Showing posts with label plotting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plotting. Show all posts

Friday, September 10, 2021

When & How to SMUT

 


When & How to SMUT
DISCLAIMER: As a multi-published author, I have been taught some fairly rigid rules on what is publishable and what is not. If my rather straight-laced (and occasionally snotty,) advice does not suit your creative style, by all means, IGNORE IT.
Less competition for me. :)

----- Original Message -----
I'd like to know how some smut writers write their smut, ...how smutty our smut should be, [and] places to put smut where it [won't] obstruct the actual plot. I also just want more smut to read...
-- Looking for Good Smut --

 
Before one Smuts...​
 
The first thing one needs to know about writing smut is The Law of Erotic Fiction:​
 

If you can take the Smut out of the Smut Story
and still have a viable story,​

You did it WRONG.


This was derived from Issac Azimov's Law of Science Fiction:​ 
"If you can take the Science out of the Science Fiction and still have a viable story, you did it WRONG."​
This Law is true for every genre of fiction, but especially true for Smut Fiction.

The point being; in order to write smut that won't obstruct the plot--​
 
One creates a Plot
specifically for the Smut.
 
 
WARNING! Incoming Rant!​

Do Not add Smut to an already existing story!​

If you already have a viable story, adding smut just to get readers to look at your work is known as Pandering. This happens most often when a writer gets impatient for views, or sales, and resorts to adding smut to their work in hope of catching the attention of somebody, anybody who will look at their work.​
If you have a half-way decent story, Pandering is the worst thing you can do to your work because it is a Dead End trick. Adding smut content to a story that was not originally designed to have smut content destroys character cohesion and creates massive plot holes almost instantly. In short, it destroys whatever integrity that story might have had.​
Pandering is a cheap trick no reader appreciates, especially readers who already know what good smut fiction looks like.​
If you think your readers won't notice you cheating them out of a properly plotted smut story, you are Very Wrong, and your readers will let you know in ugly ways.​
/Rant.​

Now that I've gotten that off my ample chest...
Accidents Do Happen.​
 
Sometimes writers will write stories that start out as legitimate smut, but the characters get carried away and the plot shifts focus to something that isn't smut -- turning their smut story into something completely different.​ 

How can you tell if a Smut Story has changed?​ 

Here's a test:
-- If you can substitute all the smut scenes with Kissing scenes, your plot has probably shifted into something else -- and that something else is what your story should be.​ 

What to do about this?​

First, figure out what your story's new focus is. Is it a fascinating Mystery, a rollicking Adventure, a tender Romance, intriguing Magic...? Next, take out all your lovely smut, save those scenes in another file to use in a different story, put kissing scenes in those gaping plot holes then finish your story.

What about just...jamming Smut in there anyway?​ 

NO! Absolutely Not. All that will do is ruin a perfectly viable story. All you can do is finish that story then try again with a new story -- hopefully with the smut properly integrated into the plotline.​ 

How do you Write a Story for Smut?!​

Before one writes a single word of the story you plan to have smut in, one needs to know that there are major differences between a basic smut story (Erotica), a smut Adventure story, (Adult Pulp Fiction and Erotic Romance,) a story with with love scenes, (common Romance,) and rape fics, (Bodice Rippers.)

Each of those types of stories all have different Plot Structures where the smut serves a difference purpose.


Erotica:
-- Smut IS the Plot.


Erotica stories tend to be short because their plot is literally; They met. They had sex. What happened after.

This sort of story is easily --and quickly-- written because the writer merely needs to come up with a smut scene, then figure out how the characters met to have smut, then what happened after they had smut.

They saw.
They conquered.
They came.
~ The End.


Adult Pulp Fiction/Erotic Romances:
-- Because the MC needed Smut, Plot Happened.


Believe it or not, Pulp Fiction and Erotic Romances are pretty much the same thing -- an Adult Grand Adventure. The only real difference between them are their target reading audiences. Pulp Fiction is generally aimed at male readers, where Erotic Romance, despite the misleading genre title, are aimed at the female reading audience.

The writer's job is to find a reason for their main characters to Need that Smut to Happen, then expand on how every time they succeed in getting it on, their actions complicate their grand adventure.

The beautiful Omega deliberately seduced the rampaging Alpha to allow the others to escape.

In female oriented Erotic Romance, and BL novels, smut also actively demonstrates the level of emotional intimacy the couple has reached, especially after a traumatic event.

The more poorly written Pulp Fictions however, tend to use a Reward system.

After something happens, the main characters indulge in smut.

-- The main character does something Dangerous; a rescue, an escape, a heist, a fierce battle, and they are rewarded with smut. (Ian Fleming, I am looking at you!)

This is a cheap-assed, bargain bin version of the cliché 'Boy gets the Girl as a Prize for doing something Brave' plot. This cliché is older than the earliest fairy tales and twice as used. Think: cave-man.

If you are aiming strictly for the Male reading audience, go for it! They'll appreciate it enthusiastically.

However, I as an author and a female reader, despise it. In fact most female readers intensely dislike that cliché.

Why?

It's demeaning.

