the protagonist does something, or observes something done, that leaves him “sadder but wiser.” He loses, but he (and the reader) learn something about how the world works.

• “The Little Tailor,” in which a character changes as a result of facing some great challenge. In response to this challenge, he discovers in himself capabilities he didn't know he possessed, and uses them to triumph.

• “Boy Meets Girl,” in which the protagonist changes primarily as a result of his interactions with another human being (who doesn't necessarily have to be a love interest; it could be a child, a mentor, a corrupter, a friend).

In other words, conflict plus action plus trouble equals plot. No pressure, no plot. Many pressures, much plot.

Words are easy. Only actions have the force to convince. Seeing is believing.

you the novelist not only have to know who your protagonist is, you also have to figure out who he becomes.

order for a fight scene to be successful, readers must believe it is actually happening to the characters. This is true of the entire story, of course, but often scenes of violence put a particular strain on the suspension of disbelief. This happens in two ways: wrong details, or superhuman reactions.

How does your protagonist react to the conflict you've given him? The answer will depend on his individual character. And his reactions will in turn determine plot incidents.