Sunday, March 20, 2016

Crossroads and Character Building in Your Writing




Everyone of us makes choices. Every day we make probably a dozen small choices, so small we may not even realize we're doing it. But every now and then we look up and find ourselves at a crossroads, faced with a  major life choice that will tip the balance of our fate one way or the other and have repercussions for many years to come.

Do I go to college or go directly to work?

    Do I finish high school or drop out?

          Do I have kids? Do I get married?

     Do I follow my dreams into the unknown or do I stick with the tried and true?

               Do I allow others to dictate my choices or do I go my own way?

It's said our choices make us who we are. The same is true of our favorite fictional characters. Every main character should have a pivotal choice to make in your story, and that choice should make all the difference in how the events unfold.



In Vessel, Alana is a slave, but she makes the choice to free the prisoners that help her escape too. If Alana never made that bold choice, the story would not have come to pass and she would have died a slave. Certainly not as thrilling as striving for something more, is it?

What is the major crossroads your character starts at and how will their choices make or break the story?


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