If a guy does something life-threatening for my sake such as a rescue, I might reward them with a hug, or a kiss on the cheek, or money, but never smut. Not unless I was already in a sexual relationship with them.

The only type of person that will reward a guy with smut when they are Not already in a relationship with them, is either:

  1. A woman being forced to do so. In which case he better Not accept that reward or he will lose all respect from every female reading his story...!

  2. Or a woman looking for a sucker to use. This kind of person will also toss him away the instant they find someone stronger, richer, and more powerful. This kind of person is known as a Skank and females Hate them. We certainly don't want to read about them unless they come to nasty, nasty ends.


Romance:
-- Falling in Love leads to Smut.


Many, many Romances have smut, but most of them don't really need it. This is because what drives the plot in a Romance story isn't Physical Love. The plot's focus is Emotional Love, and emotions are what make the story happen -- and need the most detailing.

However, if you truly want smut in your Romance story, to do it properly each progressive love scene should demonstrate the increasing level of Affection and Trust --the increasing level of love-- between your main characters.


Bodice Rippers:
-- The classic rape fic where the victim falls in love with their rapist. AKA: Stockholm Syndrome.


Before we get into how to write one of these, the writer needs to know two things:

Number One: American female readers tend to HATE rape fics --this includes M/M rape fics-- with a burning passion, unless that story ends with a gruesome revenge scene that the rapist does not survive.

Bodice Ripper novels went out of fashion in the USA in the mid 80's because of a massive cultural shift in the USA where 'having sex' and 'enjoying sex' were no longer considered shameful -- something Nice Girls didn't do until after marriage.

Ahem... The authors no longer needed the excuse of a forced seduction to get their Nice Girl characters into bed with their male leads.


Number Two: Over 80% of the English reading --and book-buying-- audience is Female.
So, if your English rape fic, or English translated rape fic, has a low reader count, now you know why. It's because the largest denomination of English readers --females-- won't read that type of work.

On the other hand...!

If you are targeting male readers this type of story will definitely appeal to them because rape is a very common male stroke fantasy.

Ahem! Please note the term Fantasy. Just because someone fantasizes about something does not mean they have any desire to do such things in real life. 
 
For example, Stephen King fantasizes about gruesome murders all the time -- he even writes them down so other people can fantasize about them too! However, he has never harmed anyone in real life.​

The key to writing Bodice Rippers successfully is to have some kind of smut content in every chapter (every 2,500 words minimum,) even if it's just peeping at naked flesh.

However, there should still be a decent excuse for every bit of smut to happen! It doesn't have to be a good excuse, just enough of one to move the story to the next scene.

Detailing smut however, is optional with smut scenes only being a paragraph or three in length. This is because while male readers prefer detailed descriptions of the characters participating in smut -- female and male-- they prefer to use their imaginations to detail the action.


The Bodice Ripper is the core of the Oriental Harem story.
 
In order to write a harem fic longer than 10,000 words (two to four chapters,) one needs more Targets to fill out that word count.

To make a basic Harem Fic, start by sketching out as many targets for your main character to seduce as possible. Seriously, make a list with names, cliché character typecasting, and base descriptions. Change targets every 20,000 (20k) words with a new location and a fresh excuse to have smut.

How do you End a Harem Fic?​

-- No idea. From what I've seen so far, the story keeps going until the Main Character dies.


How Descriptive 
should the Smut Scenes be?

This depends on your target reading audience.

Female readers want descriptive details of everything -- inside and out!​

The people, the places, the action, the sounds, the smells, the tastes, the colors, the textures... Female readers want to see each scene clearly in their minds better than in a movie. They want to experience it all; mentally, physically, emotionally. They want to be those characters and live their lives from inside their skins.

Smut scenes range between 2,500 words to 10,000 words per scene.

However there is a limit to how much one should describe!​
  • Good example of descriptive writing
    Laurell K Hamilton's early Anita Blake books. Her later books completely lost the plot.​
     
  • Bad example
    JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. He was writing a travelogue and it shows. His Hobbit is much better, but still crammed with travelogue details.​
Male readers prefer the Characters and Action Scenes as lovingly detailed as the Silver Screen.​

They want to see the participants and players in full technicolor in their imaginations; skin tones, hair color, eye color, the exact softness of skin, fragrances fair and foul, descriptions of body types, and exactly how a bosom fits in the character's palm. 

They like the messy details too; the slap of skin and the squelch of wet flesh, musky damp scents, and the taste of sweaty skin.

Location changes, scenery changes, fight scenes and other daring-do scenes should also be as detailed as a movie scene.

The emotional aspects can be skipped almost entirely -- unless Revenge is involved. Apparently Hate, Rage, Anger, and Frustration are allowable emotions for the main protagonist to wallow in. 

Love and affection are emotions they succumb to -- after fighting long and hard against them.

Everything else can be somewhat vague, including the smut.

Average Smut scene: 500 to 1000 words.

