
We’ve been taking a look at the second key “corner pillar” in this course on the 12 key pillars of novel construction, which is all about the protagonist and her goal for the book. I mentioned in recent posts how important it is for the protagonist to have a goal and how obvious and simple that might seem, yet few novels I critique include this necessary element—which I will say is crucial.
It’s very common for the protagonist to start off with one goal, only to quickly (meaning, yes, fairly early into your story) be pushed in another direction altogether, creating a “new” goal—which then becomes the “real” goal for the book. Without going into this twist in depth, you can read all about it in this post I wrote a while back. But for now, just be aware that, tied in with your concept and themes, there should be an overarching or main goal your character is trying to reach. Continue Reading…