What's the plot?
Plot and character go hand in hand. It's in plotting our character's paths that we truly come to know them. We test their mettle and push them to their absolute limits.
Difference between story and plot?
Story — is a sequence of events.
Plot — encapsulates the sequence of events, plus can acter motivations. A plot develops out of conflicts that affect the characters.
Character motivation
What the protagonist needs or chooses to do has to matter.
A strong motive will help that character overcome the obstacles before them. It's the writers' job to test that motivation as much as possible. What you can do to make things even worse for your characters? Send them to the pits of hell and back. Strip them of all their abilities, and their confidence.
It's said the focus of the earlier chapters in a novel or story ought to be on the characters. Before you can start making the lives of characters a living hell, the reader needs to get to know them.
Character imperfections
If you are seeking to introduce another layer of conflict to your story, something to consider is giving your protagonist an imperfection. It brings with it a unique set of challenges that they must overcome and enriches the tale with a unique perspective.
This isn't to say every character must have an imperfection. But it can be tricky to empathize with perfect characters. Everyone has their failings. Their imperfections can be the thing that makes us love them above all else.
Promises
Make the right kind of promises to your reader. Early on in the story, promises should be made to the reader about what is to come.
So how can this be done? One way is through prologues. If done well, they can really enhance a story. If done badly you've lost your reader before the story even gets going.
What about info dumb and world-building? To avoid this problem tease details of the world into the story. Show just the tip of the iceberg.
Progress
Don't introduce a character and have them do nothing for paragraphs or pages.
Is important to make the reader feel like they are making progress, that they are going somewhere - exploring ancient ruins or vibrant cities, witnessing great battles, and experiencing intimate moments in characters' lives.
A reader must see the characters taking steps to achieve their goals, and often those steps involve the obstacles we as writers throw in their path.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author's space:
Usually, how do you start a story? How do you create the plot?
Here you'll find five tips that are a good starting point for your WIP!
When I write a new story, I usually start with an idea or a prompts (most of the time I dream my story) and then I shape this premise into a plot.
