Wanna know the most common misstep with plot?
Developing it before you do any prep work on your protagonist.
Simply put, you can’t develop a plot, without knowing who it affects and why.
Before you develop your plot, before you write your opening scene, you need to explore 3 things about your main character.
So, in this episode, I’m laying down 3 simple steps to deeper character character development.
You’ll learn the 2 elements driving your plot, plus ways to explore the why behind every what.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Episode at a glance:
[01:28] What drives plot?
Learn the two things driving your plot. Hint: they have nothing to do with what happens and everything to do with your protagonist’s internal logic.
[4:22] The Purpose of Plot
Learn why plot serves your character, not the other way around.
[03:21] Step 1: What Does Your Character Already Want?
Learn how to drill your character’s desire out of the universal to the specific and concrete.
[05:50] Step 2: Why Does He/She Want It?
What’s the unconscious drive? Why does getting it matter? This is far more important than the what. The why is what gives everything that happens on the plot level meaning. There’s always more layers when you explore the whys.
[13: 11] Step 3: Limiting Belief
This is your character’s faulty belief about the world and about himself. A rock bottom belief that doesn’t serve him. More than the external trouble that’s happening on the plot level, this is the thing that’s keeping him from getting what he wants.