work post #6

Well, I have managed to really push myself this week.  As I dove into the story, I soon found myself unable to come up with a compelling plot for the skeleton of the narrative, and I spent quite a bit of time unable to figure out why.  Studying my various guides for plot writing yielded no avail, and I was really struggling until I realized exactly what was going on;  a fundamental mistake in the set up of my story.

While I know what the story will be about, I realized that I don't really have a central antagonist to tie all of the themes together.  Without a real central force driving against the ideals of the protagonists, coming up with a plot that really feels driven and fast paced is almost completely impossible, and certainly above my skill level. 

As such, I've been re-examining my  cast to see who really stands for what, and how their ideals clash.  If I can figure out who the most interesting foil is/could potentially be, then I can really build up the narrative with more of a purpose.  The kind of plot that best serves the kind of story I am writing is one that allows the protagonists to start with a goal, and make sure that every action they take can be in service of them trying to achieve that goal. 

The challenging part, of course, is my own self imposed challenge to try and really make sure I introduce as many side characters and potential future conflicts as possible, simply because I have dozens of stories I'd like to tell using this setting and characters, and I want this story to serve as a solid beginning for the characters and their world, a sort of "book one".

Hopefully, I can really focus in on what this story is about, and restructure it so that it has the antagonist that it truly deserves.