Art by Alison Hunt
Can’t really have a story without a quest or plot. While quests do tend to be the most common plot in fantasy, the advice one gets can go for general story creation. Do I Need to Use a Dragon? has you covered here too. This was the third big section because I really think world (setting), characters, and quest (plot) are the cornerstones. Most things fall under these categories. Now, on to the questions.
- Do you plan your stories or fly by the seat of your pants?
- Do you think plot evolves the characters, vice versa, or mutual symbiotic relationship?
- What is your favorite quest to write?
Legends of Windemere 
1. Both. I’m a hybrid writer. I plan some and go with the flow on other parts.
2. Maybe they work together? Let’s say that because of who Bob is as a character, he decides to find and kill Nancy. We could call that the plot. But the plot starts with who Bob is as a person (or a terminator 😊). But then there’s Nancy, who might start off weak, but has to evolve in order to survive and reach whatever other goals she has outside of survival. Meanwhile Bob realizes that Nancy isn’t a pushover and has to evolve (or upgraded if he is a terminator 😊) in order to reach his goal.
3. I like a hero’s journey where in order for someone to be saved, a character has to go on an arduous quest to get help or rescue someone.
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1. As much as I plan, going with the flow feels like a necessity.
2. Definitely a type of synergy in your example. Characters force plot to evolve, but the plot also controls where they can go. Otherwise, the two wouldn’t mesh at all.
3. Shame that hero journeys with quests aren’t as common as they used to be.
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For number 3, I’m trying to rectify that! Working on two hero’s journey books!
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Good to hear.
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One thing I forgot to add for number 2 since the answer was long enough as it is 😊: I know I’m delving into character territory (at least for me) when I am willing to change the plot I’ve developed because of the way a character has formed. I was halfway through a book when I realized that the ending wouldn’t work, because both of the main characters had changed.
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I’m going to answer #3 first, What is your favorite quest to write. In Too Many Princes, two princes were sent on a quest to consult a sorceress. That said, I generally don’t use quests. I feel they’ve been over-done. My characters often end up chasing something, though. In my latest, The Tale of the Drakanox, one of the characters is chasing the rest of them.
1) Do you plan your stories or fly by the seat of your pants?
Pants. I’ve tried plotting before and it fizzled after the first couple of chapters. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my muse. I end up in more interesting places that way.
2) Do you think plot evolves the characters, vice versa, or mutual symbiotic relationship?
The characters direct the plot with their needs or desires, but the plot events cause the characters to grow, so… Mutual?
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I think quests are more common than one thinks. It’s really just a plot with a goal that’s made very clear. For some reason, people don’t always realize when a quest is going on unless it’s specifically noted as one.
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If you look at some of the folklore, like King Arthur, a quest is something that people are directed to do by authority figures. There’s a giant ravaging, and King Arthur sends Sir Gawain or whoever to deal with it. And in Lord of the Rings, it’s a whole council that sends the Fellowship to Mordor.
So if people are confused, maybe it’s because they’re waiting for King Arthur to say, “go do this quest.” And if nobody ever says words like that, is it really a quest?
Now I’m thinking of my D&D character who swore up and down, “We are not on a quest!”
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I’d say it’s still a quest. At its core, a quest is just a difficult journey in search of something. Older fantasy definitely added the ‘authority given’ part, but even Tolkien shows that isn’t always the case. While LOTR has a quest under authority order, Hobbit has a quest to regain lost homelands and a quest to find oneself.
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I definitely fly by the seat of my pants.
I think the characters evolve the plot. I have, on many occasions had one direction of the plot in mind only to be forced to change to keep up with character development.
I don’t have a favorite quest but did enjoy having my characters try to find an eternal home.
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Do you think pantsers tend to let characters direct the plot more than plotters?
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I do. It seems if you are open to letting things evolve, characters can have a say in how it goes.
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I plan stories months and even years ahead. Sometimes I write without an outline or storyboard, sometimes I make one. Not really seat of the pants. Characters have to evolve, and it’s usually the plot that does that. The quest is a good plot framework, but isn’t the only one. Many of my tales involve extensive travel to unfamiliar places, so you could call them quests. I think my latest fits the theme.
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Good point on character evolution.
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1. I’m a pantser. I do have an idea in my head as to where a story is going to go, and where it will end up, but nothing written.
2. I find my characters will actively help with the story. They often surprise me, too. In my very first book, the characters have a battle with some wolves. In order to clean up, they go to bathe in a river, girls first, then the men. One character refuses to go when the men take their turn. Persuasion and threats don’t work. Eventually the character confesses to being a girl, not the boy she’s posing as. I had no idea she was a girl until then. Another character proved to be afraid of heights.
I think it’s a bit of both. Each helping the other.
3. I don’t think I have a favourite quest.
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I agree that it’s typically a bit of both. That seems to be the smoothest author journey.
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