Bad Decisions--How They Form a Successful Plot

A student in my classes once complained about her writer's block. She'd started her book with a bang, writing four chapters that just flowed out. Then, she hit chapter 5. Stuck. Nothing happened--either on the page or with the pen.

Remembering a friend's motto, "bad decision make the best stories," I suggested this writer inventory the bad decisions in her chapters.

I asked her to make a list of any moment that a choice went awry, that cause led to challenges instead of smoothness. Search for anything that created unease or more trouble.

I firmly believe the momentum of a story comes from its qualities of risk. If the writer can edge closer to the edge of her story, she'll naturally create tension in the writing. It won't feel good, perhaps, especially if she's someone who likes life on an even keel. But it will raise the stakes, and that's what makes good story.

As she reviewed the plot points she’d chosen, she realized she’d kept her characters very safe. Nothing big happened after that great beginning in chapter 1.

Why? I asked.

She said she was saving the good stuff for later.

Ah, I thought. A bad decision—by the writer.

Don’t save the best for later!

Zero bad decisions equal zero momentum. There’s no conflict to propel the character into (you guessed it!) more bad choices.

As she explained her dilemma and her choices, I realized that this writer is a very nice person. She believes in a world where most people are good at heart. She knew she had to get her characters in trouble, but she resisted it in every way. They were like her, good people too. Sure, she had some challenges for them later in the story. But why inflict them now?

I like her, who wouldn't? And I also believe in that kind of world. But not on paper. Not in fiction or memoir, especially if you want to publish today.

I'm not suggesting you have to make murder and mayhem. Bad decisions can just be telling a white lie, and watching the consequences unfold. I asked this writer if she'd ever told a white lie, and she said, "Of course, who hasn't?"

"That’s a bad decision," I said. "List these small inconsistencies, the small mistakes, then transport them one by one into your story."

Inventorying your bad decisions

I loved an exercise in a writing class I took as a MFA student. We were asked to list our bad decisions, the choices we’d made in our lives that we regretted at the time. Huge embarrassments, alliances gone sour, missed opportunities.

We scribbled our lists—which we were told we didn’t have to share.

I had so many! Not getting good help when I opened my first real business. Rushing too soon into a relationship—or three or four. Leaving behind misunderstandings because I couldn’t figure out how to heal them. Losing track of friends I really wanted to keep. Keeping those I was better off losing.

The list went on and on. It felt like a great purge, to do this inventory. Less humiliating that I expected. Because the next step of the exercise taught me even more.

What came of them?

The instructor asked us to then write the change or new step that came because of each bad decision. Maybe not all of them would offer something, but many would. What came of each choice?

What I discovered: many times, a bad choice led me to something even better than I had before. Not always. But often. And I began to see that happening in my favorite stories. Bad decisions brought conflict, certainly, but that conflict often resulted in growth and positive change.

So honoring bad decisions—in life and on the page—shows us what we gain from conflict.

My student went into her manuscript again and came out with a reasonable list. Her narrator wasn’t so untouched by bad decisions as she thought. She just had to bring them to light, make them visible to the reader, then show what came of them.

It made her story eons better.

We've all made bad decisions. We've been on the receiving end of other people's, too. They are hard to forget, no matter how hard we try.

Think of one. Then remember your "story" after the bad decision. It probably had drama, movement, energy, and consequences.

That's what you're after in your writing.

Your Weekly Writing Exercise

This week, write about one really bad decision you made in your life. Write about it in all its glory. I like to set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes, to limit the agony. Maybe you're far enough away to not feel the pain of it again, but if you do feel some embarrassment or unease as you write, good thing--because it'll make the writing that much more emotionally grabbing for a reader.

Now look at your story. List the character’s bad decisions, small and large. Where are they placed in the plot? Remember, they are the propellant for your story. If they are clumped together, they'll create a bang, yes, but the long period of nothing happening that follows the bang will read like a whimper. Or worse, a flat line.

If you don't have many bad decisions on your list, make another list. Write down 10 things your character would never do. (Use this equally for memoir or fiction.) Now write one scene, one moment, using one item on the list--imagining it happening. Imagine the bad decision and the shame, embarrassment, bad news that follows. Cause and effect, right? That's what story is made of.

See if this provides momentum. Gets you unstuck. Out of that "still life."

Photo by Varju Luceno on Unsplash