by Ruth Owen
How Character Creates Plot
Did you notice I already touched on this when talking about plot? The thing is, the protagonist’s desire is a necessary part of the conflict that creates the plot. If ET didn’t want to go home, there would be no movie.
Which leads me to a new term: Character Agency.
Modern readers—that is, readers in the last 20 years or so—have come to expect and want to read about characters who make choices that cause the plot to happen. They want characters who want something and then try to get it. They want characters who make mistakes and who experience the consequences. Maybe in the past, books got published with characters who just experienced the plot happening to them, but that won’t cut it for modern readers anymore.
Things like this are easier to understand with concrete examples, so I’m going to share how character agency changed my first book. My main character is a little girl who opens a portal to a parallel dimension every time she hits peak boredom. She’s best friends with the version of herself who lives in that universe. One day, Other Her reveals that she thinks the two of them were actually born in each other’s worlds and forces the main character to switch back, trapping her in the other world, where everyone has a superpower triggered by an emotion.
I didn’t think it was too bad, honestly. Suddenly landing in a world where everyone thinks you’re someone else, with a family who more or less looks like yours but isn’t, and never knowing if you can get back home? It seemed like a strong enough premise.
But some of my beta readers suggested that I make my main character decide to travel to the other universe. I tried it: When her best friend/alternate self reveals that she thinks they switched worlds as babies somehow, she feels bad because this switch has caused all sorts of problems for her friend. In my revised version, my main character suggests switching worlds for a few days so the two friends can attempt to solve each other’s problems. A little bit of a Prince and the Pauper situation. Of course, nothing goes to plan, yadda yadda, but I did find that it was a lot more compelling to have the main character plunge headfirst into what she knew was going to be hard rather than have her pushed into it against her will. It makes her more likeable, for one. For two, any difficulty she has from that point forward is due to her choice to accept the call to adventure, so she’s automatically more invested in overcoming it.
With this small change (that actually ended up causing ripples throughout the book), I created both a stronger protagonist and a stronger plot.
Case Study: Disney Pixar’s Coco
Okay, so let’s see how all these principles work in a story most people know: Disney Pixar’s Coco.
First, who is the main character? Obviously it’s Miguel.
What is his core misbelief? This one’s a little tricky because he has a few: 1. His great-great-grandfather abandoned his family for music. 2. His family will never accept him as a musician. 3. De La Cruz is the best thing ever.
So, what does he want more than anything? To be a musician. (Remember, conflict is desire + obstacle.)
And what’s the obstacle? Why can’t he be a musician? His family hates music and expects him to join the family cobbler business; plus, his grandmother smashed his guitar.
And now for Try/Fail cycles:
- What does he try to do first to achieve his goal? Steal De La Cruz’s guitar so he can play at the talent show.
- Does it work? No, since the moment he touches it he becomes invisible to the living and visible to the dead. THIS IS THE INCITING INCIDENT!
- What does he have to try to do now? Get his family’s blessing so he can return to the world of the living.
- What happens if he doesn’t succeed at #3? (This is the stakes, which is what happens if the main character fails to achieve their goals.)He will join the world of the dead forever. Deadline: He has to get his family’s blessing by morning. (Note: A deadline can increase the urgency for readers, which keeps them turning pages.)
- What does he try next? Getting the blessing of his dead relatives, since he knows his living ones won’t give it.
- Does it work? Yes, they agree to give a blessing, but he would have to give up his dream of becoming a musician. (When a character tries something and succeeds but something happens that makes things no better or even worse, it can be very satisfying.)
- What does he attempt next? Getting De La Cruz’s blessing with the help of a ghost named Hector, who claims to know De La Cruz. This starts the FUN AND GAMES portion (if you’re using Save the Cat).
- Does it work? No. At first it seems like it will, but then Hector betrays Miguel to the Riveras (his dead relatives).
- What does Miguel attempt next? Finding De La Cruz on his own.
- Does it work? Sort of. He gets De La Cruz’s blessing, but it doesn’t send him back to the world of the living because De La Cruz isn’t his great-great-grandfather. Then De La Cruz steals Miguel’s photo of Hector and throws both of them into a celote pit. Thus begins DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL/ALL IS LOST/BLACK MOMENT.
- What does Miguel realize? That Hector, not De La Cruz, is Grandma Coco’s father, and that he was murdered for wanting to return to Coco and her mother. That it is possible to be a musician and true to his family. This is the theme!
- What does he do now? Reconciles with Hector and his other ancestors, escapes the pit, and gets Hector’s blessing. FINAL BATTLE.
- Does it work? YES! CLIMAX! Notice that this is the moment where Protagonist (Miguel) reconciles with Relationship Character (Hector) and realizes Theme, just like the Hollywood formula says he should. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWP6oPoJsY
- Which conflicts does the ending resolve?
- Miguel returns to the world of the living.
- Miguel reconciles with his family.
- Miguel gains an appreciation for his family’s history.
- Hector will be remembered by the living and will not fade away.
- Coco has a moment of clarity.
- Hector and Imelda reconcile.
- De La Cruz is remembered as the murderer he was.
Okay, now for a bonus question:
- Why is the scene where Miguel sings “Remember Me” to his great-grandmother Coco so powerful? If you want to watch it, use this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgpBt5STusE
Because it reiterates the theme (he is literally honoring and remembering his family through music!), shows that Miguel has corrected his misbelief (that his great-great-grandfather abandoned his family), shows Miguel embracing his music with his family’s blessing, and even helps Grandma Coco to realize that her father never stopped loving her. All the stuff above! When multiple conflicts resolve at once, it makes for powerful endings.
Pay attention to books you read and movies you watch. You will see elements of these plot structures and theories working in all of them, whether they are hard science fiction, romance, horror, comedy, or anything else. These are the basic building blocks of all Western stories, and when they’re put together right, they grab the audience and don’t let go. Stories have a way of changing us. A good story can be powerful, even cathartic.
And knowing how to build one, from the foundation to the wiring to the plumbing to the walls to the roof, can take your writing to the next level. Be fearless in making these kinds of structural changes.
Ruth Owen is an editor specializing in copy editing and developmental editing. She also writes middle grade and young adult fantasy and science fiction. She blogs about writing and editing and reviews middle grade and YA books at www.ruthkayeowen.com.