{"id":1223,"date":"2025-08-27T11:16:52","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T17:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/news\/?p=1223"},"modified":"2025-08-27T11:30:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T17:30:46","slug":"%ef%bf%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/news\/archives\/1223","title":{"rendered":"NOVEL DEVELOPMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN JUNE 2025 FELLOWSCRIPT, ICWF PROFESSIONAL BLOG<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Character, Plot, or Message-Based Novels<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(A discussion of my own approach to developing character goals, part 1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the audience of a long-ago Christian writers\u2019 conference, I sat entranced before a panel of book editors describing the types of manuscripts they were looking to acquire: character<\/em>-driven novels and plot<\/em>-based books, but never, ever stories written primarily for message<\/em>. I knew right then I might be in trouble. You see, I begin plotting and peopling my fiction pieces with, first of all<\/em>, an underlying but specific point I am dying to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many authors don\u2019t start to draft without a well-developed set of characters in mind whose goals form a predetermined plot, whereas other writers create these elements as they go along, writing by the seat of their pants, so to speak. I myself am more a plotter than a pantster (at least for my longer works). And I stand by my decision to write literature that comes out of a message bubbling up in my soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not beginning a story focused on character means it\u2019s imperative for me to understand how to create goals<\/em> that move the plot along\u2014first my own overarching goal (the message that in effect works out as theme<\/em>) and then two levels of characterization fueled by the individual macro-goals<\/em> and micro-goals<\/em> of my story characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorial, Macro-, and Micro-Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my novel The Red Journal<\/em>, I purposed to write an allegory taking the shape of the Book of Hebrews (my authorial goal<\/em>, as I wanted to point the readers to my subtle biblical theme: \u201cThe promise of entering His rest still stands\u201d). Keeping this main theme in mind, I then created a suitable setting before plotting and populating it. I built each character\u2019s main macro-goals <\/em>(that is, driving motivations, such as my protagonist\u2019s desire for long-term security in a home of her own), which in turn supported their micro-goals<\/em> (that is, smaller objectives they hold at the beginning of each section and how these targets create problems for themselves or others, demanding response and redirection through new goals). Generally speaking, the protagonist\u2019s goals must be constantly frustrated and the antagonist\u2019s goals consistently fulfilled\u2014until the conflict comes to a climax and resolution. I find, then, that my novels are definitely message (not character or plot) driven.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To summarize so far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n