How to keep a simple plot interesting?

[pmmg]

I dont know how you can write a story about a woman surviving some trauma from a man, and not have the story also be about the man. They are paired together, good or bad.

From reading above, it seems like the woman is not intending to throw the ring into the ocean, but would eventually come to that decision near the end of the story. On a journey to the ocean, it is going to make me ask, why was a river or a lake not sufficient. She is going to have to pass by many of those.

What you have is internal conflict, but you are missing the external conflict. I think survival, at least initially, is the first roadblock in that. If she meets other people, then how she deals with them could become the bigger story or conflict. If she wants to avoid other people and settlements, survival is still going to be key. Other people bring other dangers and other safety nets. Which she finds has a lot to do with her.

If she is wandering, she is going to have to come across dangerous animals, and unfamiliar people. She has to survive both and find a way to coexist if she can. If you follow Lewis and Clark across America, they met many tribes of people, some hostile some not. And they had many obstacles, from winter, to mountains to rivers. Eventually finding the ocean.

I think her external conflict must be survival. Woman vs Nature, I would think.



Here is a chart:

Woman	Eternal	Internal
Goal (What she wants)	To survive	to escape and heal from trauma
Motivation (Why she wants to)	Cause she wants to be strong on her own	She wants the pain to end
Conflict (Why she cant)	Survival is hard, and threatening	It is too much a part of her and takes time

What do you got that could fill out those boxes differently?

Looking past her role in the story, the real question is, what is the story? What is the overarching external conflict? If its just survival, then the world is threatening enough. Cold, rain, lack of food, water, shelter, dangers from wild creatures, dangers form strangers, taking injury far from help, rivers to cross, mountains to climb, poisonous plants...its no picnic.

 

[JLiana]

I dont know how you can write a story about a woman surviving some trauma from a man, and not have the story also be about the man. They are paired together, good or bad.

From reading above, it seems like the woman is not intending to throw the ring into the ocean, but would eventually come to that decision near the end of the story. On a journey to the ocean, it is going to make me ask, why was a river or a lake not sufficient. She is going to have to pass by many of those.

What you have is internal conflict, but you are missing the external conflict. I think survival, at least initially, is the first roadblock in that. If she meets other people, then how she deals with them could become the bigger story or conflict. If she wants to avoid other people and settlements, survival is still going to be key. Other people bring other dangers and other safety nets. Which she finds has a lot to do with her.

If she is wandering, she is going to have to come across dangerous animals, and unfamiliar people. She has to survive both and find a way to coexist if she can. If you follow Lewis and Clark across America, they met many tribes of people, some hostile some not. And they had many obstacles, from winter, to mountains to rivers. Eventually finding the ocean.

I think her external conflict must be survival. Woman vs Nature, I would think.



Here is a chart:

Woman	Eternal	Internal
Goal (What she wants)	To survive	to escape and heal from trauma
Motivation (Why she wants to)	Cause she wants to be strong on her own	She wants the pain to end
Conflict (Why she cant)	Survival is hard, and threatening	It is too much a part of her and takes time

What do you got that could fill out those boxes differently?

Looking past her role in the story, the real question is, what is the story? What is the overarching external conflict? If its just survival, then the world is threatening enough. Cold, rain, lack of food, water, shelter, dangers from wild creatures, dangers form strangers, taking injury far from help, rivers to cross, mountains to climb, poisonous plants...its no picnic.

Oh yeah, I understand that they're joined! I'm very used to media just sweeping right over trauma responses in relation to male-based violence against women, if that makes sense? Shock value for the sake of it and all that. I think what I mean is that "beaten woman" isn't going to be the core of her character, how she heals from that is.

Part of the plot is MC meeting different women and unpacking what it is to "be a woman", her sexuality, her reclamation of the self, becoming independent after living a heavily curated life. I think finding the backdrop to that is the hard part, because I doubt people will want to read a whole book of "lady goes to several villages, hamlets and roadside inns and has revelations" lol.

Woman vs Nature is definitely going to be one of the major conflicts. I think I want to throw some things at the MC to make it a real adventure, bring the women she meets into it in ways that aren't totally passive.

Your comment got me thinking a lot and was super helpful, thank you!

 

[Mad Swede]

Oh yeah, I understand that they're joined! I'm very used to media just sweeping right over trauma responses in relation to male-based violence against women, if that makes sense? Shock value for the sake of it and all that. I think what I mean is that "beaten woman" isn't going to be the core of her character, how she heals from that is.

Part of the plot is MC meeting different women and unpacking what it is to "be a woman", her sexuality, her reclamation of the self, becoming independent after living a heavily curated life. I think finding the backdrop to that is the hard part, because I doubt people will want to read a whole book of "lady goes to several villages, hamlets and roadside inns and has revelations" lol.

Woman vs Nature is definitely going to be one of the major conflicts. I think I want to throw some things at the MC to make it a real adventure, bring the women she meets into it in ways that aren't totally passive.

Your comment got me thinking a lot and was super helpful, thank you!

And now I'm going to add a few thoughts of my own, having been lurking in this thread for a few days. Note that my comments are based on real-life cases I came across during my career.

One thing you may want to think about is how your MC ended up in an abusive relationship in the first place. This matters, because part of her recovery is (or should be) about dealing with that. It's about avoiding similar situations in the future. Note that sometimes relationships start well but become abusive because of other events in life, so you'll also want to think about her ex-husband and what happened to him to make him abusive.

