: Re: How to invest readers in a story that (initially) has no clear direction? The main character of my novel (third person limited) is an outlaw, on the run from government agents and living from

@Carla500

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What do you do during that time?

Worldbuilding.

Show us the world the character lives in. If it's different to ours, show us how it's different, and make us care about it. If the character is on the run, there must be an organisation she's on the run from. What's her understanding of that organisation, why do they want her, and how does this fit with the rest of society who (presumably) the organisation doesn't much care about? Who is this character, and why are they doing what they're doing? And why does this organisation have the powers it does?

A good example might be Skye (later Daisy Johnson) from Agents of SHIELD. We know that SHIELD are the good guys. However the first episode is largely seen from Skye's PoV, as she is actively running away from SHIELD. Of course the episode ends with her joining them, but that first episode sets up the lead characters, the organisations, and the nature of the world they're living in. The next few episodes carry this on. It isn't until much further into the series that the idea of a plot arc and a deeper threat starts to emerge - and by that point the viewers are already hooked.

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