Young Writers Society

So I have characters, I have settings. I have problems the characters face. But I cannot for the life of me or anyone else think up a plot. How do you do it?

How do those characters meet? How do they get to those settings? How do they overcome those problems? Each distinct thing can be a plot point and then you just have to string it together.

Completely off-the-top-of-my-head generated:

Characters: Charlie, Seemie
Settings: Library, Countryside, Ocean
Problems: Lightning storm, breaking up, flat tyre

Now link them together.

Charlie meets Seemie at the library. It starts storming outside. They both can't go to their cars as they don't have an umbrella. They get to know each other. By the end of the storm, they've fallen in love, how cute.

They go on their first date. He takes her to a movie and afterwards to dinner. They drive out around the countryside. They run into Seemie's ex boyfriend. He hits on her. Charlie sees things out of context. He breaks up with Seemie via a text message.

Seemie tries to tell him what he saw wasn't what really happened. He ignores her calls. She gets on her scooter and drives out to the ocean, where she knows he likes to read books. She gets a flat tyre along the way. She never makes it to him. They never get back together. The end.

...

Granted, that's a terrible story. But yeah.

...

Maybe don't listen to me, kek

That's the best way I've ever seen it explained and the only way I've ever 'gotten' it! Thanks so much

Try not to think of it as a plot so much- unless plotting is what youve found is the best way for your brain.

I was explained to look at it as a road, while you're driving, only the characters are driving. When you're driving, you can only see so far ahead of you, and same in your story. The characters choices of where they want to go and how they avoid troubles is what ends up being the plot in the end. This is one way that keeps me coming back to my stories, because its not all mapped out for me; I don't know the end, and anything could change with the snap of my fingers.

The problem with this way though (there's always the cons) is because it wasn't planned, and sometimes you decide to change something (with the shap of your fingers) there can be a bunch of re-writing as you go back and make things fit how you want. I think it's still worth it though.

Look in the fridge.

In all seriousness, however, you've mentioned that your characters are already facing problems--having a plot is mostly about circumstances leading to one another, how your characters interact with one another/these circumstances, etc. If you've already outlined what your characters motive/s is/are, and you are aware of the setting and the situation your characters are in, all you really need is to find a means with which they can achieve their ends.

Voilà, there's your plot.

Characters normally face A] internal situations that they react to, and B] external situations. These external situations are what we refer to as the plot.

An example I find helpful is that of Jack wanting to buy a lollipop from the store.

Point A: Jack wants lollipop.

External Situation: It is midnight. The shop is probably closed.

Internal Situation: Jack is afraid of the dark. But, he really, really wants that lollipop.

External + Internal Situations --> Conflict.

What Jack does to resolve this conflict spurs a series of events into motion. Maybe he remembers that a friend of his knows the shop owner, or that his mother keeps lollipops in her bag. Maybe his somewhat obsessive need for lollipops at twelve a.m. culminates in him breaking into the store. What are the consequences of whatever he does? Will his mother punish him for stealing from her purse? Will he wake his parents up, if they're asleep? There's a lot that could happen.

Point B is what Jack does to get to Point C--the resolution. Will he get his lollipop? Or will he fail in doing so? This is what makes your story.

Put your characters into a situation. They already have motives, which is great. Your plot largely composes of the methods they apply in achieving them. It's a simple chain of cause & effect, but it becomes an intricate, fragile network of character relationships + development as you write on. The key lies in interaction.

So make your character /do/ something. No plot is clean-cut. You may change your mind halfway through writing; your characters, too, will change and develop--sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But just try to get it all down, because first drafts are about making a chaotic mess. The clean-up comes after.

Good luck!

Thank you, everyone, for your replies! You've all really helped

Plot= character choice and the following repercussions.

This means you have to get characters in trouble and follow through on what the problems mean.

Take the famous Spider Man example. In the comics, he chooses not to go after a criminal, which causes his uncle to die. His uncle does not get revived (a rare thing in comics), which means Spider Man has to live with the consequences for his choice for the rest of his life. As a result, he chooses to help others as Spider Man in a crime fighting capability, but that means he also chooses to have less free time, which means he chooses to have less of a social life and have less time studying... and the plots are basically a string of choices he makes in reply to his initial choice.

And obviously it was a pretty powerful choice. It has lasted him over 40 years in comics.

So start with one choice. Start with the first problem the characters face, and figure out what they chose to do in reply to that. This leads them to a new set of problems that they must make choices for. Repeat.

Hope this helps!