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Intricate Plots



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Mon Jun 22, 2015 3:28 am
redmask38 says...



I need help dealing with intricate plots. I'm having serious writer's block. I'm trying to think of more components to add to the plot to keep the reader enticed. Sort of like Divergent, how there are so many things tied in to the whole plot. What really gets me is motivation. I'm having trouble coming up with a really good motivation for why the villains do what they do. My reasons seem pretty weak. I feel like I need a better background to build on. Basically what I need help on is story components that can add to the motivation of villains. Any ideas or advice? Do you need the details of my potential story to help me?
~redmask38
  





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Mon Jun 22, 2015 3:50 am
Lumi says...



Some details would be very nice, yes.

Personally, I say you'll never get anywhere with motivation if you can't walk yourself through the entire scenario and understand, as a person, what your options would be. For instance, the solution to your mother dying to a serial killer isn't to move to Saskatchewan and found a drug cartel. Your likely branches of plot-thought are going to be, given the columns of morality:

Lawful:
1. Good: Become a police officer in order to prevent other children from feeling your loss.
2. Neutral: Mourn your mother, create a family and raise your children to your moral guidelines to bring more positivity into the world.
3. Evil: Become a lawyer to see that the murderer rots.

Neutral:
1. Good: Write letters to congress to further gun control laws.
2. True Neutral: Mourn your mother, move on with life.
3. Evil: Track down the murderer's family and kill them.

Chaotic:
1. Good: Move on with life, but encounter the murderer in a deserted alley one night? Kill him.
2. Neutral: Murderer gets away with his crime? Burn his house down. Or the house of the judge. Next, the jury.
3. Evil: Burn down your childhood home to rid yourself of the memory anchor. The murderer's body is inside.
I am a forest fire and an ocean, and I will burn you just as much
as I will drown everything you have inside.
-Shinji Moon


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Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:10 am
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Rosendorn says...



Think of it this way: each villain is a protagonist to their own story.

If you can think of what makes the villain want to act (villains tend to act, protagonist tend to react) to change something. To prove something.

The Joker's motivation is to prove society can be made chaotic by the acts of one person. Mr. Freeze's motivation is to get enough money he can save his wife's life. Some villains want power, some want to fix something they see broken, some want to achieve a good goal but go about it bad ways.

If you start thinking of villains in terms of protagonists for their side, you can probably figure out motive a little easier. It's not all that different for figuring out the hero's motivation; it's just on the opposite side.

As for how to develop more interesting conflict: add people with their own goals.

Each individual person has their own life and motive to do what they do. Stick a bunch of people with conflicting goals and/or motives in a group and you will end up with lots of conflict. They can be on the same side, as well, with one person going on a quest for the joy of travel while the other because they want to hunt down the person who killed their mother. They go to the same places and don't get in the others' way most of the time, but sometimes the traveler wants to take a giant detour that distracts from the most likely path the killer took and there can be a fight, or resentment, or a big emotional moment where one character reveals their deeper self. Depends on the characters.

As for how to build background and make stronger reasoning: backstory! When you figure out where your character's been, you have a better idea where they're going. Somebody who's been forced into a very structured life and resents it will rebel (and very strongly) the first chance they get, while somebody who's lived a very routine life and likes it will probably resist any and all pushes to get them to do something different. An abuse victim often wants out the first chance they get, but that depends on them seeing their situation as abusive. Somebody who's neglected in their relationships can act out and/or follow the first person who gives them any sort of attention. It depends on the person and what they feel about their situation.

Hope this helps!
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