I'm currently working on a historical fiction novel (based on a true story) about a girl who is captured by Native Americans, and forced to march some 250+ miles up to Canada mid-winter. Most of the novel takes place during the march, which leaves me the question of how do I create a plot that is still driven by the character? I don't want readers to be bored by a story where the character sits and "watches" everything that happens to her. But being as it's based on a true story, I can't exactly take the creative liberty of making her some rebellious figure. From what I've plotted so far, most of the story will have her reacting to events, and almost nothing that she causes, starts, or changes. If I focus on showcasing her inner struggles (mental, emotional, spiritual, etc.) -- would that be enough to drive the plot? Or do I need to find some way for her to take control and drive the plot forward with her actions/decisions?
If it's just based on a true story, can't you take some liberties? Or for that matter, is the story so very detailed and so certain that you know she can't accomplish anything?
Are you sure you're writing about the right character? Maybe the protagonist (not the "hero"; not the "good guy"; just the one who moves the plot forward) is really the leader of the Natives who captured her. If you're sure you're writing about the right character, then the journey north is not the plot. It is just something that happens while the real plot - the changes that happen to the character - happen. What happens to the captured girl? How does she change during this journey? What happens to her attitude toward her captors? Does she fall in love with one of them (that may be too cliche)? Does she undergo something like the Stockholm Syndrome, in which she grows to sympathize with their cause? Does she develop a resentment toward her family, her clan, for failing to protect her? Does she begin to lose her sanity? Does she grow stronger as a personality? What happens to her? What happens to her will determine what she does. Does she attempt to escape? Does she attempt to convince the Natives to release her? What does she do when the journey is over (however it ends)? How has her ordeal transformed her? Somewhere along the road, she has to become someone different from the person she was on page one. If she doesn't change, then it's not really her story.
If you mean journey as a storyworld and passive-turning-to-active -part of girls life as a plot, then I strongly agree. Storyworld can be a continuum of happenings that is not a plot. It is in almost every travelogue. Plot happens inside that outer continuum.
Have you read any character-driven books yet? You can have a boring story even if your character runs around doing an incessant number of things. Sitting and watching things can be very interesting, if one sees interesting things worth telling! Does anything happen during that march at all? So they put one foot forward, then the other, but is there anything else that happens? Do those people talk? Interact somehow? Talk? Does somebody fall down and break a leg? Or do they get attacked by giant squirrels? What are the sources of those inner struggles? What's the story actually about? "Woman walks 250 miles" is not a story. "Neat city woman overcomes fear of mud and builds character while walking 250 miles" is a story though, and it's filled with inner struggles: she falls, almost gives up, then finds a wise mentor who teaches her how to levitate rocks and in the end she becomes an expert walker Or something.
If it is history how do you know about her? She must have done something interesting or you wouldn't have been interested enough to even know about her. The first thing you should ask yourself, is....why does her story have to be told? I remember a true story about an 11 year old boy that lied about his age during World War II because he looked older and he was able to enlist in the Navy. He served on a battleship. They've made several movies about him. But face it, the story isn't really about him it's about the War. But we see the War through his eyes. Another good example is Scout, in "To Kill A Mocking Bird"
You need a protagonist. That could be the girl - perhaps she wins small victories by befriending her captors or stealing food to feed a starving dog. If not, then you need someone else to be the protagonist. The girl can stay as the viewpoint character, but somebody needs to drive the plot forward and strive to achieve his or her aims. For example, Jay Gatsby is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby, but the tale is told from the viewpoint of Nick Carraway, who's an intentionally uninteresting character.
Yeah, Nick Carraway and Scout are good examples of a story being told in the eyes of someone who is not really the protagonist.
I read To Kill A Mockingbird as a child, and perceived the Boo Radley subplot as the main plot. So I saw Scout as the protagonist.
Character driven is when the story is that character's story and not just a story. A slightly different approach.
Sorry have to disagree and use "To Kill A Mockingbird" as an example. Scout is the main character and drives the story but the story is racial injustice in a small town in 1930's Alabama. Through her we witness the story as she has incidents of her own, but the story is racial injustice. Now, "The Catcher In The Rye" is a perfect example of a character driven story that is the character's story. Holden Caulfield is the protagonist, the story is driven by him, and it's his story of his mental breakdown.
That is also true of The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick. A lot of great literature has protagonists that are more observers as opposed to actual participants. With The Great Gatsby, Nick doesn't directly influence anything that is happening in the story.
I am in agreement with Minstrel on this. And many true instances of this sort of capture resulted in the captive not wanting to return to his or her own people, even if she is rescued. Quanah Parker's mother Cynthia being a famous example. So there are lots of ways your story could go. It will be a character-driven story if you create unforgettable characters. A 'character driven' story isn't necessarily one where the main character controls the situation they're in. It's when the story is about 'them,' not about their world, or simply fictionalised history with name changes. As Minstrel says, it's about how the girl changes, not about what physically happens to her, if that make sense.
She makes the trek to Canada, 250 miles and she just watches what happens? Why was she captured, why was she taken to Canada and since it's 250 miles how the heck did she survive that? What time of year, did she walk or ride a horse? Who else was captured, perhaps did not survive and what happened to them?
Character driven stories are just about that - a characters choices. But also how they arrived at the choice they made and how they handle the after effects of that choice. I wouldn't force your book to be anything it isn't and often not much happens in character driven stories plot wise. If you want to make it a character journey I would suggest you read some character driven novels to see how it's kept interesting. Or you could make it plot driven. Stage attempted escapes, add in another native tribe who wants to steal the prisoners, add in a gang of cowboys who try to free them. Make sure twists and turns. Look up real stories of people who have been captures by indians. What happened to them and how did they escape.
This really helped clarify what I've been trying to figure out. Thank you for taking the time to thoroughly comment, I appreciate it.
Monologues aren't necessarily a bad thing. Many great stories have lengthy monologues. If you simply keep the character interesting enough and maybe have the character be slightly proactive by trying to escape,sneaking past hostiles or something like that it will keep the readers engaged even if she doesn't necessarily succeed.