Another aspect is why your MC has left now. Leaving an abusive (or even a normal) relationship can be very difficult, and often you find that people go back because they don't see any alternatives or because they think that maybe they can still change their partner. So what was the trigger for your MCs departure? And does this reason have an impact on how your MC recovers over time? Another aspect to think about is whether your MC ever gets the urge to go back despite all the abuse and if so how your MC deals with this urge.

Guilt is an interesting aspect. Many abused people feel that somehow they bring the abuse on themselves, and recovery is often about helping them overcome this. It's made more complex by the fact that in almost all cases even the abusers have good sides to them and sometimes feel their own guilt about what they have done. Some people think that they have somehow failed themselves and those around them when a relationship breaks down, and this can make guilty feelings much worse. Dealing with this sort of guilt takes timer, and failure to sort it out can damage or even destroy future relationships.

Change matters. People who leave a relationship generally feel a need to change things about themselves and their lives. That sounds very superficial, but making the changes can involve some big decisions. Things like appearance, personal boundaries, goals in life. Changes like that can be the result of many years thought, and making the changes themselves can be done in many ways and at different speeds. Some changes need help from others, some can be done by the MC alone.

 

[JLiana]

And now I'm going to add a few thoughts of my own, having been lurking in this thread for a few days. Note that my comments are based on real-life cases I came across during my career.

One thing you may want to think about is how your MC ended up in an abusive relationship in the first place. This matters, because part of her recovery is (or should be) about dealing with that. It's about avoiding similar situations in the future. Note that sometimes relationships start well but become abusive because of other events in life, so you'll also want to think about her ex-husband and what happened to him to make him abusive.

Another aspect is why your MC has left now. Leaving an abusive (or even a normal) relationship can be very difficult, and often you find that people go back because they don't see any alternatives or because they think that maybe they can still change their partner. So what was the trigger for your MCs departure? And does this reason have an impact on how your MC recovers over time? Another aspect to think about is whether your MC ever gets the urge to go back despite all the abuse and if so how your MC deals with this urge.

Guilt is an interesting aspect. Many abused people feel that somehow they bring the abuse on themselves, and recovery is often about helping them overcome this. It's made more complex by the fact that in almost all cases even the abusers have good sides to them and sometimes feel their own guilt about what they have done. Some people think that they have somehow failed themselves and those around them when a relationship breaks down, and this can make guilty feelings much worse. Dealing with this sort of guilt takes timer, and failure to sort it out can damage or even destroy future relationships.

Change matters. People who leave a relationship generally feel a need to change things about themselves and their lives. That sounds very superficial, but making the changes can involve some big decisions. Things like appearance, personal boundaries, goals in life. Changes like that can be the result of many years thought, and making the changes themselves can be done in many ways and at different speeds. Some changes need help from others, some can be done by the MC alone.

I do have her background planned out - she's from a noble family, the marriage was one of convenience, so her husbands wealth has kept her family afloat. She stayed for so long out of the guilt of thinking that they might be left penniless if she leaves, but it gets to the point she realises that her husband will, most likely, end up killing her. I think given the pressure she felt from her family to stay, she'd struggle really hard with putting herself first, especially as the eldest daughter.

A lot of what I want to write about is based on my own experience with domestic abuse/sa. Everything you've written is 100% spot on (it took me 8 years to leave my abuser for good, and I blamed myself for a long time). Being a survivor is messy and complicated, and I hope it's something I can communicate well, especially because I'd like other survivors to find some level of recognition/comfort in MC's story.

It's definitely something I want to write about with care.

 

[pmmg]

I had a thought about the external motivation, which I think is kind of missing.

Suppose she had a sister, or relative in some far away location, and a letter from them talking about how happy their life is, and they wish she could come visit, or even stay. Then the MC has a goal...get to the promised land of happier friends and joy. That can drive her past her obstacles and give her reason to journey instead of wander. What she finds on the other end is kind of open, maybe it is a happy place, or maybe she gets there to find its been abandoned, or her sister has died...Who knows? But...she can spend the story in the belief she is moving towards something better, despite what any say. When she gets there, events there can lead her to throwing the ring.


New GMC chart.

Woman	External	Internal
Goal	Get to her sisters	To escape and heal from Trauma
Motivation	It has the promise of being a happier place	She wants the pain to end
Conflict	its far away, and there are many dangers on the road	It is too much a part of her, and takes time.

 

[JLiana]

I had a thought about the external motivation, which I think is kind of missing.

Suppose she had a sister, or relative in some far away location, and a letter from them talking about how happy their life is, and they wish she could come visit, or even stay. Then the MC has a goal...get to the promised land of happier friends and joy. That can drive her past her obstacles and give her reason to journey instead of wander. What she finds on the other end is kind of open, maybe it is a happy place, or maybe she gets there to find its been abandoned, or her sister has died...Who knows? But...she can spend the story in the belief she is moving towards something better, despite what any say. When she gets there, events there can lead her to throwing the ring.


New GMC chart.

Woman	External	Internal
Goal	Get to her sisters	To escape and heal from Trauma
Motivation	It has the promise of being a happier place	She wants the pain to end
Conflict	its far away, and there are many dangers on the road	It is too much a part of her, and takes time.

I like this. A lot. I also adore my sisters so this would be a delight to write about.

Thank you for all of your helpful comments!!!

 

[pmmg]

See, the power of sisters