If you want to detail out the smut to 5000 words or more, your male readers will definitely enjoy it, but a couple paragraphs of a rough outline of what happened works too. This is because males like to add in their own little details and dialogue while they're fapping to smut.​
  • Good Example of descriptive writing male readers appreciate: Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series.​
  • Bad Example: Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Each female lead and all the action is lovingly detailed, but the smut scenes are barely a paragraph in length and described very poorly. I was so disappointed.​
     
     

How much Smut...?

 
This depends on the type of story one is writing.

However...! Before we go into detail about how much Smut each type of story generally has, my definition of Smut needs to be addressed.

To many writers, Smut = Sex. My definition is a lot more broad. 
 
As far as I'm concerned, Smut is anything sexual at all; from smoldering eye contact, to a squeeze of the butt cheek, to full on intercourse. I do however, define a Smut Scene as a scene were sex happens. Okay?

Okay. 
 
Now...​ 
 

How much Smut
should go in each type of Smut Story?
 

Erotica:
  • Smut Scenes: One per 5000 (5k) words.​
  • How Smutty: Extremely detailed.​
  • Fetishes or kinks: Yes, please! Limited to what is legal to publish. Generally no scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
​Euphemistic language to start with, increasingly hardcore adult language until the peak of climax for best effect. C-word used sparingly and only as a compliment. F-bombs perfectly okay.​

Erotic tension begins with the opening line of the story and every word of description should add to that tension. The moment the two main characters make eye contact Lust smolders into being and every word after that should be erotically charged until the very last line.

Keep in mind, most Erotica is short; 5000 (5k) words to 20,000 (20k) words at most. It is agonizingly difficult to keep up the sexual tension beyond 20k without changing participants. It CAN be done, but it is not easy.
WARNING! Female readers Do Not like reading stories where the main character changes partners. Females consider that Cheating -- unless the story ends in a threesome relationship with all three participants sleeping with each other.​


Adult Pulp Fiction/Erotic Romance:
  • Smut Scenes: Eight to fifteen per 100,000 (100k) words.​
  • How Smutty: Hardcore detailed.​
  • Fetishes or kinks: Limited to what is legal to publish. No scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
​Common language with increasingly hardcore adult language during moments of Danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. C-word used only as a compliment. F-bombs perfectly okay.​

Because these stories are in fact cross-genres of Adventure and Romance, it is much easier to keep the erotic tension going between exclusive partners by balancing it with danger and suspense. 
 
Think in terms of a roller-coaster ride with the high peaks being Smut, the deep drops being Danger, and the sharps curves being Suspense.


Romances:
  • Smut Scenes: Three to five per 100,000 (100k) words.​
  • How Smutty: Detailed enough to know who is doing what, but through rose-colored glasses.​
  • Fetishes or kinks: Only what is acceptable by housewives and high school girls. (Mild bondage, no pain!)​
​Romantic and euphemistic language with only mildly coarse adult language during moments of danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. F-bombs only while in extreme danger and at the peak of climax. C-word is right out.​

Be sure to detail the internal dialogue and emotional angst of your POV character.

Best written from ONE POV only! 
(Especially if the writer is a Beginner.)​

The idea is to keep the readers guessing as to how the Romantic Interest really feels. Using the Romantic Interest's POV even once removes all romantic suspense and gives away the Ending! This is BAD because once the readers know how the story will end, they no longer have a reason to keep reading your story.


Bodice Ripper / Harem story
  • Smut Scenes: Some kind of smut content from mild to hardcore every chapter.​
  • How Smutty: Hardcore detailed. Change targets every 50,000 (50k) words with a new location and a new plot twist to give you a fresh excuse to have smut.​
  • Fetishes or kinks: Limited to what is legal to publish. No scat, no bestiality, no watersports.​
Common language with increasingly hardcore adult language during moments of danger. Also during rising sexual tension until the peak of climax. C-word okay. F-bombs okay.​
WARNING! Make sure you know your Reading Audience! 
American female readers Do Not respond well to smut-shaming scenes and may get vicious about them.​


Oddly enough, the Bodice Ripper/Harem Tale is a cross-genre of Adventure and Erotica. Keeping the erotic tension is done by changing partners plus moments danger and suspense. In fact, the easiest way is by changing partners during moments of danger and suspense.

Just don't completely abandon the previous partners, especially if they've married the harem master! Doing that will create a plot hole your readers will crucify you for in the comments.

To avoid that sort of problem, give each successive partner their own individual problem the main character needs to assist them with. That partner's story concludes when the problem is fixed and the main character moves on, leaving a happy and thoroughly satisfied ex-partner behind.

The light novel series Vampire Hunter D uses this formula for each individual book.​
Everywhere he goes, D meets a new partner with a vampire problem. Once he fixes their problems and kills the local vampire, he leaves them behind happy and satisfied.​

In Conclusion...​

So, how do smut writers write their smut?
-- With loving descriptions and careful attention to detail.

How smutty should the smut be?
-- Enough to actually get one's target reading audience tight and tingly in their britches.

Where should one put the smut, so it won't obstruct the actual plot?
-- Where it belongs; as an important mover and shaker of the plot all by itself.

I hope this proves helpful.

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Writing Horror that's actually Scary.

 

Art by Kopie

Writing Horror that's actually Scary.

