When we read a novel, we want to go on a journey with the hero and heroine – not watch them wander through scene after scene, chapter after chapter. How do we develop a strong plot that doesn’t veer off-course by mid-book, leaving our characters lost and our readers frustrated?
We need to know the protagonist’s Noble Quest.
What: The Noble Quest is the protagonist’s goal – what they want to accomplish. When you see the term “Noble Quest,” think What? Think quest, as in quest for the Holy Grail. (Now doesn’t that example make you want to go watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?)
Why: Discovering your protagonist’s Noble Quest is a key part of your novel. The Noble Quest is more than your hero deciding “I want to get from point A to point B.” It is an emotional journey that ramps up tension and builds stakes in your story. By accomplishing the Noble Quest, the protagonist resolves inner conflict.
To discover your character’s Noble Quest, ask three questions:
- What does the protagonist want? (Why?)
- How is this expressed in an overall story theme?
- How will he/she know when they achieve this? (Goal)
Here’s how I answered those questions for Allison Denman, the heroine of my debut novel, Wish You Were Here:
- Allison wants to live a mistake-free life – because her father thinks she is a mistake (or so she believes).
- This is expressed in an overall story theme of wrong choices and grace – and do we really believe that God can bring good out of our mistakes (like kissing our fiancé’s brother five days before the wedding?).
- Allison will know she’s achieved this “mistake-free” life when she marries Seth Rayner, aka “Mr. Safety Patrol Boy,” who she has dated since high school.
Let’s answer the same three questions for Kathryn Heigl’s character, Jane, from the movie 27 Dresses:
- Jane wants to stop being the bridesmaid (over and over and over again) – and to finally be the bride at her own beautifully romantic wedding. Why? She wants to be picked, not overlooked like she always has been because her sister is the beautiful one.
- This is expressed in an overall story theme of love is blind – falling in love with the wrong person – and people not seeing us for who we really are.
- Kathryn will know she’s achieved this when her boss (who she’s in love with) finally notices her and realizes he’s in love with her too and wants to marry her.
Consider your work-in-progress (WIP): What is your protagonist’s Noble Quest?
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MBT’s Skills Coach, Beth K. Vogt provides her readers with a happily ever after woven through with humor, reality, and God’s lavish grace. Her inspirational contemporary romance novel, Wish You Were Here, debuted May 2012 (Howard Books.) Her second novel, Catch a Falling Star, releases May 2013. Beth is an established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International. Visit with Beth at her website bethvogt.com.