Beware the Vague Goal When Outlining a Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Vague goals are nobody’s friend. They creep into our scenes, make us think our structures (and stories) are solid, but they’re really undermining those stories, especially in the drafting stage.

“Stop the bad guy” tells us noting about what will actually transpire in a scene. Neither does “Protect the witness.” Then there’s the king of the vague goals—“Survive the threat.” As Kristin Lamb hysterically puts it, her goal every day is to not die, so why is that anything special when our protagonists do it?

And she’s right.

The problem with vague goals is that they feel like something is happening, when nothing actually is. The scene where the protagonist “tries to evade capture” offers us no specifics to work with as we write. Our hero might run around the room screaming for six pages while the cops chase him, and that’s him “trying to evade capture.”

I think vague goals are a reason why some writers have trouble with outlines. They outline what happens in the book and it feels solid, but when they write, they run into walls and struggle though scene after scene. They’re trying to craft a scene where the hero tries to evade capture without knowing what that means.

Instead of vague hints of goals, think about the specific tasks your characters are doing, not trying to do, in every scene. If someone is generally trying to evade capture, then how are they doing it? Maybe they’re:

• Hiding in a broom closet until the killer leaves the room
• Running for the exit of the lab and avoiding the security cameras while men with guns pursue
• Putting on a disguise and sneaking onto a bus
• Leaving the city hidden in the back of a pickup truck full of turnips

Thinking about the specifics gives us something to write about, which in turns, saves us time staring at a screen and wondering what’s going to happen next.

For example, a scene where Bob tries to evade the zombie horde becomes a scene where Bob tries to evade the zombie horde by crawling though the sewer to the end of town. This extra "what he actually does line" gives us the specific action to work with. We can picture what Bob will have to do to get into the sewers, what problems he might encounter, how the zombies might spot him, and what could go wrong. We know where he’s going and can imagine what that journey will entail.

(Here's more on the problems of "trying")

If you’re having trouble with a draft, look at what your protagonist is doing. Is she trying to “do something vague” or is there a specific task? Spend a little time turning any vague goals (or stakes) into a specific action.

Has a vague goal ever tripped you up?

My monthly post is up over at Pub(lishing) Crawl today, and I'm sharing a few tips on ways to deepen your story worlds. Come on over and say hello!


Find out more about plot and story structure in my book, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems.

Go step-by-step through plot and story structure-related issues, such as wandering plots; a lack of scene structure; no goals, conflicts, or stakes; low tension; no hooks; and slow pacing. Learn how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix those problems.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems offers five self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you:

• Create unpredictable plots that keep readers guessing
• Find the right beginning and setup for your story
• Avoid the boggy, aimless middle
• Develop compelling hooks to build tension in every scene
• Craft strong goals, conflicts, and stakes to grab readers
• Determine the best pacing and narrative drive for your story

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems starts every workshop with an analysis to pinpoint problem areas and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. It's an easy-to-follow guide to crafting gripping plots and novels that are impossible to put down.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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