I ran across 'quite' an informative little video series. This particular set is on making Horror games, movies, and stories.

Let's Gripe about Horror
https://vimeo.com/295183486

I suggest grabbing a notebook and completely ignoring the movie in favor of just listening to the voice-over. Expect to use that Pause button a lot. He covers a lot of topics at lightspeed.

Highlights:

What do You want to Do to your target audience with your Horror?

- Unsettle them?
- Surprise them?
- Create Apprehension?
- Convey a message about something you feel is horrifying?
- Disgust them with Splatter?

What does your target audience Want?

- To think about an important issue?
- Feel an adrenaline rush?
- Be titillated by gore?

What is Actual Horror?

-- Something so ghastly you have trouble understanding what just happened and/or what you're seeing.

To be effective, your horror needs to Generate: Anxiety, Panic, and Dread on a Personal level.

"You want to make the audience realize what a horrible person they are while you show them a bunch of weird crap that they can never really figure out."

In other words...
-- Offer them something Dangerously Mysterious, and make them feel Bad about themselves for wanting to know more about it. :) Then, when the final reveal comes, deliver on just how bad it is to Know the answers while hinting that even more remains hidden. HP Lovecraft was a master at this.

To do this you need:

1 To generate Introspection among the audience. ("I really am a horrible person.")
2 A Story Designed to generate that introspection.
3 A Tone of Horror that Supports the Story.
4 A Tone of Mystery that Supports the Horror.


The Steps:

1 Generate Introspection among the audience

Make them identify with Your Opinion/Concept.
-- The easiest way to get your audience to support Your opinion is by using their own established opinions as a base to work from.

-- Being studious is Good.
-- Being hard-working and punctual is Good.
-- Being kind to strangers is Good.
-- Defending the weak is Right.
-- Family deserves unconditional Trust.
-- Loving unconditionally is Right.

Subtlety = Audience IMMERSION.

Don't Tell -- SHOW, but Show by NOT SHOWING.

No Direct hints toward the Horror.

-- No bloody smears.
-- No mysterious notes.
-- Nothing concrete to prove that something really bad has happened.

Instead, Imply that something has gone wrong.

-- Use little things to hint that something has gone wrong, but nothing definite to point to What went wrong, or How wrong it went.

Reward their involvement with small affirmations that something has indeed gone wrong, possibly very wrong. 

-- Give them Clues, not Confirmation.
-- Make them think they can handle it --> until they actually face it.

2 A Story Designed to generate that introspection.


Make your story Interesting to the audience.

However...!
-- The audience only cares about two things:

1. Themselves.
-- Their personal circumstances. ("Oh, woe is me!")

2. Their personal interests.
-- Their family. (Their parents, their siblings, their spouse, their kids, their house...,)
-- Their lovers. (Catching or Keeping.)
-- Their hobbies. ("I adore cats, dogs, anime, lollies...!")

You have Two options:

1. Make something specifically about Them. 
-- Something that appeals to a specific audience.

2. Get them to LIKE (care about) a character in your story.
-- A likable human character*
-- An animal
-- An Interesting and/or unusual Environment (personification)

* "People will always pick (connect with) the cute (spunky) kid over a tragic (angsty) victim."

3 A Tone of Horror that Supports the Story.


Invoke all 5 senses -- and then some.
- Music & Sounds
- Imagery
- Textures
- Smells
- Flavors

4 A Tone of Mystery that Supports the Horror.


What many beginning writers miss is that at its core, a Horror is a MYSTERY.
-- The core value of a Mystery is a Contest between the Author who presents a Puzzle, and the Reader who seeks to discover the Solution before the end of the story.

The sign of a good Mystery is one that Keeps the Reader Guessing until the very last page.

-- Never give anything away until the last possible second. (NEVER give the monster a POV!)
-- The Monster should be the Physical Representation (presented as a puzzle) of the story's Concept AND the final Answer.
-- The final Answer should be More shocking than your Monster.

Why use Horror?

-- Horror conveys themes involving The Darkness within the Human Soul far better than other genres, (such as Comedy, or Romance.)

Subtlety = Confusion & Misdirection

Personify the story's Concept

Transform the story's Concept into a MONSTER that:
-- Embodies the idea, (shows how wrong/evil such a concept can be.)
-- Is ambiguous enough to Visually unsettling.

Subtlety in Design

"Don't use conventional designs!
-- A skinless dog, or a dog made of butterflies, is still just a Dog."

However, a shapeless, amorphous blob with strange appendages MADE from dogs is something else entirely.

"Rule of Designing (Horror) things:

-- To convey existing ideas and make it look enough like [i]something to state (that idea,) but make it look so strange, your brain doesn't know what to make of what it's seeing."[/i]

"What did I just see?"
"What does it mean?"

Important!
- Show it too long and it will Lose Impact.
- Show it too short and it Won't Convey the Theme.

Condition them to learn New Fears.
--> This triggers Jump-Scares.

- Specifically themed music. (Ex. The shark music in 'Jaws'.)
- Specific ominous sounds.
- Specific Actions = Fatal Results. (Ex. In Nightmare on Elm Street, falling asleep = Death) [/list]

Give them strong Negative Results for their actions.

