: 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

You need to focus on what is going on emotionally within your character.
You are not correct in saying the first part of your story has no antagonist. You clearly do have an antagonist right from the beginning by starting with a character who is a fugitive. Essentially, it's your character versus "the world" and specifically the people out to get her. So don't think there's no plot there. Plenty of stories have been told about nothing but survival. Characters are stranded on an island or high in the mountains after a plane crash and need to survive. That is a perfectly good plot to drive even an entire novel, much less the first "act".

To get to your question; you really need to hone in on what is going on inside your character's head. This is the key to getting readers invested in the story. Think about S.E. Hinton's Outsiders. The main character is a teenager with very little control over the course of events in the story for most of it's duration. essentially, Ponyboy's goals are to be left to live in peace with his friends, but a fundamentally hostile world is not letting him do so. Right away, we are treated to an example of what he has to deal with as he exits a movie theater and gets jumped. What drives this story is not Ponyboy's brilliant plan to fix the world and make the Socs' and Greasers live together in harmony once he pulls off some clever heist. In fact, that's about as far from the plot as you can get. What draws a reader in with overwhelming force is the way you can identify with this mostly helpless character who is dealing with a lot of things outside his control as he also deals with the emotional upheaval and awkwardness of being a teenager.

Show us what is going on in your character's head. Whether or not she has any overall goal is totally unimportant. What is important is the way the events in the story change her as a person and how she feels and reacts to them. That is what will draw readers in.

Load Full (0)

: What is a good "to be" verb substitute in this scenario? My teacher does not like "to-be verbs" (is, are, etc.) to be used in our sentences. Here is the section in question: A significant

@Speyer920

Load Full 2 Comments

: Requesting and addressing feedback from reviewers, beta readers, and editors.

@Speyer920

Load Full 0 Comments

: Scapple While not free (though does have a free trial), Scapple (by the same makers as Scrivener) seems to have everything you need. They have Mac and Windows versions. Their roughly 6

@Speyer920

Load Full 0 Comments

: Writing a Super Intelligent AI Something I have been thinking about recently is how to write a character who is an artificial intelligence and not have him feel human. Specifically an AI who

: 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

More posts by @Speyer920

: What is a good "to be" verb substitute in this scenario? My teacher does not like "to-be verbs" (is, are, etc.) to be used in our sentences. Here is the section in question: A significant

: Requesting and addressing feedback from reviewers, beta readers, and editors.

: Scapple While not free (though does have a free trial), Scapple (by the same makers as Scrivener) seems to have everything you need. They have Mac and Windows versions. Their roughly 6

: Writing a Super Intelligent AI Something I have been thinking about recently is how to write a character who is an artificial intelligence and not have him feel human. Specifically an AI who

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top