: Re: I'm using the same formula for stakes over and over - is this a problem? First of all, let me explain that I am a plotter, and that I am an extreme case. This means that I develop my

I think this is a great question, and I commend you on your self-awareness.

If you're having trouble conceiving of a drive for your hero on your own, I suggest you go through some of your favorite books — books that you enjoy, books which click, books you re-read — and try to pick apart what the hero's drive is.

Some examples off the top of my head:

By the Sword, Mercedes Lackey: The heroine is a mercenary. Her primary drive is to stay alive and employed so she can continue to
feed/clothe/shelter herself, and then secondarily when she becomes
captain, to lead her people with the minimum number of casualties. So
survival and responsibility.
The Sherlock Holmes stories: Solving the puzzle. That's it.
That's all Holmes needs. He has to solve the puzzle. Might be a
crime, might just be a mystery, but without a puzzle, his mind tears
itself to pieces.
Any given romance: Love. A loves B, B loves A; A pines for B, B
is married to C; A and B met on a train and have to reconnect, et
cetera.
The Harry Potter series: I'm sure there will be discussion of this, but generally, Harry wants to survive Voldemort and
the Death Eaters and their repeated attempts on his life, and stop
Voldemort from taking over the world. He also wants to avenge his
parents, but I never read that as his main purpose. Passing high
school is not an inconsiderable drive for him either.
The Belgariad: fulfilling a prophecy and averting the end of the
world.
The Maggie Hope mysteries: It's her job. Maggie is working for
the British government during WWII, and has various assignments.
Protect the princess, get such-and-such smuggled across the border,
find the murderer. Even if she might not have had personal stakes in
the problem, she's been ordered to do something.

Now go through some other books and see if you can figure out what drives the protagonist.

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: I think what's being missed here is the idea that what makes something a "perfect" world is not the same for everyone. If you want an example of a utopia, try The Wizard of Oz and the

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: Standard format for symbols that denaote text, phone or email message or dialogue, when all are used in same story I am writing a short fiction piece that has rapid fire texts, emails, phone

@Debbie451

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: Where in the writing process do you work in subtext? In the BBC Sherlock fandom there are many lively discussions about how a lot of the story takes place in subtext: Person C is a "mirror"

: Re: I'm using the same formula for stakes over and over - is this a problem? First of all, let me explain that I am a plotter, and that I am an extreme case. This means that I develop my

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: I think what's being missed here is the idea that what makes something a "perfect" world is not the same for everyone. If you want an example of a utopia, try The Wizard of Oz and the

: Standard format for symbols that denaote text, phone or email message or dialogue, when all are used in same story I am writing a short fiction piece that has rapid fire texts, emails, phone

:

: Where in the writing process do you work in subtext? In the BBC Sherlock fandom there are many lively discussions about how a lot of the story takes place in subtext: Person C is a "mirror"

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