-- Even (or especially) for Positive actions.

Short-term Victory = Long-term Defeat

> Ammo/inventory limits:
--- If used to kill this monster, won't have it later to kill that monster.

> Catch 22 Choices:
--- To gain something, one must lose something.
--- To save someone, some else must die.

Keep the audience invested in continued voluntary Exposure to the threat.

-- Give them an emotional reason (or excuse) to stay and Finish the game, book, or movie.

Tone, Narrative, and so-on all need a Purpose --> need to Support your Main Concept.

- Betrayal.
- Inability to connect with others.
- Lost in a collective society.
- Etc...

You do this by:
- Establishing the Concept you're trying to convey. (Show it in all it's mundane glory.)
- Associating that concept with something Horrifying.
- Showing all possible results of interaction -- and Non-interaction.


I was very impressed by the amount of research and thought that went into this 3 part series.

Enjoy!

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Plotting Your Own Story Structures

I recently came across an article you wrote about the Gothic story structure. ... Your article was incredibly straight forward and informative. Do you have any resources you would recommend for aspiring ... authors to ensure they are hitting all the wickets?  -- J 
 
Sadly, there's not a whole lot out there on the different types of Plotting Structures. Most of what is available is somewhat...simplistic derivatives of Aristotle's 3 Act Structure for a Tragedy, Freytag's Pyramid, and The Hero's Journey based on Campbell's 'Hero with a Thousand Faces.' 

Unfortunately, those structures only cover a small amount of very common, very basic stories. 



Certainly not what I wanted to write. 

So, what I did was outline the plots of some of my favorite stories from books and movies to figure out their plotting patterns. This is how I came up with the Gothic plot, the Fairy Tale plot, and the Romance plot patterns. 

(INTJ here. We're all about creating patterns.) 



This is something you may want to try yourself. Treat it as an exercise!


Plotting Your Own Story Structures
This exercise will allow you to build your own plot structures that you can use to make your own unique stories.

Pick out 3 of your favorite movies and/or stories.

Outline the plots into Four main Acts. (Only Tragedies end in the Third Act.) 

Make it as simple as possible; leave out names and details.   

Base Example:

1) Trouble Begins
     Set up and character intro, plus hints of darkness.

2) Falling Apart
      Struggling to figure out what's going on.

3) Crash and Burn
      They know what's happening and they can't stop it. 

4) Rise from the Ashes
     They fight to survive.   

Keep in mind that most movie scripts are far more compact than the average book; only a Novella; 60,000 (60k) words, in length where books tend to start at 100,000 (100k) words, so expect book outlines to be longer and far more detailed. 

After you make your outlines:
Look for what is Similar and what is Different in your outlines.

Look for missed steps, and doubled, or even tripled steps in each Act. 
 -- More often than not, whole scenes are repeated a minimum of three times, but with different results. Often played out with three different characters. (Stephen King does this a lot.)


Once you get the hang of this, plot out different genres. 
 -- Notice how the stages of each Act change --often drastically-- between the genres. For example; an Adventure story won't have near as many Emotional Impact scenes as a Romance.
 
After you've condensed each genre outline to their most common traits, you'll have the perfect plot structures to Plug and Play with your own characters, places, and situations.
Don't forget to Experiment along the way! 
 -- Sometimes a bit more repetition here, and a longer emotional breakdown there can make all the difference between something common and boring, and something completely new and fresh.

Hopefully this proves helpful!  
Morgan Hawke

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Strong Characters but a Weak Plot?


 Secret Place by Dawn Elaine Darkwood


----- Original Message -----
...I have very strong characters, but a very weak plot. While my story is primarily character driven, I feel I feel I put them in a place where there's not much plot, or that the plot itself is uninteresting. How do make my plot stronger? Furthermore, how do I find a balance between plot and characters? Or is it okay that my plot isn't gripping, as long as I have strong, well-developed characters?
 -- Wanna Write it Right!

 

What should you do when you have
Strong Characters but a Weak Plot?

 
First, I think we should clarify what Character-Driven means. 
 
Character-Driven does NOT mean:
A story that focuses on the characters.

Character-Driven means: 
A story's events happen because the Characters choose (or refuse) to make things happen. In other words; the story's Plot is Driven by the events caused by the characters.

Examples of Character-Driven stories: 
Stories where the characters make events happen, such as: Iron Man, Batman, How to Train your Dragon, and most Romance stories such as; Miss Congeniality, Secretary, Pride & Prejudice.

In comparison:

Plot-Driven means: 
A story's events happen to the characters, and the characters struggle to deal with them.

Examples of Plot-Driven stories: 
Stories where a chracter is pushed into being a hero whether they want to or not, such as; Spiderman, Pitch Black, and Dr. Strange. Also, most broad-range fantasy stories such as; the Harry Potter series, The Sandman graphic novel series, The Wheel of Time, The Sword of Shannara, Lord of the Rings books and movies, and most Science-Fiction such as Brave New World, Equilibrium, The Matrix, Soylant Green, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica.

