#plot tips

so. here’s the thing. if your main character is just kinda floating through the story like a passive sad bean™️ with no real goal or drive, then the plot? is not plotting.

this isn’t a ✨you suck✨ thing. it’s a common first draft curse. but if you’re 30k words deep and your protagonist is still just reacting to stuff with vague concern and inner monologues about The Past™… we need to talk.

📍what even is a character “want”?

your character’s want is their external goal. the thing they’re trying to get, do, or change.

avenge someone

win a trial

run away from their cursed bloodline

steal the crown

get through one (1) normal semester without summoning a demon by accident

it’s tangible. it’s active. it’s visible. other characters should be able to argue with it, get in the way of it, or try to stop it.

💥without a want, your character is just:

wandering

reacting

monologuing about their feelings

getting dragged into scenes by external forces

waiting for the plot to happen to them

and honestly? same. but also: no.

readers need to feel like your character is making the story happen, not being passively pushed along by fate and side characters with better motivations.

⚠️ want vs need (aka: the emotional trauma part)

quick breakdown:

the want = the external goal (win the throne, survive the week, kiss the hot villain)

the need = the internal arc (heal the grief, learn to trust, accept their identity, realize kissing the hot villain is a bad idea)

your character should want something that will eventually lead them to what they need. but the want comes first. the want is the engine. the need is the crash landing.

plot starts with the want.

character arc ends with the need.

🎯 signs your character doesn’t want anything (yet):

you keep skipping scenes because “nothing is happening”

you’re relying on vibes or worldbuilding to carry the tension

side characters are doing all the heavy lifting

your protagonist spends more time reacting than deciding

your outline says “stuff happens” for 8 chapters

🛠️ how to fix it:

Make them want something that’s wrong. they don’t have to want the right thing. they just have to want something strongly. wrong goals lead to better tension. and failure. and chaos. (yay!)

Put something between them and that goal. wanting something isn’t enough. they need to pursue it, and get blocked. by enemies. allies. their own self-sabotage. this is where conflict comes from.

Tie the want to survival or obsession. if it’s not urgent, it’s background noise. raise the stakes. why now? why does this matter? why can’t they walk away?

Let them choose. at some point in Act 1, they need to make a conscious decision to pursue the goal. even if they get manipulated into it. even if it’s a bad idea. it needs to feel like a choice.

📦 examples:

✨bad✨: “she’s just trying to get by and see what happens”

✅better: “she’s trying to disappear, but someone recognizes her from the war and now she has to fake a new identity while hunting them down before they ruin her life”

see the difference? one is vibes. one is a whole plot engine.

the story doesn’t start until your character wants something badly enough to make a move, and risk breaking something.

give them a goal. a plan. a terrible idea. and then go ruin their life.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:

Editors note - There's a lot of boring writers drivel. So, to spare you from the headache if you're not interested, your characters individual voices and personalities are important for engaging stories and interesting plots. You can skip down to the end for the exercises.

While side characters are great, having a large cast can sometimes be indicative of a problem with the plot, especially with focus on the protagonist, main characters, and character relationships. You don't want the side characters and side-plots overriding the main POV or storyline.

But don't jump to the gun and delete everyone!

Instead, I recommend really looking at your outline and characters, and identifying if any characters only really show up once or twice, or don't serve much purpose to the plot (i.e., if you deleted them, would much change?). And, once you identify this handful (or bucketful), try merging them together.

Rather than having six different people each with a smidgeon of screen time, have one character that appears often and serves multiple roles to the plot. That way, they have more of an opportunity to connect with the audience, and are open to more characterisation as opposed to a simple plot device.

Of course, there are exceptions! A large cast can be beneficial (cough Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint cough cough) but it is a hard balance of characters and their relevance.

Dan Harmon, a producer and writer, came up with this formula for writing a hero’s story. This post will take a good look at it, and break down into easier pieces to digest. 

To better explain this style of writing, I’m going to use Spider Man’s backstory, because he’s the perfect example of a hero! I’ll explain what the step involves, then compare it to Peter Parker’s origin story. There are eight steps to Harmon’s circle, so let’s get started!

1: You

The first step is very easy! Establish your character, and the world’s status quo. You can introduce what relationships they have, what job they have, etc. In Peter Parker’s case, he is a high school student in NYC who loves everything science and math. Very simple, but very important! Get all important character or world building pieces out now.

2: Need

When you see need, most authors will think of the things that drives their main character to do whatever it is they need to do. However, in this style of storytelling, the need doesn’t have to be big so long as it paves the way for a bigger problem or need. 

