October Novel Prep Challenge

So, I have a sick child today which means an unexpected extra day off, so I decided to catch up on Prep (phew!).

As I was writing out my rising action/very very rough outline, I reflected on my own post last night about character-drive plots. So, I returned to my bullet points (there aren't many, like I said, it's a very rough outline), and listed what important character trait/growth spurs each action. Character growth is an important part of the rising action, after all. Your character shouldn't be capable of overcoming the antagonist in the beginning of your story and the events of the story should shape them into the person that is able to step into the climax and succeed.

For example, in the beginning of my story, my main protagonist is insecure and feels unloved. She's more inclined to let the "smarter people" make the decisions. Mid-story she's speaking up more but still seeks other's approval for her plans and is more inclined to let others run the show still. Nearing the climax, she's much more vocal and argues with the others more and more. Until the end when she ignores their advice entirely and acts on her own, creating the series of events that leads to the end.

My secondary protagonist has a slightly smaller, subtler growth arc. He's revenge-obsessed but tells himself he just wants to make the world a better place (which he does, but that is secondary, he also looks down on others for not recognizing things he believes to be obvious). Later, he recognizes that his actions are selfish and he begins to act more selflessly until the end when he is able to feel pity for those he once despised and his motives are finally driven by the desire to help others. His goals don't really change, but his motivation does.