To simplify:
  • If the Characters make Events happen to each other and/or the World around them it's Character-Driven.
  • If the Events make things happen to the Characters and/or the World around them it's Plot-Driven
Now that we have that straight, on with your questions! 

Let's start with this: 
 
BOS #ScreenFreeSaturday Campaign - Batman Goes Fishing
"Is it okay that my plot isn't gripping, as long as I have strong, well-developed characters?"

NO. It's Not Okay.

No matter how interesting your characters are, if they're in a boring story your characters will seem boring too. To show off interesting characters, they have to DO interesting things. A cool back-story is Not Enough.

Example: 
Batman, Robin, Superman, and Deadpool were fishing on the bank of a river. As a result of the smart-assed comments passed around between them, an argument broke out over whose superpower was best. To decide, each one one caught a fish using their superpowers. Still unable to decide, they went home.

Boring.

Why? Even though we had four interesting and engaging superheroes, they didn't really do anything but fish. Sure, the dialogue between them was probably pretty awesome, but honestly? You could have told the same story with 4 old men, 4 little kids, or 4 grannies. 
 
In fact it actually would have been a better story if the 4 old men, 4 little kids, or 4 grannies had used superpowers to fish.

Those four superheroes were WASTED on this story.

To put it bluntly:
If you're going to use super characters,
you need a super Story to show them off.

Next question...

"How do make my plot stronger? Furthermore, how do I find a balance between plot and characters?"

To Make a PLOT Stronger:
Add More Problems 
for the Characters to Solve.
AKA: Add More CONFLICTS.
 

What's the Worst Thing that could happen? 
Make that happen! 
AKA: Murphy's Law. 

Where do you get this Worse Thing that could happen?
 
From your Characters.

Begin here...

Who are your
3 Main Characters?
  • The Main Character whose adventures the story tends to focus on.
  • The Villain or Trouble-maker character.
  • The Ally character that supports one or both. 
This doesn't mean you can't have a huge cast of characters! Simply that these are the 3 that the main story focuses on.
 
 Examples from Anime:


In Hellsing (Plot-Driven) the 3 characters are thus:
  • Main Character: Sir Integra Hellsing
  • Ally: Seres Victoria
  • Villain or Trouble-maker character: Alucard
Until an actual Villain is added, then the cast changes to:
  • Main Character: Alucard
  • Ally: Either Sir Integra OR Seres Victoria; depending on the scene they're in
  • Villain or Trouble-maker: Guest Villain 


In Full Metal Alchemist (sometimes Plot-driven, sometimes Character-driven depending on the episode,) the 3 characters are thus:
  • Main Character: Edward Elric
  • Ally: Alphonse Elric
  • Villain or Trouble-maker: Colonel Mustang
Until an actual Villain is added, then the cast changes to:
  • Main Character: Edward Elric
  • Ally: Alphonse Elric, Colonel Mustang, or guest Victim
  • Villain or Trouble-maker: Guest Villain
Keep in mind that Hellsing and Full Metal Alchemist are both Series stories so new characters are constantly being introduced as Victims (Ally characters) and as Villains to expand the story.


The idea behind this technique is:

The better you know your Characters' Problems,
the easier it is to make MORE Problems for them to solve.
 
 

The Hawk and the Dove 
A very popular bodice-ripper

In a Romance story, 
the roles change drastically

In a Traditional Romance, the 3 Main Characters look like thus:
  • Main Character: Heroine
  • Villain or Trouble-maker: Hero
  • Ally: his best friend and/or her closest relative, (brother, mother, great aunt, grandfather...)
These Romances are traditionally told from the Female point of view and the Heroine does Not initiate the romance --or hardly anything else-- the Male character does. 
 
This is because these stories were invented (and codified) during the 1700's and 1800's where a female that was 'forward' about her affections was considered to be 'impolite', 'pushy' and low-class. Since most of these stories featured high-society females; lost princesses, impoverished Ladies, and down-trodden heiresses, being 'pushy' was not something they would do. Only female Villains acted that way.

Keep in mind that the original romances were written by 18th and 19th century middle-class authors Fantasizing about how they thought high-class noble ladies would act. It proved so popular an 'ideal' that this fantasy of nobility persists today.

But, if the Heroine never initiated the first move,
How did Romance happen?

It started with some sort of Event where the two crossed paths, and the Hero decided that he wanted the Heroine, usually because she was pretty. (Think: Cinderella.) 
 
The following 3/4s of the story consists of the many ways the Hero seduces the Heroine in increasingly racy scenes, while the Heroine seeks to 'escape his clutches.
 
Eventually, the Hero rescues the Heroine from some sort of mortal peril, and confesses his love. 
 
She confesses that she loves him too. 
 
The very next scene is where the Hero fixes the story's main conflict -- usually the Heroine's conflict.
 
Cue: Wedding and Happily Ever After.

Traditional Romance 
in detail:

1) They cross paths during an Event.
-- Could be at a party, could be on a battlefield, could be on a ship at sea, he could be in the coach she's trying to rob at pistol-point
...

