I'm stuck with a plotting obstacle

Sentosa · Sep 14, 2012

For many days I've been toying with a plot for a new novel. I've lots of ideas, but cannot settle on something strong enough to drive the protagonist throughout the novel. By that I mean I'm happy I have enough to complete Act 1, the Beginning, but have doubts about the strength of Act 2, the Middle.

The plot revolves around an 18-year-old teen who discovers she was adopted shortly after birth.

Research from various sources suggests the more common reaction is a desire/craving to satisfy "where do I come from".

That's definitely fine to cover the beginning, but I'm stuck with driving the protagonist through the Middle to the End.

I guess my problem is: "Experts" state the decision made from this incident should run through the whole novel. I can't think of stronger emotions/motives a teen might have resulting from this inciting incident.

Any suggestions/comments?

I'm considering investigating the possibility of the protagonist having a different but related incident at the beginning of Act 2. I'm unaware of having read stories that do this.

Any ideas/comments on this idea?

Corey LeMoine · Sep 14, 2012

Well it could be that what he/she finds out raises more questions than it answers. She discovers that her real parents are celebrities, mobsters, spies, superheroes, or the next door neighbors.

She decides to find them, or maybe she has a medical issue and must find them, or maybe her research turns up something that is harmful to her real parents and she feels obligated to warn them.

druid12000 · Sep 14, 2012

What Corey said ^
The core of what you have is a teen who found out they're adopted. Clean slate after that. Where do you want it to go?

frimble3 · Sep 14, 2012

What if she's one of those people who doesn't seem to be like any of her adopted family? Not so much the exterior, but her thoughts and interests are just out of sync with the rest of the family.
She's pinned all of her hopes on being like her birth family.
Then she meets them, and she's not like them, either.
Now she has to actually deal with relationships without that mental escape-route.

dangerousbill · Sep 14, 2012

Sentosa said:
The plot revolves around an 18-year-old teen who discovers she was adopted shortly after birth...
Research from various sources suggests the more common reaction is a desire/craving to satisfy "where do I come from".

It can be a subplot. Not everyone who discovers they're adopted is ruled by the urge to find their parent(s), and responses range from mild curiosity to obsession. There could also be a motive, such as an inherited condition, an inheritance, or the solving of a crime or mystery.

Our daughter is adopted. She's always known that, but has never displayed the slightest curiosity about her birth parents.

frimble3 · Sep 14, 2012

dangerousbill said:
It can be a subplot. Not everyone who discovers they're adopted is ruled by the urge to find their parent(s), and responses range from mild curiosity to obsession. There could also be a motive, such as an inherited condition, an inheritance, or the solving of a crime or mystery.

Our daughter is adopted. She's always known that, but has never displayed the slightest curiosity about her birth parents.

Of the three people that I know, that I'm aware are adopted, two aren't curious about their birth families, and one is of the 'maybe I'm more like them' mindset, but not interested enough to search for them. Heck, I know lots of definitely-biological kids who don't seem to match their families.
But the teen years tend to be those years of fantasy, like how we're never, never going to be like our parents. And we're not going to end up with boring lives like they did. And somewhere there are people who really 'get' us, without our making any effort.

Sentosa · Sep 14, 2012

Thanks everyone. Some excellent thought-provoking ideas.

Hopefully they'll jog my slow brain back into action.

rwm4768 · Sep 14, 2012

You might want to look up some of the online resources on how to plot a novel. They may seem a bit formulaic, but they could help you think of something new.

jaksen · Sep 15, 2012

Start writing it. Relax while you do. Let the character and incidents sort of just flow out of you. In other words, do not overthink. Sometimes the characters or plot (your subconscious) will take you in really delicious directions which you had no idea were even there (on a conscious level.)

If that doesn't work, go back to outlining, planning, etc. But the key thing is to start writing as soon as possible. Overplanning can lead to overthinking, over-analyzing and ultimately, over-worrying.

