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 |   A month-long novel-planning challenge with prizes galore. |
From the Prep Calendar: Plot: Complications Complications. Identify additional things that could go wrong for your protagonist. You are not required to resolve any problems yet, just create them. Remember: The more hardships your main character faces, the more readers will cheer them on, and the more engaged and invested the reader will be in your story. Brainstorm a list of problems you could throw at your protagonist(s) throughout the story, using "What If," mind mapping (see the resources at the bottom of the calendar), freestyle writing, or any other form of brainstorming you prefer. Hint: Other characters are a great source of realistic strife, since characters often are driven by conflicting motivations. This is my opinion as a writer: It is important to remember there is a fine line between adding more and more complications and padding for word count. A good plot twist/complication can enhance a story and further the narrative. However, there are times in books and films when an endless series of complications can annoy the reader, and they will become jaded, knowing that the MC will get out of it again, generally unscathed, and tension is lost. It is why the Allan Quartermaine films did not work (that and Cannon films was run by cheapskates). Sure, you can add more and more complications - the first 2 Indiana Jones films do this really well - and force the hero into being heroic, but the complications in those films also serve the story and are related to the story. They are not just "there." One other thing regarding complications: putting some of them on top of one another, not one after the other, can really help up the ante. The plotters on the NaNo Discord server I am involved with use this "twist generator": https://www.plot-generator.org.uk/twist/ |
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