In Peter’s story, once he got his powers, he wanted to test them out in a fighting ring. Not a big need, but it creates something bigger...

3: GO!

In this step, your hero will set out to fulfill their need! Outline what the hero must do, and why it is important that they do it. 

In his origin story, Peter goes and fights in the ring, testing his amazing abilities. I want to point out that your step three will look different than Peter’s step three, because his is just an origin story. There’s not a whole lot of detail, but if your whole book is about the hero’s journey, yours will probably end up longer. (which is expected!)

4: Search

Here’s the part where you show the reader that the path isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Create some roadblocks or problems, anything that prevents your hero from getting what they need. 

In Peter’s case, this is where he is asked to stop a thief, which he does not. This creates the horrible event of his uncle dying. This is the big problem, the one that will change the hero permanently. 

5: Find

Now, the hero will find what they were looking for in step two, but not how they wanted to. This is where your main problem breaks down into a ton of different ones, all stopping the hero from getting what they need. 

In Peter’s story, this is when he realizes what his powers could actually do. That’s what he was intending to find out in step two, but not like this. This problem should be devastating to the hero. It can be introduced as early as step four, established in step five, and even carry on to step six if you want. So long as it forever changes the hero. It must be big!

6: Take

Now your hero has what they originally wanted, and they need to take it. But, it won’t come without a price. The hero will realize what they need to do to fix the problem introduced in step five, and it will require sacrifice. Peter realized that there were millions of people who had loved ones die to murderers as well, and knew he wanted to avenge all of them. In doing so, he could possibly be sacrificing his life. The stakes are higher and the problem is bigger, so the reward for the hero (and reader) will be sweeter. Be sure to show just how difficult solving this problem will be!

7: Return

Now, the hero is beginning to return to the start. The calm before the storm, if you will. They have been changed fundamentally by the events of step five and six, and so they have a new need/problem that needs to be solved. For Peter, this step was realizing his new need of protecting NYC. This is a very important step in setting up a good ending, or paving the way for a series. 

Your hero needs to be a changed person, with their new goal engraved in their mind. The new goal they have should be fueled by the devastating event that happened to them. The reader should understand why the hero needs to do this, and want them to get a happy ending.

8: Change 

This step is also known as the final showdown. In this step, the hero uses everything they learned to solve the problem/fulfill the need. Peter fights the criminals who killed his uncle, and promises to protect people from this happening to them. 

The ending is sweet and makes the reader proud, because they could see how difficult it was for the hero to get there. That’s how stories that use this format should end: The reader should feel happy for the hero, because they deserved it! They went through hell, and made it out better and stronger. (This is where the circle would start again, especially if you plan to make a series out of the story.)

Whew, that was long! This plot outline really revolves around pain motivating the hero. Maybe not so good for a happy-go-lucky character, but perfect for your dark and brooding heroes. If you have any questions about Dan Harmon’s Story Circle that I didn’t address here, don’t be afraid to ask! My dms are always open. Happy writing!

Your main character shouldn’t be invincible. Plot armor should never be the only thing keeping them alive.

What is plot armor?  

Plot armor is a phenomenon in fiction where the main character survives in situations in which in reality they would not because they are needed to survive for the plot to continue.

How to I avoid using plot armor? 

1. Hurt you MC

Now, you don’t have to kill your MC, but when they’re face-to-face with your antagonist, kick them where it hurts. Expose their insecurities. If they’re in a fight where they would get hurt in reality, hurt them. With this, never underestimate how a character would react to a traumatic experience. Nobody comes to the climax of their story and should walk away irrevocably changed. 

2. Kill that character

If your story calls for it, and it is logical, kill your character. As an author, it’s your responsibility to make the decision to take an axe to your character, even if you love them. In reality, death doesn’t care who you are. The world will keep spinning, and so will your plot. If you don’t want to kill your MC, change your plot points to make it believable. 

3.  Make escape based in reality

Your main character can make it out of dangerous situations! But, if they do, it has to be supported by reality. Maybe not the reality of the world the reader lives in, but in the world in which you build. If they do escape, make their method and timing believable and set up prior to it just happening. 

How do you develop conflict for the story without doing it just for the sake of conflict? Or how do you develop conflict/plot if you don't have a starting theme? How would you develop a theme in sync with your world/characters?

Is your story a dystopian universe but you don’t know how to begin? Are there some things missing or you feel your totalitarian government is not 1984-ish enough?

Well! I am here to give some tips based on my own experience living under a regime of this kind and reading about these systems. These are some tips for writers and roleplayers who want to create their own totalitarian worlds. So, here we go!

