Choice.
I’ve begun to realise how important choice is in writing. Choices let characters showcase their personalities and effect the plot. The effect of a character’s choices reveals the true importance of that character.
The protagonist should make the most choices and the choices of the highest impact. He or she should be driving the plot, after all. I’m interested to look at how many choices each character makes in my story and others. Each choice should also have an importance rating. Choosing what to wear or eat for lunch isn’t as important as deciding to save/end a life, for instance.
Choices are also a chance to bring grayness and complexity into stories. Forcing characters to make a difficult choice with no easy way out leads to stories with powerful themes.
What’s your opinion on choice in fiction? Do you think choices are important in stories? Can you think of any stories that forced their characters to make tough choices?
The Aeon Academy 