How I Plot my Novels Using a Character’s Flaws to Drive the Story

How I Plot my Novels Using a Character’s Flaws to Drive the Story

Hi, my name is Suzanne Kelman; I have written fourteen books, nine of which have been published, and I thought it would be fun to share part of the process I use to plot my novels.

Trying to figure out all the elements of a story at the beginning can be overwhelming, so I always use this process to overcome the fear of the first page. 

 The first thing I do when I start is to begin by plotting the story around the main character’s flaws. I find this first easy step helps drive the action, and it’s the quickest way for me to connect with my characters. 

The flaws I choose can be anything I want my character to conquer. Greed, heartbreak, unforgiveness, pride, etc 

For example, when I decided to write my latest novel, We Fly Beneath the Stars, I wanted to set the story around the only female bomber pilots in WW2. A squadron of night bombers in the Russian army. Nicknamed the Night Witches by their enemy, these women were incredible, flying against all the odds, many of them in their early twenties. So, as I set out to work on this story, I wanted to write a young character with a flaw that would best push against the plot at every turn. So, having my protagonist be a risk taker and driven by her emotions automatically sets up the character to rub up against authority and be unpredictable in her story world.

Once I established my main character’s flaws, her name is Tasha, I asked myself, who is the person most likely to be the opposite of a character with these types of flaws? 

In this novel, I have the protagonist’s sister play that role. Nadia is the direct opposite of Tasha. She thinks before she does anything; she is careful, meticulous, and responsible. 

The next step is to give the characters a backstory. In We Fly Beneath the Stars, the sisters respond to the earlier death of their parents in entirely different ways. Nadia holds on to everything a little too tightly. She fears challenging the status quo and feels very protective of her younger sister. On the other hand, Tasha views life as short, wanting to live life on the edge because, like her parents, she could lose her life at any time and wants to live fully before she dies. 

Sometimes, I let the reader know what drives the flaws; other times, it is just essential for me to understand what that is so I can write the story authentically. 

So, after I have created two characters in opposition, then the story starts to plot itself.

I first ask myself, what is the worst thing that could happen to someone with these flaws? Once I know what that is, it usually ends up being the big twist in the middle of the book, which is pre-shadowed by lots of twists with the same flaw in the character creating the tension. 

The story goes something like this. First, my character has an emotion that makes her react. The reaction makes her (because of her flaws) do something irrational that then backfires. This causes my character to have an emotional response to that experience, and in response, she takes another flawed action, which also backfires. I then use the B character (Nadia) to continue to expose and challenge those flaws causing the protagonist to react emotionally and take yet another flawed action. This way, I can keep moving the character through the story while developing and escalating the tension toward the ultimate flawed action that eventually takes her to her “all is lost” moment in act three.

What is so fun about this kind of technique is it automatically gives you scenes to write. 

 In my latest story, at the end of Tasha’s character arc, she learns how to control her emotions and be more responsible, like her sister Nadia. In Nadia’s arc, I have her doing the opposite. She goes from being very cautious to learning how to be freer, learning how to love, something that comes easily to her sister Tasha.

Once the arc and flaws of the characters are established, it is now much easier to take my characters on their journey. Then, I can start plotting the outline, using settings and situations to reveal those flaws. 

 So, before I wrote each chapter of this book, I asked myself what setting works well to have Tasha’s flaw drive the action and how can I have Nadia’s negative response escalate the tension? 

This then gives me an agent for automatic plotting, making it much easier to decide what will happen. 

This helps stop the story from stagnating because there is no downtime. I constantly move that character forward with her flaws, having the B character respond negatively. 

Also, I love nothing more than finding a scene when that flaw somehow pays off in the story, 

I then continue to escalate the tension till, ultimately, with the help of the lessons Tasha learns on her journey and with the help of Nadia, she rises above those flaws and takes a different non-flawed action to break the chain and become the best version of herself. 

I use this with all my novels as this system works well for me, and because I love writing character-driven stories, I find it much easier and more enjoyable than having the plot drive the action. 

So, if you like writing character-driven stories and are stuck on that first page, why not give this way of plotting a go the next time you write? 

–Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.

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WE FLY BENEATH THE STARS

1942, Europe: Based on the true story of a female-only bomber battalion, this is a totally heartbreaking and unforgettable story about sacrifice, sisterhood and a love that transcends war.

When the love of Tasha’s life, Luca, joins the air force to fight against the evil Nazi invaders, she knows she has to follow her heart—and him—into battle. Headstrong, impulsive and a daredevil, she’s the perfect recruit.

Tasha’s sensible older sister Nadia plans only to stop Tasha’s madness and bring her home. But a chance encounter puts her in a plane, soaring above the clouds, and she also finds her calling.

Underestimated by their superiors, Nadia and her sister find themselves in airplanes barely fit to fly, being sent on perilous missions with little hope of return. But before long their battalion is being nicknamed ‘the Night Witches’ by the Nazis, their ownership of the skies second to none.

But danger is up in the storm clouds with them, and when both sisters are shot down behind Nazi enemy lines, and taken to a brutal prison camp, they expect to never see their beloved homeland again.

Until Tasha’s eyes meet across the wire fence with someone she never expected to see again: the love of her life, Luca.

But with love comes peril… Will one sister have to sacrifice everything to save the other?

Absolutely unputdownable historical fiction, perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Ragged Edge of Night, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

BUY HERE

Category: On Writing