The Difference Between a Task and a Goal When Plotting

By Janice Hardy

Does your protagonist really need to do that?

Many writers struggle with plotting because they add “stuff” to a scene without thinking about how that stuff affects the story. They think “All scenes need a goal, so let’s add a goal,” but what they write is a scene where someone cleans a room, delivers a package, or walks across the village to grab an ale. It feels like progress since the protagonist is active and moving, but they’re not pursuing a goal. They’re only completing a task.

And tasks aren’t compelling. They’re filler disguised as plot.

Tasks might fill pages, but they don’t fuel the story, because there’s nothing to be gained or lost by completing them. A room gets clean, a package arrives, and an ale is enjoyed, but they have zero effect on how the story turns out.

What the plot needs, are goals.

When you give your protagonist an actual plot-driving goal, everything changes.

Because goals have motivations behind them. They reveal what the character wants and why they want it, what they’re afraid of, and what’s at stake if they fail. Readers pay attention, because now they both understand and care about the outcome. The protagonist is:

• Cleaning their room to impress their crush, who’s coming over to study
•  Dropping off a package to hide the paper trail of its existence
• Drinking at the tavern so they can spot the evil wizard’s henchmen the moment they get to town

Scenes built on tasks tend to drag because there’s no tension, nothing at stake and no story questions readers want answered—aside from, “When is something finally going to happen?” and you don’t want that question.

But a goal gives the scene purpose. It’s what the character wants in that moment, and it’s tied to a motivation readers either understand or wonder about (in a good way). The wonder piques curiosity, it doesn’t confuse.

Good goals have stakes. Risks. Obstacles. They create tension because readers aren’t sure if the protagonist will succeed or suffer horribly. Sometimes the goal is small (get the security badge) but it’s an important step in a larger plan (break into the lab to prove the CEO’s a liar), and each step builds the plot and moves the story along. Readers can see it moving, even if there’s still a lot of discover. 

Goals feel organic, but a task feels mechanical. If you cut a task scene, nothing about the story would change.

(Here’s more with Beware the Vague Goal When Outlining a Scene)

If your story feels like it’s dragging, ask.

Does this scene move the plot forward because the character is pursuing something or trying to avoid something?

Classic textbook definition of a goal here—the protagonist acts because they need to act, and if they don’t, something bad will happen. It might be a positive action to get what they want, or a negative action to avoid something, but they act with purpose. The reason behind the action leads somewhere and has consequences if it doesn’t go well.

Goals are anchored in cause and effect. Something happens that makes the character act, and that action creates a new situation that forces another action. That chain reaction is what pulls the story forward. If there’s no consequence for inaction, it’s probably a task. If the character can say “I’ll just do this later” and nothing breaks, burns down, or attacks them, you’re probably not dealing with a goal—you’re just filling time.

(Here’s more with Is Your Plot Going Somewhere Readers Will Follow?)

Is there a reason for readers to care about the outcome of the scene?

One of the biggest problems with tasks is that they’re inherently unimportant to the plot—at least from the reader’s perspective. The character might need to take the dog to the vet, but unless that vet visit changes something, creates tension, or reveals new information, it’s just filler. Readers might care about the sick dog on the grand scale, but “going to the vet” doesn’t make them worry about the protagonist, the novel’s main conflict, or the character.

Even if that vet scene sets up something important later, readers won’t wait patiently through a dull moment just because it pays off in Chapter 14. The story needs to engage readers in every scene, and that means turning that task into a goal with a purpose that ties into the character’s journey.

Maybe the vet visit isn’t about the dog. Maybe she and her husband have been discussing having a baby, and this is the moment she realizes they can’t afford it. They can barely pay for a vet bill, and she has no idea how they’d manage a child. Or she might realize she can’t emotionally handle a child right now. 

Same task, but now, it’s a scene that matters.

(Here’s more with Decisions, Decisions: Creating Character Choices That Matter)

What’s the point of the scene being there?

Not from a character standpoint, but what you as the author want? Often, we know why we want a scene in there, and why a task is important, even if it doesn’t look like it at first.

Maybe it sets up a vital clue, or introduces a character who matters later, or reveals a critical piece of world building. But if the scene only exists to deliver that one thing, then it’s not serving the story—or the reader—well.

Find a goal your character can pursue that naturally delivers whatever it is you need from that scene. Don’t just place the clue, make your character need that clue. Now, instead of a scene where a task happens for setup, you’ve got a scene where the character drives the story forward, and you get the benefit of your setup.

Look at what changes between the start and end of the scene. If nothing changes, or if the character ends up in the same emotional or plot position they started in, chances are it’s a task, not a goal.

(Here’s more with If Nothing Changes in Your Novel, You Have No Story)

Don’t let your characters wander through scenes like they’re running errands.

Readers don’t need constant explosions and drama to stay engaged. They need to see your character struggle, make choices, act on those choices, and deal with the ramifications of it all. Every decision, every goal, eventually builds to your climax.

It’s not about being busy—it’s about being driven. Give them things to want, fears to face, and choices to make. The more invested they are in the outcome, the more invested your readers will be, too.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Take five minutes and look at your last three scenes. Are your characters doing tasks or pursuing goals? Do the scenes build on each other based on where the goals take the character? Is there a chance for failure, or is victory obvious?

Do you have any task scenes that could be stronger with a goal?

For more help on plotting or writing a novel check out my Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.

Go step-by-step through plotting and writing a novel. Learn how to find and develop ideas, brainstorm stories from that first spark of inspiration, develop the right characters, setting, plots and subplots, as well as teach you how to identify where your novel fits in the market, and if your idea has what it takes to be a series.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure offers ten self-guided workshops with more than 100 different exercises to help you craft a solid novel. Learn how to:

• Create compelling characters readers will love
• Choose the right point of view for your story
• Determine the conflicts that will drive your plot (and hook readers!)
• Find the best writing process for your writing style
• Create a solid plot from the spark of your idea

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure also helps you develop the critical elements for submitting and selling your novel once it’s finished. You’ll find exercises on how to:

• Craft your one-sentence pitch
• Create your summary hook blurb
• Develop a solid working synopsis And so much more!

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is an easy-to-follow guide to writing your novel or fixing a novel that isn’t quite working. 

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.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound