Advanced Brilliant Writing: Make Your Plots Wider and Your Characters Deeper (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (13 page)

Why is John McClane the only one who can save the hostages in
Die Hard 1
? Because no one else knows that he is there, or that there are hostages and his wife is in the middle of it.

Why Not? Because he’s the only one standing between them and their well-thought out plot, and there are a team of assassins after him.

It’s seems easy, but the truth is, discovering the Why and Why Not early on in your story is essential to building the plot devices you’ll use later.

How to discover the right Why.

The Why must have two components:

Core (or value-based) motivation

Uniqueness

Core Motivation:
The Why of the character’s journey must be motivated by something so powerful that it pushes them forward despite the Why Nots before them.

Think about the elements that push us forward—usually the elements that motivate us the most have to do with our core values, the things that mean the most to us.

This spring, I had double-booked two events—a writer’s conference, and my daughter and son’s prom party. I throw the prom party every year, and since my son was a senior, I knew I couldn’t miss it. Likewise, I was honored to be able to teach at the writer’s event, so I couldn’t cancel. Instead, I asked that all the classes fall at the beginning of the conference. Then, I got up at 4 a.m., drove two hours to the airport, got on a flight, caught yet another, landed, and drove another three hours to arrive one hour before my kids left for prom. The journey felt a little like
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
, but I was propelled by my value of wanting to celebrate the triumphant moments with my children. More than that, I wanted them to know that I was committed to their important events, despite my schedule.

Let’s go back to
Braveheart
—the Why of his journey starts when he marries his wife in secret so that he might not have to share her with the lords of the land. Freedom is at his core, and when she’s killed, he knows that he must fight for a free Scotland. It’s not just about his wife’s death—it’s the cost of slavery to their English masters.

Dr. Richard Kimble’s journey begins the night his wife is brutally murdered. He can’t believe they are accusing him of murdering her when he, at his core, is a man who saves lives. In fact, he is busy saving a life while she is getting murdered, and later we understand that he was the intended target. Had he not been saving a patient’s life, then he would have been there to protect his wife. Protecting his wife—even after the fact—is at the core of his journey.

So how do you find your character’s core motivation—that plot element that will drive him through the story?

It’s a matter (of course) of going back to your character interview and discovering that thing that matters most to them.
Often you can start by taking a look at their identity
—who they are.

Dr. Richard Kimble is a doctor, therefore saving lives is paramount to him. When he can’t save his wife’s life, he is driven by his value of protector to find her killer.

William Wallace is a warrior—if you remember the story at all, his father and brother were brutally murdered when they were ambushed by the English in his youth. When he returns to his village as a grown man, it isn’t as a warrior. Still, he opposes the rule of the English, and their right to take the brides of the Scotsmen on their wedding night, and thus, convinces his bride to marry in secret. When she is menaced by soldiers, he finds himself fighting for her—until she is killed. Suddenly he’s an outcast and a troublemaker . . . a warrior. And at the core of his fight is the value of freedom.

Frodo is a Hobbit, and the Hobbits love the Shire. When Gandalf gives Frodo the ring to flee with, telling him the Shire is in danger, Frodo flees. It is his love for home and the threat against it that causes him to step forth and become a Hero-Hobbit. Behind that is his value of family and home.

Ask your character:

Who are you? What is your identity and why?

Then, when they define for you their identity, look for the core values inside it. Freedom? Loyalty? Patriotism? Family?
This core value is what will drive them forward in the story and give you the first component of Why.

The second component of Why you need is Uniqueness.

Only your character can accomplish this journey. Whether it is because of their unique past, or abilities, or determination, or beliefs, or even physicality (e.g. being a Hobbit), their uniqueness is the other half of the Why.

Only Frodo can carry the ring because Frodo, as a hobbit, has a pure and simple heart and is not swayed (much!) by the ring’s power. Unfortunately, this is not true when we discover that Gollum was a Hobbit. But as they begin this quest, it is clear that only Frodo can carry the ring. Add to that that Frodo comes from the lineage of Ring Bearers—his uncle was the first to have discovered the Ring. Both of these unique traits combine to strengthen Frodo’s Why.

Only Dr. Richard Kimble can solve his wife’s murder. Only he believes/knows that he is innocent, and only he has the memories that can unlock the mystery.

Only William Wallace has the leadership elements needed to lead the rebellion against England. His father was one of the original leaders who was murdered by the English, so William has grown up with a legacy of loss that has fueled his passion for freedom. And, most of all, William has nothing to lose.

How do you find that unique element that creates the other component of Why? Go back to that interview you did with your character as you were building their journey, and look at their competence. What are they good at? Why? What unique skills, abilities, personalities, physical attributes, legacies, even knowledge do they possess that sets them apart?

Luke wasn’t just a Jedi. He was the son of Darth Vader.

John McClane wasn’t just a New York cop. He was the wife of one of the executives.

Jason Bourne wasn’t just a guy who lost his memory. He was a trained assassin.

Figure out your character’s competence and you will discover their uniqueness.

Before you can incorporate the Why in your story, you need to discover the Why Nots.

What stands in the way of your character accomplishing their mission? The Why Not needs to be something that is equal in menace and strength to the character’s Why. It needs to be so big that if it weren’t for the power of the Why, the character would turn back, giving up on their quest.

How do you discover the Why Not?

Here are some ideas:

The Great Why Not can be found by looking at your character’s goals, and then turning it over to find the opposite goal.