IDEOLOGY & PILLARS

The ideology is the base of the new order of a totalitarianism. Depending on the beliefs of the regime, the way they see the world and how it works, the nation will transform differently.

That’s why in A Brave New World, which pillar is genetics engineering, is built as a society divided in different genetical castes; or the reason why The Handmaid’s Tale world is based in a radical religious ideology that dominates women and punishes those who sin; or why The Man In The High Castle follows the nazi’s philosophy on superior races and idolizes Hitler’s figure; or why Fahrenheit 451’s books prohibition influences the roles of firefighters.

There are plenty of fictional and real (unfortunately) examples. An ideology usually has rules and laws, perspectives, a determined political and social system, a deity or figure it admires and an official truth.

OFFICIAL TRUTH

One of the main goals of a totalitarian system is changing completely the reality as it is known. For this reason, the absolute truth of certain events is a threat for the system.

For a totalitarian government, the truth expressed by the “official sources” is the only and absolute truth. Anything that comes from another voice is a lie or even a delusion. Working hard on building their own reality is the reason why they take over media and spread their own version of a story just to make the rest of the versions look fake.

An innocent man was killed by the system because he was protesting against the crisis? According to the government, “the person was killed because he was a menace to the people, he was an assassin and was trying to foster anarchy within the country. That’s why the brave authorities were obligated to shoot him”. With this version, the government is seen as the hero, conveniently. Because yes, conveniently, the official truth never soils the reputation of those in power. It usually spreads hatred on its enemies (those who oppose the totalitarianism ). The official truth’s goal and function is to change reality completely in order to achieve the absolute anchorage of the people on power. Take this always in mind because it’s probably the most important thing a totalitarianism does to stay in power. The stakes are too high to let people know the truth.

CHANGING THE PAST

As a consequence of the official truth, spreading the painted version of a current event is not enough. It’s also necessary to change the past and rewrite history. And, of course, with the same and convenient goal: making the system on power look like a hero and savior. So, any symbol, event or element that says the contrary or represents a confusion of this understanding, is erased from history books, removed from town squares (statues and sculptures are victims of the government if they don’t fulfill the new order’s values) and are eventually forgotten by future generations. Everything that belongs to the past and threats the totalitarianism ideology, even the slightest littleness, will be erased from the collective consciousness to reconfigure the thoughts of society about the past.  

Is there a hero from the past of the nation who doesn’t follow the ideology of the regime? Their name will be erased from history books and their statues will be replaced by a more convenient hero that follows the government thoughts. Eventually, the first hero is forgotten and never named again.

NEW LANGUAGE

Words are powerful weapons and totalitarianisms well know that. For this reason, they’ll always opt on adopting the “new language” that will be part of the new order with the objective of killing the unnecessary past and controlling the society even in the way they speak and what they hear.

As it’s perfectly and clearly stated in Orwell’s 1984, the Newspeak replaces the Oldspeak so the regime can dominate people’s thought. When creating a totalitarianism, it’s important to have that in mind: they will always want to control what their people say, do and think. Because that’s the safe way to stay in power, if nobody thinks different, nothing different will happen.

The new language, in many regimes, is shown as a war one. Always using words such as fight, battle, soldier, comrade, brigade or troop to make their people believe there’s a constant war, that peace can only be found through battles and that those who think different are enemies.  

BIG BROTHER

The totalitarianism needs to show a face, the face of a savior who will replace God or any other idol of the people. Even if it’s real or not, dead or alive, it’s the face of the government and its’s an obligation to pay respects to it. Propaganda fuels the omnipresence of this character, even if it’s human, they make sure the people think otherwise: that it is a deity, the hero of the society. The ideology of the regime seeks for the exaltation of this leader and make it be loved by people.  

PROPAGANDA

The official truth, the new order and the exaltation of the Big Brother of the system is diffused exclusively through propaganda. It is the precious tool of every totalitarianism and is always used to the point of being abusive and invasive. It will be on billboards, television, newspaper (if there are), bulletins, everywhere. And of course, this propaganda is designed with the new language of its governors. It’s supposed to have the same personality of the whole system. And the goal is evident: brainwashing. The propaganda of a totalitarianism has one or several messages to send to the people, and eventually, make them repeat it and believe it.

For example, the famous 1984’s phrases “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength” are meant to send that precise message to their people and make them believe these statements are actually true (official truth).

