FSN - Day 19 - Midpoint

[ladyseishou]

Day 19 - 12 days until the start of NNWM




Yesterday we made a list of possible situations or causes that would entice our hero from the comforts and safety of home and to begin his or her quest. Today, we’re going to make a new list of events that will completely change the game for both our characters and our readers, sometime by the middle of the story, by filling in the blanks for this sentence:

My hero thought that s/he wanted ( reason for leaving “home” ) but what s/he discovers by the middle of the story is that s/he needs to ( new goal or action ) because ( new, surprising information that changes/challenges everything ).

Remember, this is just a list of possible plot twists, Nano Writers - you may not hit on just the right one until you’re ready to write the actual scene next month. So be creative! Have fun! And keep writing!

A side note: unfortunately I am, as they say, a little under the weather - sporting a flashy fever of 102 F. and trying my best to cough up a lung so responses may be a little slow in coming but they will! So keep writing!

Comments

[yifu]

Get well soon! And many thanks for your posts - some of them really gave me food for thought, and helped me with the (very tentative) plot.

[ladyseishou]

Thank you for the well wishes! Hope that the plot fattens up nicely ;-)

[dark_kana]

Oh. Get well soon dear! *hugs and offers a nice cup of tea*

My hero thought that she wanted a place where she belonged and to take revenge( reason for leaving “home” ) but what she discovers by the middle of the story is that she needs to let go if she wants him to love her ( new goal or action ) because there where she thought she belonged actually just uses her and wants to kill her and she finds out her destiny does not lie with killing but with magic and Dragons( new, surprising information that changes/challenges everything ).

[ladyseishou]

Thank you and takes cup of tea. Sips and feels better. And BTW - well done with your story's plot points!

[serpentrose]

I'm thinking the only aspect I've got planned that would change things is the introduction of the Love Interest. At the beginning the MC is reasonably content with the arranged marriage, not specifically looking forward to it, and not dreading it either. (They've met and got along reasonably well, which is what the MC was hoping for.) Except I'm not sure that this will really change things all that much, as it would be perfectly acceptable to all involved for my MC to follow through with the arranged marriage and have his lover on the side.

Must ponder this one, what I'm hoping is that something will reveal itself to me by the appropriate time.

[ladyseishou]

Revelations do come unexpectedly and often when we need them or not. That's why we can't cling unreasonably to any outline we might start with at the beginning.

But it seems to me that your MC is settling and I wonder what it is that's she afraid of? Isn't there anything that she really, really wants for herself? Is the arranged marriage a step in that direction?

[serpentrose]

My MC isn't afraid, more like he simply has nothing that inspires him to action. That said I'm thinking about changing things so that the elder sister is the primary character, since I have more ideas that would make for interesting story elements with her.

[ladyseishou]

*nods head* Now's a good time to make that decision - I changed POV characters mid-novel one year and that took ages to clean up afterwards.