William Wallace wants to lead Scotland in a rebellion. His goal is a free Scotland. The opposite would be to disgrace his country and he leads Scotland into defeat. How might that happen? What if he turns out to be a bad leader, or even reckless enough to lose the respect of his people? What if they turn against him? Why would that happen? If his desire to win made him vulnerable to bad judgment, then that would make a compelling Why Not.

John McClane’s goal is to stop the takeover of the Nakatomi Tower and save his wife. The opposite would be for the thieves to get away with the goods, and to kill his wife. How might that happen? By cutting off communication, and making sure he is outmanned and out-armed. The Why Nots require John to go it alone against a team of well-armed assassins.

Luke’s goal is to fight Darth Vader, and bring him over to the right side. Thus, the opposite would be not only if Luke can’t bring Darth over to his side, but if Luke is also sucked over to the Dark Side, instead. How might that happen?

See how the plot is built around thwarting the main goals of the character?

Book Therapist Question:

• What is your character’s goal?
  
• What is directly opposite to that goal?
  
• How might that scenario happen?
  

Now here’s the key to making your plot Wider: Once you figure out the great Why Not, give us a glimpse or taste of it in the beginning of the book.

We need to believe the Why Not is possible, that the character might
fail.

Within twenty-four hours of Dr. Kimble’s train wreck/escape, he is nearly captured, and must leap off a giant waterfall to escape. Worse, the detective after him announces that he doesn’t care if Dr. Kimble is innocent. His only job is to capture him. The viewer is clearly aware of the Why Not, and that Dr. Kimble could fail.

William Wallace marries his woman in secrecy, thinking he can live in “freedom.” But when English soldiers menace her, he can’t stand by, and kills them. He escapes, but she is captured and murdered. His desire to be free has muted his fear of English brutality.

Frodo’s goal is to get the ring to safety, without it possessing him like it might another creature. However he succumbs to his curiosity and puts on the ring, which allows the Ringwraiths to wound him on Weathertop. Frodo is not invincible.

Following the Why Not, gradually show us the
Why.
Plot two or three key scenes that reveal your character’s
Core Value
and
Uniqueness.

Scenes like:

• Wallace dreaming about his woman, and having her wake him for battle.
  
• Dr. Kimble saving the life of a child, despite the personal stakes to himself.
  
• Frodo hiding under a tree and staying calm as the Ringwraiths breathe over him.
  
• Jason Bourne driving the car through the Paris streets after one look at the map.
  
• Jason washing Marie’s hair.
   
  

Establishing the Why and Why Not will also allow you to boil down the essential elements of the plot and help you craft your premise. It’s the first step in making your plot Wider.

• A Failure/Why Not Scene
  
• A Why Scene revealing his Core value
  
• A Why Scene revealing his Uniqueness
  

Acts of Heroism

Now that you’ve figured out the Why and Why Not of your story, along with the big plot obstacles, it’s time to widen your plot with:
Acts of Heroism
.

Acts of Heroism are those character-change actions that take your character from an everyday Joe to a hero.

It’s not the grand gestures, the great sacrifices . . . Acts of Heroism are the everyday acts of our character that push him beyond himself. Ideally in a story, every choice your character makes and every step beyond his comfort zone that he or she takes, is going to push your character farther and farther from the person he starts as, until finally he becomes a full-fledged hero.

Let’s go back to two of my favorite movies—
Eagle Eye
and
Cellular

Eagle Eye
is the story of an everyday guy faced with the accusation that he’s a terrorist. He has to figure out how to stay alive—with someone else controlling his life, and of course, prove his innocence. It’s a breathtaking movie. Jerry Shaw is not very heroic at the beginning. He’s actually kind of a shyster, which we see when he cons his friend out of cash at a poker game. However, he turns into a full-out hero by the end of the book. Actually being willing to sacrifice his life for his country.

In
Cellular
, another thriller, an everyday young man with issues of laziness and irresponsibility is pulled into a kidnapping/hostage situation when he receives a random call on his cell phone from a woman being held captive. Step by step he’s pulled into danger, as he tries to rescue this woman, each choice causing him to be more heroic until finally he puts his life on the line to save someone he doesn’t even know.

How do these two everyday Joes turn into heroes?

Acts of Heroism.

And not just any heroic acts, but the type that move your character from
Primal Instincts to Noble Sacrifice

What are Primal Instincts?

Power, love, survival—these are the basic instincts, the primal instincts, of nearly everyone.

Less primal are things like revenge, greed, and comfort.

Most characters begin their journeys fueled by primal instincts. We all act out of a basic emotion—however, some are more noble than the next. As your hero moves along the spectrum, he’ll have opportunities to choose increasingly more noble options, and each option will make him more heroic.

For example, consider Jerry Shaw in
Eagle Eye
. The first heroic thing he does is to stay with the woman instead of leaving her in Chicago, even though he wants to. He doesn’t do it for her son, but rather his own survival. Then, his next choice, he has to rob a bank. He doesn’t want to—but this time, he does it to save the woman. And, after that, his subsequent choices are made to save the woman’s son—and ultimately his country. As his primal instinct choices become more noble, his heroism becomes more clear.

As your hero proceeds on his journey, make each choice he makes more noble, and he will become more heroic until finally he must make a Noble Sacrifice to save the day.

And who doesn’t love a character who makes a Noble Sacrifice?

As you plot your story, make sure that each heroic act is nobler than the last, and your plot will become wider.