  • She's there because she has a Problem she's trying to fix.
  • He's there as an invited guest.

2) He  decides he wants her, and interferes in whatever she was trying to accomplish. 

  • Ruining whatever plan she had going on.

3) She wants nothing to do with him. 

  • She's too busy trying to deal with her Problem.

4) He either actively pursues her to seduce her, or keeps running into her while minding his own business, and simply can't resist making a grab for her.  

  • The first time he catches her, he gives her a less-than-consensual kiss. 

5) She escapes. 

  • In common Romances, she escapes before he can get into her panties.
  • In bodice-rippers and Erotic Romances, she does not

Repeat 4) and 5) for the next 80k words, or 30 chapters.  

  • Insert increasingly racy Seduction scenes.
  • Insert decreasing amounts of resistance to letting him have his way with her.

If there's an actual plot going on during this, that plot gets increasingly dangerous for the Heroine. The Hero is much too powerful for anything to really affect him. 

6) She falls into mortal peril. 

  • While attempting to fix her own problem.

7) He rescues her and confesses his love. 

  • May happen up to 3 times, saving the Confession for the last Rescue. 

8) She confesses that she's in love too, and tells him about the Problem she is trying to fix.  

  • Insert: Consensual Love Scene.

9) He voluntarily fixes her problem for her, and proposes marriage.

10) Big Wedding scene and Happily Ever After.

Unfortunately, I am not exaggerating, the plots really were this simple, and that sexist. The Heroine did not fix her own problems, the Hero did all the heavy-lifting. (Apparently, that's what husbands were for.)


Art by Luis Royo

Modern Romances 
A tad bit different

Modern Romances have the Heroine rescue the Hero (or they rescue each other) from some sort of mortal peril at the center of the story, and during this, she discovers that she loves him. 
 
Even so, she still runs from his 'clutches' for quite a bit until he admits that he loves her. 
 
Deciding to fight together, they solve the story's major conflicts. 
 
Cue: Happily Ever After.

Modern Romance 
in detail:

1) They cross paths during an Event.
-- Could be at a party, could be on a battlefield, could be on a ship at sea, he could be in the coach she's trying to rob at pistol-point
...

  • She's there because she has a Problem she's trying to fix.
  • He's there because he has his own problem to fix. 

2) Plans go awry.

  • Sometimes she interferes in whatever he was trying to accomplish. 
  • Sometime he interferes with her plans. 
2b) They end up in a Compromising Position and become mutually attracted.
  • Insert less-than-consensual kiss.

3) She admits to herself that he's damned good looking, and very good at kissing, but wants nothing to do with him. 

  • She's too busy trying to deal with her Problem.

4) He either actively pursues her to seduce her, or keeps running into her while minding his own business, and simply can't resist making a grab for her.  

  • Insert racy less-than-consensual Seduction Scene.

5) As soon as he falls asleep, she escapes.

Repeat 4) and 5) for the next 80k words, or 30 chapters.  

  • Insert: increasingly racy less-than-consensual Seduction Scenes.
  • Insert decreasing amounts of resistance to letting him have his way with her.

Modern Romances do tend to have actual plot going on, so things get increasingly dangerous for both the Heroine and the Hero. 

6) They both fall into mortal peril while attempting to fix their own problems.
  • Sometimes they fall into peril together, sometimes separately.
7) She rescues Him, or they rescue Each Other.
  • Insert: Major Love Scene.
  • May happen up to 3 times -- including the love scene. 
8) She decides that she's in love, or that she's been in love since their first encounter, but still runs from him. 

9) At next encounter, he admits that he's in Love. 
  •  Cue: Double Confession 
10) They find a way to fix their problems Together. 

11) Happily Ever After or Happily For Now.

 


Yaoi M/M Romances 
 
First of all, do not confuse Yaoi with mainstream M/M Gay fiction. They are Not The Same -- at all

Mainstream M/M Gay fiction is far more realistic in how male-male relationships are portrayed -- with very little romance, and a lot of hardcore hook-ups where names are not even mentioned. They also tend to feature domestic violence, domestic rape, drug abuse, alcoholism, and frequently suicide. 
 
The theme of these stories is more often than not: Unrequited Love that will never be reciprocated. In these stories, Happy ending are few and far between.
 
Yaoi stories are M/M Fantasy Romances 
written by women for female romance readers.
 
Don't get me wrong! I have tons of gay male friends who adore these stories, but they also make a point to say that they are nothing like the reality of a gay relationship -- which is why they like them
 
Now, on to the good stuff! 

 

Yaoi Romances tend to have a bit a lot in common with Bodice-Ripper Romances.
 
Both the character tropes and the plot lines in Yaoi stories and Bodice-Rippers are damned near identical.
  • The Main Character is usually if not always, lovely in appearance, kind in nature, and in some kind of trouble -- the Heroine's trope. 
  • Their Pursuer is handsome, aggressive, rich, and occupies a powerful position -- the Villain's trope.
There can be other villains, or even a Hero or two, but they are all defeated by the MC's powerful Pursuer. 
 
