I have Characters and World, but no Plot!

whataboutwriting:

I love to build worlds and characters. But then I don’t know what to do with them. I have a plot problem. Do you have any advice? Is my best bet to pair up with another author who has a plot but no world? - anonymous

Congratulations! You’ve made it through the hardest part. Now you just need to let your characters speak for themselves. Answer these questions, and hopefully, they will help you understanding what your plot should be. 

Regarding characters…

  • What has your character struggled with in the past?
  • Are your characters’ personalities compatible? If not, why not?
  • Considering your characters’ personalities, what would be the worst that could happen to them? What would hurt them the most? (If possible, answer this question about each of your characters)
  • What is your character’s goal? 
  • Who is your character’s worst enemy and why?

Regarding world…

  • What are the taboos in your world?
  • What are the worst crimes in your world?
  • How do people interact in your world?
  • In what ways do the laws of your world limit its inhabitants’ freedom?
  • How are the typical parents-children relationships in your world?
  • How are the typical friendships in your world?
  • How are the typical romantic relationships in your world?
  • Does your world hide secrets? If so, what secrets?

Try to see in what ways you can connect your characters and how they go around the world you built. Hopefully, once you have specific links character-character and character-world, you will be able to form ideas in your mind regarding what problems your characters could have. All you need is a main conflict, and then let your characters’ personality and back story guide you on how to resolve that conflict. 

I hope this helped!

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  12. lightfire1 said: If you have no plot, you have no characters. What is the meaning of life for them? Thats the plot. A twist in it is something different
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