: Re: Creating the goal of a scene when the main character is passive? In my current writing, I've been having some trouble with the plot, specifically with going from an outline detailing what I

Ask yourself who this novel is really about. If it's about the main character, presented in chapter one as part of a crowd, you for sure want to make him more of an active agent in the story. If it's about a whole bunch of people and you change from chapter to chapter, it's fine to make him a little more passive.

Either way, you're thinking of this in the wrong way. Your character already has a goal and is already part of an active plot. Right now, as you present it, your character is in the middle of a mass evacuation, and so, the central conflict for your character is how is he going to be evacuated.

Your main character doesn't have to lead the evacuation, or be the only one being evacuated, to be active during this event. Turning him from active to passive is actually rather easy. Simply shift the focus of the chapter from the crowd to the individual person (something you should be doing already if he is your main character).

We should feel, when reading your story, close to your main protagonist. Let us know how he feels in regards to the evacuation, let us see the world through his eyes. This doesn't mean you have to write it in first person, you can try free-indirect discourse as a method of establishing a close relationship between the protagonist and the reader, or you can simply have the third person narrator stick closer to the protagonist than any other person.

Whichever way you chose, you want to make sure that you're following the protagonist as they attempt to evacuate. Your protagonist should be our window into this world, we should feel as if we're following him as he's attempting to evacuate. Consider letting us know his thoughts, emotions, feelings, actions, senses, anxieties, backstory, or anything else. Doing all of these things will likely turn the story from passive to active.

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: Re: Creating the goal of a scene when the main character is passive? In my current writing, I've been having some trouble with the plot, specifically with going from an outline detailing what I

More posts by @Cooney417

: Essay Writing Introduction Paragraph How do I write an introduction paragraph when it comes to writing a simple essay for those who have no idea what to write about and I don't have a creative

: I agree with much of what is said above and would add that you have to read. You have to read a lot. You will not be able to write unless you read huge amounts, both in and our of

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