So, in my story I am currently working on among the few I have written so far, my main character is secretly a monster- a dragon to be specific. Anyway, I'm still in the beginning stages of writing it and well I'm not sure how to keep my plot going. My story is split into different povs not just the main character's and I don't know where to go with the plot, and I don't want to get to the climax so close in the beginning. How do I keep my reader interested without the main event away?
'What if' and 'What next' do it for me. [write notes and questions in brackets, right in the middle of your text, like this.] Any answer to your notes may contribute to the story. Questions, always questions.
Perhaps starting the story with a major incident, like a monster being spotted at night flying in the sky, or causing some form of disaster, and then introduce the MC with hints to their being tied to the incident in some way to keep the reader invested until the big reveal?
Here is how I started it if you are interested - https://www.writingforums.org/threads/undecided-title.170520/#post-1929212
Ah. It's really good as it stands. If I were reading the story without knowing anything about it beforehand, I think I would enjoy it a great deal if I was kept in suspense, wondering what connection your MC has to the dragon.
Well, the MC was sent there by a fellow soldier [Stark] being that she is a part of an infantry. The sword isn't just made of special metal, it is what connects her to her true self, which is ironically a dragon. The dragon that she killed could sense that the MC isn't really a humanoid and was being paid to protect the sword with only the information of that it held great power. My climax is the MC transforming into her true form, and my dilemma is how can I keep my reader interested without giving the climax away just yet?
Are you outlining? It sounds like you know where it's going, since you're talking about the climax, but you may not be a discovery writer. You might be more of an architect writer. If you're having these problems, it's worth a shot. Outline it from beginning to end. You don't have to stick to it religiously when you're writing, but if you figure out all the major events before you get going, you won't have to worry about what comes next all the time.
Yes, I guess I am an architect writer. I've always been a writer to have the major events already planned out in my head, but my problem is how to fit them into a story, but I will take your advice and outline, outline, outline.
Note that plot is what happens. Conflict makes things happen. It doesn't even have to initially be related to the protagonist. It will snowball, make things happen and problems follow. I would also ask what your protagonist wants, then put obstacles in the way of that. It's a compelling plot when she wants something (an object, a state of being, a title, a person) that's almost impossible given her current circumstance. It's even more compelling when those circumstances get worse. Hell, that can be as simple as wanting to stay alive (or save her infantry unit from certain peril), or wanting to ascend to queen/general. For example, it's pretty hard to save her unit because the commander is an idiot, they're campaigning in a hostile environment (haunted desert, frozen jungle, actual hell), and part way through the story they realize the enemy faction is largely werebears. Her changing into a dragon seems ancillary to me. It's more a side dish, important for themes and tension but not the driving conflict. Though it could be a full course with enough thought. Maybe she fears the peer rejection that comes with that transformation, her own resulting bloodlust, and a certain shrewd dragon slayer. Perhaps she has to go on a pilgrimage to regain her dragon state, one of discovery or a more traditional checkbox.
Conflict, you need lots of it. Don't let any of the characters off easy. For example, I wanted my character to be great friends with a woman she meets. Nope, that would not do. So I amped up the culture clash they would experience when they meet. Lots of conflict options there.
In the same way other authors achieve it. First have you really got a story capable of the word length you're aiming for without adding in a lot of filler? Conflict. Try/fail cycle. Stakes. What makes things begin is always the want of the character. That is the real skeleton of every story and what comes out of that want is conflicts. People see conflict but they don't see how that was created by something the character (usually the main character) wants. There needs to be something about their life they aren't satisfied with. Then you look at all the conflict you could create from that want. Look a setting conflicts, plot and character. Female character wants to become a war hero. (that's really her goal. It's actionable) What she wants is to prove her worth. Take the place of her sickly, old father. Prove women are more than the environment allows them to be. Make her family proud. Whatever. Her want creates a goal that she thinks will give her what she wants. From that goal you create conflict. Setting: Women aren't allowed to fight. And you just keep playing with conflicts.