The Time I Wrote Half a Plot

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I’m currently hiding out in the editing cave again, working on one of my fantasy novels. It’s in its sixth draft now (the first three drafts being complete rewrites), so it should be in the exciting stage where it’s all starting to come together and look like a book. Maybe it might even have reached the point where I could think about polishing the prose. Haha. No. I started this edit by attempting to plug what seemed like a minor plot hole. But the closer I looked, the more problems I found, until I came to the terrible realisation. My book only had half a plot.

Now, let me get something straight. It has a plot. Said plot goes from the beginning to the end of the book. It makes sense (mostly). I’ve spent a long time getting to know my main character’s journey, digging into her backstory and examining her motivation. Her plotline is solid as. But in all my planning and editing, I forgot one important thing. My main character is not the only character in this story, and she’s not the only one with a stake in the plot.

Obviously, the villain is an important character. And there are at least three other characters in my book who play an important part. But their movements revolve around what my main character was doing, rather than them having lives of their own. In fact, for part of the plot, the main character tags along with my other characters rather than the other way around. Even my villain’s plotline was sketchy at best. Cue great consternation as I realised just how much of the plot was missing.

The main character is important, true. The story is told from their point of view. But they can’t live for the other characters. If the other characters don’t have their own plotlines and conflicting goals, the book is flat, dull, and everything goes way too easily. In my book, because the characters all have the same goal, there is very little conflict between the good characters. The way my plot pans out once they all have a plotline, everyone has a different goal. Everyone has a different life, and when they clash, it gets exciting in arguments, tension, and grudges. And makes for great reading.

Next time you’re editing, check up on your other important characters. What does the plot look like from their point of view? What is their plan? How does the main character fit into their lives? Plot their movements from before the book starts if you need to. Hopefully you’ll find that you know a lot more about your characters than I do about my poor bunch. But don’t make my mistake. Your other characters are important. They have their own plotlines and lives. Give them a little attention. You never know, that might be the lift that your book needs to fill some plot holes, or to make it richer.

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made while editing? Have you ever written half a plot?

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10 comments

  1. I'm editing my first novel right now, and I've realized that I have the same problem. My main character has all these problems and a life of her own, but all my other characters lack that. That's not realistic because in the real world, everyone has their own life. That should happen in fiction, too. I think I've been doing a better job with this in my second novel, but it still needs work.

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    1. I think half the battle is knowing that the problem exists. Now that you've realised that you do this, it sounds like you're looking out for it, which should mean your next books should be that much better. But the good thing is that even if we don't flesh out our other characters in the first draft, we can always fix it in edits, right? Thank goodness we don't have to get things right first time.

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  2. I completely understand! Sometimes I start a story, and all of a sudden I realize I have absolutely no plot for any other characters than the main! Its either half a plot, or 1/4 a plot for me.Xl

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    1. At least making mistakes like these is allowed in the first draft. For me it's always worse when i go through several rounds of edits and still don't pick up on these mistakes. Sounds like you've got a good idea of what your errors are, and that makes it so much easier to fix it in the future.

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  3. Woooow, amazing post!!! I know I've had novels where I've focussed only on the main characters. The one I'm writing now, because of the story, has to focus on a bunch of people at once so thankfully I didn't have this problem. I think the danger is the opposite - maybe fitting in too many people's stories into the same novel. They might need to be spread out across two or three books. =/ *sigh* I always love your posts Imogen. And I can read them quickly, which is always a plus. Good luck with editing your novel!

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    1. Oh definitely. I know other writes have a problem where they bring their other characters too far into the spotlight and they start taking over. that's where things get a bit messy. I'm lucky that I've never had that problem. I think that there's a careful balance of knowing how the other characters fit into the main character's story, how their plotlines fit in or clash, and how much to actually show in the story. I have lots of minor characters in mine that stay minor, but the more important ones need more fleshing out without their stories taking over the one I'm trying to tell. Difficult, but so rewarding when it's done right.

      Aw, thanks Ashana. I'm so glad you like reading my posts. You made my day!

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  4. Great post! I think everyone who reads this can relate cause it resonates. You'll get that plot fixed in no time too!

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    1. Thanks Dragon. Definitely looks like I'm not the only one who's made this mistake, which is comforting. Now to go and get the book sorted out so no one can tell I forgot half the plot.

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  5. I think I know what you mean; I have an awful time paying attention to other characters and adequately developing their personalities and lives. Maybe it's because in my life I am the main character and other people's stories don't always matter so much. Who knows?

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    1. It could also be because the main character is always so important and often the person who gets us writing this story in the first place. Plus we ride with them the whole book, so they're pretty special. I guess it pays to stop and check what else is going on in the book once we get to the editing stage, doesn't it?

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