Fan-Fiction: OCs with No Plot
Anonymous asked: For just over a year now, i’ve had these ocs for marvel in my head. there’s i think about 6 or 7 main, but one main character. The issue i’m having is i desperately want to write it (and i did start writing it) but i have a lack of plot i suppose? i have this main character’s whole life plotted out from ages 6-23, but actually i have no plot for a book, and i’m not sure how to come up with one? How do you come up with a plot for something that has so much story already, if that makes sense?
I want to start by addressing a couple things, just for clarity's sake. :)
"But actually i have no plot for a book..."
If you're writing fan-fiction, you're probably not writing a "book" anyway. I mean, you certainly can if you want to (you just can't sell it), but most fan-fiction wouldn't qualify as a "book." When speaking about fiction, "books" are either novellas, novels, or collections of short stories. But fan-fiction stories typically qualify as short stories. The reason this is important to clarify is because novellas and novels have a story structure that is very different than the structure of a short story. Whereas with short stories, you get a small part of a bigger story, with novellas and novels, you get the whole story.
How do you come up with a plot for something that has so much story already?
From the sound of it, what you have is a bunch of characters and their back stories, and that's not "story." Character and back story are just elements of story, but they do not qualify as story on their own. "Story" requires conflict and purpose, and that's what you don't have but need, so we'll talk about that next...
How to Find a Plot for OCs with Fleshed Out Back Stories
I think where I'd start, in your case at least, is by figuring out what kind of Marvel fan-fiction you want to write. Because Marvel is a really broad universe, you it would help a lot if you knew where in the Marvel Universe you're writing this story. Is it going to be an Avengers story? A story set in Wakanda? A story set in the Quantum Realm? Maybe an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. story? Or maybe all of these OCs will be divvied up into different stories. Either way, you have to start by knowing where and how your story will fit into the Marvel Universe.
Consider these characters' back stories... does it make sense for them to all be together in the same place and work together or cross paths? Do some back stories work better in one part of the MU but others work better in another part?
If you end up deciding to divvy the characters up into different areas of the MU, focus on one story at a time. So, as an example, let's say you have two OCs that you think would work great in a story set during the Agent Carter TV show. The next thing you want to do is to decide what kind of fan-fiction story you want to write... do you want to write a fluff story? Maybe one of the characters gets together with Peggy, and that's what the story is about? Or do you want to write a story that fleshes out an "off-screen" canon event? Or maybe you want to create a story that feels like a canon event, and which compliments canon, but isn't actually canon. If you decide to do a fluff story or slice of life story, there's not going to be much in the way of plot, but you still want to have a purpose. What is it you want to explore with this story? A developing relationship? An established romance? A day in the life of your OC in this world? A meet cute between your OC and a canon character?
If you decide to write a canon-style story, you'll have to think about where in the canon timeline you want to put it. You may have to read/watch/research canon to figure out where and how your story would fit in. This is where you'll figure out a plot, which you can do by modeling the plot of the source material, whether that's an MU comic, graphic novel, TV show, video game, or movie. Look at what a typical plot is like, what the structure is like, what the character objectives/goals are, how they're accomplished, and how they tie up. This will give you an idea of how the plot of your story should look. In this type of story, you're still following the general model of "the character wants something and this is how they try to get it."
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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!