SECRET POLICE

This kind of governments eventually create their own police. And the goals of this service is not to protect people even if that’s the “official truth”. The reality of this agency is to safeguard the system and get rid of anyone who means a threat to it.

Murders will be covered as accidents or suicides, prison will be filled with protestants and detractors, there will be torture centers to make people confess valuable information for the police. This is how they act. They are hitmen, feared by the people because, sooner or later, society learns the real function of that police. Being a cop of this service turns you into the guard dog of the government, and of course, betrayal is also punished within the members of the secret police.

The Gestapo, KGB and Thinkpol are clear examples of how the secret police of a totalitarianism work. Of course, it’s not an ethical duty. On the contrary; they only care about those who order and pay them, not the people. For example, the Thinkpol’s duty wasn’t to protect the citizens of Oceania, but arresting those who attempted against the Inner Party.

CENSORSHIP

In order to spread only, but only the messages the totalitarianism needs, there has to be a censorship of the media and people. This kind of regimes will aim on media because of its influence on people. They’ll take newspapers, TV channels and radio stations and regulate what they say. There’s usually an official (TV or radio) channel from the government that announces bulletins of news and the propaganda of the regime.

Not all totalitarian governments have total control of media, some clandestine and rebel mass media outwit the regulations and censorship. But, of course, depending on how effective is the secret police, those acts will have consequences.

Regarding political parties, the definition of totalitarianism doesn’t allow the existence of opposition parties, for there can be only one, the unique political party.

BRAINWASHING & INDOCTRINATION

A totalitarian regime always needs to maintain the sheep inside the farm, and it doesn’t want questioner sheep. That’s why they recur to brainwashing, to avoid any risk that could overthrow their government.

The main reason of propaganda and censorship is precisely brainwashing. Propaganda exists to spread what the government wants their people to think and censorship exists to eliminate any tergiversation and “lie” that could confuse them. If the totalitarianism is well established, their people will be completely brainwashed.

Another way this kind of regime use to indoctrinate is schools. Spreading the messages to the youth when they still haven’t built their own opinions it’s a key strategy for totalitarianisms. This is how they secure the brainwashing of new generations.

There are many ways to indoctrinate a society, and it’s always a priority for the regime. Because people who think, will eventually oppose you. They can’t let that happen.  

OPPRESSED SOCIETY

How does a society under a totalitarian system behaves? It all depends on how strict is the system, what they promote through their new order and laws and how established are they on people (brainwashing). What we have to understand it’s that these regimes do not recognize human dignity and the person as an individual. They are just tools for their system and objectives. And, for this society, freedom doesn’t exist.

In a totalitarianism, the people blend with the rest of the collective, becoming idiot masses that just repeat the propaganda they consume. They are a collective, a mass, a medium for the government. They have no rights, they are just instruments with no dignity nor individuality. That’s why the duty of the society it’s to obey and never complain.

Do not limit yourself on making one kind of society, they all react differently to these regimes. Depending on how well established is the new order, it will be harder for people to think by themselves, and become slaves of the system, obeying the regime.

Nevertheless, if you want to create a conflict, there’s always exceptions: citizens who still think for themselves, understand there’s something wrong with the system and will fight it.

RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

And that conclusion bring us here: the main conflict of a totalitarianism it’s a —usually clandestine— group of resistance. Even the toughest totalitarianism has a resistance counterpart, because that’s how human nature is: always looking for a little hole to freedom even in the deepest caves.

Again, the size and quality of the resistance movement depends of how strict it’s the totalitarianism and how efficient it’s their secret police. However, there’s always, ALWAYS, someone who thinks differently and becomes the enemy of the regime. If you want a conflict for the government, there needs to be a resistance group, even if it is small. Also, there are many types of groups, they can be violent, pacifistss, anarchists, etc.

If your story doesn’t involve a coup against the totalitarianism, I suggest you to equally include this group, because they always tend to exist. Besides, a totalitarianism feeds itself from the drama of having enemies, so even if there’s not a big resistance group, they’ll create their own fictional enemy and blame all their problems on them. 

As a final suggestion, if you want to get involved into dystopian worlds and totalitarianisms, read a lot about them, especially I recommend you to read George Orwell’s 1984, for he portrayed a totalitarianism perfectly clear and it’s probably the most emblematic example. Also read a lot of history and real totalitarian regimes! Learn a lot from reality! It’s more akin to 1984 than you think.

Reminder: use this knowledge and write stories to always condemn totalitarianisms! Because we need to use power of literature to fight against what’s unfair. And believe me, as a person who lives in a regime like this, it’s not funny to see a story glorifying a totalitarianism.