As for the plot-- 
 
Yaoi Romances generally start with some sort of Event where the two cross paths, and both are immediately attracted to each other. One decides that they will do anything to have the other. 
 
The next part of the of the story consists of the many ways the Pursued seeks to 'escape his Pursuer's clutches'. 
 
At the center of the story, The Pursuer rescues the Pursued from some sort of peril and takes that chance to reinstate his attraction, usually forcefully. 
 
During this time the Pursued admits to themselves that it might be more than mere attraction. It might be love. (Oh Noes!) 
 
Cue more running from 'clutches' until their Pursuer admits that they're in Love. 
 
Insert Double Confession. 
 
Deciding to fight side by side, they solve the story's major conflicts.
 
Cue: Tropical Vacation scene and Happily Ever After.

Yaoi Romance 
in detail:

1) They cross paths.
-- Could be at a party, could be on a battlefield, could be on a ship at sea, one could be in the coach the other trying to rob at pistol-point...
  • Each is attempting to deal with their own Problem. 
  • Or One is trying to fix their problem, while the other is an invited guest.
2) One decides he wants the other, and promptly demonstrates this. 
  • By pulling them into a dark corner and stealing a Kiss. 
    • This sometimes develops into a full-blown hardcore seduction scene against the wall.
  • Ruining whatever plans the other has going on. 
3) The Pursued he admits to himself that his Pursuer is damned good looking, and very good at kissing, but wants nothing to do with his Pursuer. 
  • The Pursued is too busy trying to deal with his Problem. 
4) The Pursuer literally stalks his interest until he corners and/or traps his Prey in a situation his Prey can't get himself out of. 
  • This, more frequently than not, involves some form of Bondage. 
    • Insert less-than-consensual Seduction scene. 
  • In many cases, the Pursuer offers to assist his trapped Prey with their personal problem in trade for sexual favors.
    • The Prey usually disagrees, they want to fix their own problem. 
      •  Insert less-than-consensual Seduction scene.
    • If they agree, they are treated like a Housewife, or a human Pet. 
      • The Prey may also suffer days, weeks, or months of erotic captivity.
5) The Pursued escapes. 
 
Repeat 4) and 5) for the next 3/4s of the story, manga, anime, fan-fic... 
  • Insert: increasingly graphic less-than-consensual Seduction Scenes.
  • Insert: decreasing amounts of resistance to letting his Pursuer have his way.
If there's an actual plot going on during this, that plot gets increasingly dangerous for both the Pursued and the Pursuer.
 
6) They both fall into mortal peril while attempting to fix their own problems.
  • Sometimes they fall into peril together. 
    • Insert Captivity seduction scene. 
      • Followed by daring escape together.
  • More often they fall into peril separately. 
    • The Pursuer escapes. 
    • The Pursued fails his escape.
  • If the Pursuer falls into peril, and their Pursued has not -- 
    • The Pursued will try to rescue their Pursuer. 
      • The Pursued often succeeds in the rescue, but is captured. 
7) The Pursuer rushes off to rescue his Prey. 
 
7b) Sometimes the Pursuer doesn't get there in time -- because the Pursuer was grievously, but not mortally, wounded.​
  • When this happens, the Pursued is seduced by the Pursuer's blindingly handsome, and filthy rich enemy.
    • Insert several captivity seduction scenes between Prey and handsome Enemy.
    • Insert decreasing amounts of resistance to letting him have his way.
7c) Eventually, the Pursuer succeeds in stealing his Prey back from the clutches of his enemy.
  • Insert: Consensual Love Scene. 
  • May happen up to 3 time with 3 different handsome Enemies. 
 
8) The Pursued decides that they're in love, or that they've been in love since the first encounter, but still runs from their Pursuer. 
  • They don't want to look weak by admitting that they have feelings.
9) At next encounter, the Pursuer:
  • Admits that he's in Love.
    • Cue: Double Confession
    • The Pursuer may then propose marriage.
  • Seduces their Prey into admitting their feelings.
    • Then confesses his own and may propose marriage.

10) Deciding to fight side by side, they solve the story's major conflicts.

11) Final scene is a Tropical Vacation scene implying: Happily Ever After.
  • or a Big Wedding


A Quick and Dirty way to Build a Plot
from your Characters!
 
Once you decide who your 3 Main Characters are:
  • Main character:
  • Ally: 
  • Villain or Trouble-maker:

Ask EACH character these 3 questions:
1. Who am I, and what do I do?
2. What do I want?
3. What is the Worst thing that could happen to me?

Once you know the answers to these three questions, you pretty much have your whole story.
By combining the 1's you have the Opening scene to your story. 

By combining the 2's you have your External Conflicts scenes (what the character DO and what happens TO the characters,) and your Internal Conflict scenes (how they Feel about what's happening.) 

By combining the 3's you have your Main Character's Ordeal/Self-Sacrifice scene; the one thing they don't want to do, but have to (often to survive,) and your potential Climax scene. 
 
Do not be afraid to change things around or adjust things to suit the story you want to tell. 


Do Not Forget....!

A story cannot END until 
ALL the Main characters' problems have been Solved!

Morgan Hawke