Buffysquirrel · Sep 15, 2012

Looks to me like you have an inciting incident--teen discovers she's adopted--rather than a plot. An idea, not a story.

For a plot, your teen needs a goal, there need to be obstacles to that goal, and there need to be stakes. Ideally there'll be a dilemma for the teen to resolve, too.

Adoption has been used a lot in fiction, so it's unlikely you're going to hit on a plotline that hasn't been used before. It's going to be how well you write it that matters.

NeuroFizz · Sep 15, 2012

Buffysquirrel said:
For a plot, your teen needs a goal, there need to be obstacles to that goal, and there need to be stakes. Ideally there'll be a dilemma for the teen to resolve, too.

Agree...now start throwing some more rocks at the character--it likely will help develop the plot, but it certainly will help with characterization (through the reactions of the character).

Do the character's peers know about the adoption? Kids can be mean spirited about these things, and it can create emotional chaos. What if a biological parent is in prison for a serious crime? Get the nature-nuture worry in play, possibly with some aspect of revenge versus conscience fighting it out internally (or externally). There are a multitude of directions this can go, but heed Buffy's advice.

jeffo20 · Sep 15, 2012

I'm not 100% sure what your problem is, because you were kind of vague in your statement. Is your problem that you have a start--teen finds out she was adopted--and an end in mind, but no way to get there? Or do you just have the start and nothing else?

brianjanuary · Sep 15, 2012

I'm assuming that your MC wants to find her birth parents? Unless you want to make your story a "road trip", where the MC sets out on a physical journey, encountering all kinds of obstacles on the way, you might think about this goal as a subplot, part of her emotional arc (she feels she has to find her parents to complete herself psychologically or heal herself)--part of a plot that is an actual story. Think of "Fly Away Home", the story of a young girl with an estranged father who lives on the other side of the world, whose mother is killed in an accident, leaving her emotionally orphaned and psychologically wounded. She goes to live with her father, finds some abandoned goose eggs (orphans like her), hatches them, and has to teach them how to fly or they will be helpless in the wild and will surely die. The main story goal is about her teaching the birds to fly (despite many complications and obstacles), but the subplot is about her emotional journey and inner healing--she in effect overcomes her grief and reconnects with her life by becoming the geese's "mother".

job · Sep 15, 2012

What BuffySquirrel said kind of sums it up. The adoption is backstory. It's not what the story is 'about'.

By itself, a 'secret adoption' is not a book-worth of action. It's a bit of plot device to start the actual story.

Sentosa · Sep 15, 2012

Thanks everyone.
I've decided on a way forward.

Please don't wrack your brains any further.

Ari Meermans · Sep 15, 2012

As others have written, the MC's discovery of her adoption might be the inciting incident, but it's not her story. If her initial question is "where do I come from", as you mentioned, explore the deeper question. It might be "who am I?" or "where do I belong?" If so, that opens up a multitude of plot paths for you to explore. Will her quest to find her roots be a coming of age story, a journey of self-discovery? Will she find her own strengths and weaknesses apart from those who conceived her and those who nurtured her? Or, does she find a blending? Or, is the resolution something else entirely?

Just as our goals change, so do those of our characters. The question that intially drives your character's actions and emotions may not lead to the answers she's actually seeking. Find out what your MC really wants, then send her on her way giving her the tools and means to discover it as she needs them.

Sentosa · Sep 15, 2012

Responses to my original post are examples of what makes this site so great.

Sure, it was obvious what my problem was, but I couldn't see it. It took you people to point out the obvious to me:

I have an idea. I have no story. Get to work and turn your idea into a story.

Well done! And again, many thanks.

I'm stuck with a plotting obstacle

Sentosa

Corey LeMoine

A decent fella.

druid12000

You're out of your tree...

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

Sentosa

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW

jaksen

Caped Codder

Buffysquirrel

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

jeffo20

Tyrant King

brianjanuary

job

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript

Sentosa

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

Sentosa