Writing Essentials: Good vs. Bad Choice

With what we’ve covered in the previous posts we’ve learned that we begin with our protagonist, put them in a situation where they will face an event, that event is meant to push them into a choice, and that choice will result in a consequence.

This is the basic formula of our plot.

We can also write it out like this:

Protagonist -> situation -> event -> choice -> consequence.

Or, if we want to consider this formula from the POV of Character/Plot/World aka our core elements, it would translate to this:

Character -> plot -> plot -> character -> character and plot.

In both versions of this formula, our starting point when constructing a scene is character.

This is because, from our understanding of our character’s Ego/Shadow/Self dynamic, we can build a scene where the plot is happening in response to our character journey through their choice/action deciding the direction the plot will take.

Our consequence is the narrative resolution of our character’s choice/action.

Our consequence sets the stage of what might happen to our character next.

As mentioned in the previous post, a simple way to determine what the consequence should be is to consider what the choice should be as it relates to where our character is at on their journey of self-discovery.

Is the scene meant to bring our protagonist a step forward or is it meant to bring them two steps back?

To help us determine what the answer to these questions should be we can consider the narrative tool of contrast.

Good vs. Bad

Contrast can be applied to choice through our protagonist either making a good choice, showing the reader that our protagonist is growing more self-aware, or a bad choice, having them backsliding into old habits.

Let’s build on the example from the previous post:

A character trapped in a room must begin their journey by overcoming their claustrophobia. Their phobia will be the first internal obstacle they have to overcome.

A bad choice for our character in this scenario would be them allowing their phobia to take over, sending them into hysterics. 

A suggested consequence for this bad choice would be that they get hurt. 

The result of an injury could be:

a)    They’re forced to calm down and in calming down they sit with the fear long enough to face it and come to a decision to fight for survival.

b)    They get even more scared and either worsen their injury or bring on another consequence for their inability to choose better for themselves.

Note: Of course, the choice/consequence/result are all dependent on what the character is meant to learn on their journey, how they’re meant to grow, and what core truth they need to grow self-aware of, meaning the formula itself is infinitely adaptable to what the story needs from it. It’s not about formulaic writing but rather a formula that supports your specific approach to your writing.

What would be a good choice for our character in the example scenario?

As self-awareness comes in layers let’s say our character is familiar with this phobia and may have dealt with it for so long that they have tools to calm themselves in the moment, even though the phobia has yet to be entirely overcome.

The consequence for utilizing those tools should be something positive, such as a discovery within the space:

a)    They realize that there’s a source of water.

b)    They find a trap door that has a bit of give to it, offering hope that there’s a way out.

c)     Their cellphone still has battery and links to an answer to a question they’ve been asking themselves, like what time of day and/or what date it is.

We want to make sure a positive discovery links as strongly with the plot as any negative consequence would.

For example, knowing what the time and date are could hold a deeper meaning than simple orientation; perhaps even give a hint of why they’ve been trapped in the first place. More on that when we begin to tackle structure.

What’s good to note is that it’s how the character chooses to handle their own reaction which brings insight into where they’re at on their journey.

Their reaction is subconscious.

The reaction is a way to show the reader what traits in the character work for them vs. what traits work against them.

The choice and subsequent action are both conscious.

Through their choice of how to handle their reaction as well as the situation they find themselves in we get the opportunity to show the reader what they should root for as endgame for our character.

Is our character broken but beginning to make slow progress towards repairing themselves? Is our character perpetually defensive but showing signs of softening up? Is our character controlling and fearful but slowly daring to trust?

With every choice that underscores character growth we have the opportunity to make our reader cheer for them.

With every choice that underscores a lack of growth we have the opportunity to make our reader sigh with frustration.

Every consequence riding on the back of a choice gives us the possibility of a hook for the reader to want to know what will happen next and how/if our character will reach endgame.

In the next post we’ll look at how to ensure such a hook by digging into effective ways to utilize character intention and character motivation.