April 23, 2007
Plots & Characters
Written by Margo Maguire in Writers and WritingI’m thinking about the kinds of plots that appeal to me. And the ones that annoy me.
I enjoy and often write plots that involve a quest. They are almost always adventurous tales with bold rescues and daring escapes.
Sometimes I use mistaken identities, but I don’t like it when this is overused. And the one time I used an amnesia plot – the character who lost her memory recovered it in short order, a long time before she let anyone know it.
I’ve used the Beauty and the Beast theme a couple of times, most recently in The Bride Hunt. And my heroines are often underdogs – they’re usually a combination of “The Waif” (from the list of heroine archetypes) and “The Spunky Kid,” with a little “Nurturer” thrown in. So, even though circumstances seem to be against them, they are proactive and they make sure everyone is taken care of.
I like strong, almost-alpha heroes, but I’ve known a couple of true alpha males. Do not kid yourself: There is no way there can be a happily ever after with those guys. Throw in some beta (is this what they call gamma guys?) and you’ve got a winner.
The Forbidden Love theme appeared in at least one of my books. It was the amnesia story, in which the heroine washes ashore after a shipwreck. She is found by the hero, an Englishman whose family has been feuding/warring against his Scottish neighbor for generations. The heroine regains her memory very quickly, and knows she’s the sister of the (very dastardly) Scottish enemy. But she’s fallen in love with the hero, so she doesn’t want to tell him. (This was Norwyck’s Lady). And I like books that have the hero or heroine engaged (or otherwise committed) to someone else. As the story progresses, I like to see how they extricate themselves from the commitment.
Temptation is very compelling, especially when it’s the hero who believes he should not pursue the heroine. This theme worked well in a Medieval that I wrote a few years ago. The hero returns home from Crusade and intends to become a monk after he performs an important service for a friend. But the heroine is an indomitable young woman who was raised in a convent and wants to do ANYTHING but become a nun. The hero happens to rescue her, and he has no choice but to let her join his quest. Of course he can hardly resist her, although he tries valiantly. (The Virtuous Knight).
The Fish Out of Water can be a lot of fun, and humor often flows naturally from the situations. Many of my readers told me they laughed out loud at one scene in particular in my Scoundrel’s Daughter. The very prim Victorian heroine is up against a big, brute of an “Indiana Jones-type” adventurer hero, and neither of them really knows what to do with the other. 
I used a Riddle in one of my earlier books, and there’s also a major puzzle for the hero to solve in my July book, A Warrior’s Taking. He’s got to figure it out before the villain does, and destroys his people. Riddles can make a story really interesting, but that’s because I like plot-driven books (in other words, books that are just as heavy on external confliect as internal).
The one plot device that makes me put the book down is when the hero (not so much the heroine) believes something awful about the heroine. It’s not the Big Misunderstanding – which is also tiresome – but something more substantial. And when it goes on for 2/3 of the book, I can’t take it!
I think the most important thing, no matter what the plot or who the characters are, is that the hero and heroine grow and develop over the course of the story. I want them to have learned a life lesson and undergo some kind of change that shows they’ve matured. What about you? What do you like and dislike in a book?
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Shana Says:
I seem to like the Fish out of Water plot a lot. I’m always finding some way to incorporate it. It works well in contemporaries and historicals. I don’t like secret baby plots or hidden identity. To me, it just seems like lying. I know some people must like reading and waiting for the truth to be discovered, but I always wonder how the couple can get past so much deception. It doesn’t work well for me if it goes on for too much of the book.
Kimberly L Says:
I like the Temptaion and Fish out of Water plots. I love reading about the hero and heroine. Reading about the history and their families too. I love reading a book that you can really get into. Never really knowing what’s going to happen next. Then sometimes you wish you could wring the characters necks. LOL I don’t like reading a book where you know exactly what’s going to happen way before you get to the end.
By the way I love your books.
Margo Maguire Says:
Well, thank you, Kimberly!
ladydawgfan Says:
I also like the Temptation and Fish out of Water plots, and although I don’t usually like the Riddle theme, I loved how you used it in AWT.
I have read other books that used the Riddle theme and they were over done, with the romance taking second place (and the characters third) to the riddle or mystery being solved. In AWT, this didn’t happen, and the characters and romance came through loud and clear, which, IMHO, is more important than the mystery itself. After all, why should a reader care if a riddle is solved if they can’t care about the characters in the story who are doing the solving?
Margo Maguire Says:
I should clarify something here … ladydawgfan won an advance copy of A WARRIOIR’S TAKING, so she’s had an early look at it -
I’m so glad you liked it!
Robyn DeHart Says:
Oh, great blog, Margo. I tend to write marriage of convenience or forced proximity stories where the hero and heroine have to work together for a common goal - they often have different motivations, but they still have to be with each other. I also do a lot of Sleeping Beauty or Ugly Duckling - however you want to look at it. You know the unassuming heroine who awakens to her own beauty and worth. One story line which I love, but I’ve never written is the best friend/unrequited love thing. I want to do one one of these days….
AndreaW Says:
I love just about any plot, as long as it’s written well. I don’t mind the “big misunderstanding” (or the similar type plot)if it is resolved rather quickly (usually within a chapter or two), but like you, Margo, I don’t like when it drags through most of the book.
Lacey Kaye Says:
I’m another Fish Out of Water fan! Which is weird, because recently I was ‘told’ that humor isn’t selling very well. My new goal in life is to create dark book that makes you laugh. I’ll let you know how that goes!
catslady Says:
The thing I can’t stand is when the author doesn’t make me care enough about the characters - then there isn’t any plot that could save the book for me.
ladydawgfan Says:
Sorry, Margo. I should have clarified that myself. My only excuse is that my brain is slightly scrambled by all of the cold medication I have been taking to combat the “spring surprise” that hit last night. And yes, I did enjoy it!!
Clarisse Says:
Oh, Margo, may we pick all of the above? If not, then I guess I pick Temptation (I particularly like the upright somewhat stuff man who finds himself falling in love with someone totally inappropriate) or Fish Out of Water (just because it is such a classic basis for comedy).
The only thing I can’t stand in a romance is what I call the “cyclone argument.” Either hero or heroine has done something wrong and the other party spends the entire book throwing the other party’s sin in their face (”You lied to me” “You tricked me” etc) Arggh! This is not a nice guy/girl. This is a serious personality flaw and they will never outgrow it. I want to tell the other party to “run, run now.”
Margo Maguire Says:
No problem ladydawgfan!
And Clarisse - yes, doesn’t it just GET you when one of the protagonists has a ‘fatal’ flaw? I’ll admit that the older I get, the less I enjoy those ‘bad boy’ heroes - the ones I KNOW will never grow up.
Clarisse Says:
Oh, I still like “bad boys” Margo. Just not bad men! And given that there is no psychotherapy or pharmacological solutions to severe mental health issues, if you are a regency miss you might want to watch out for guys who are really seriously damaged from childhood trauma.