(Filling in for Sensible Shoes)
I've been trying to get back into my Dark Redemption serial again after neglecting it for several weeks, and looking it over I realize I've make an embarrassing mistake. I've been so focused on my protagonists and what they've been doing, that I've lost track of the villain.
I probably wouldn't have this problem if I weren't a "pantser". A writer friend of mine classifies people as either "outliners", who work from a carefully desinged plan, or "pantsers", who make things up as they go along, writing by the seat of their pants, as it were; and I tend to fall into the latter category. But when you're building each scene off the previous one, and focusing on what your protagonist is doing, it's easy to forget that the other people in your story each has his or her own agenda and is doing things too, just out of the hero's sight.
Put that way, of course, it seems pretty obvious. Naturally, the other characters will have motivations of their own and will be acting on them; but it's easy to fall into a mindset of ignoring the things that happen off-stage. If a tree in the forest falls on the sidekick, but nobody tells the hero it happened, does anybody care?
But a good writer needs to keep these unseen actions in mind and take them into account. J.R.R. Tolkien did a masterful job of this in Lord of the Rings, although the care he put into it is not obvious unless you read the Appendices at the end. Since the story is told from the Hobbits' point of view, we don't see much of Sauron's actions, nor do we get more than guesses as to what goes on inside his mind. But in "The Tale of Years" in the Appendices, we see the entire War of the Ring broken down like a game between two chess masters, showing the strategies and maneuvers of Sauron as well as Gandalf and the good guys; some of which, (like Sauron's attack on Erebor and Lothlorien simultaneous with his assault on Minas Tirith) never come up in the story because they lie outside the Hobbits' knowledge.
Not that I think Tolkien planned this all out to the last detail before he even sat down to write. I have no doubt that in his initial draft he just, (for example), had the Black Riders show up any time he thought the plot needed a goose and that only in revision did he try to work out the timetables.
There are two ways to handle these background complications. One is to let the reader in on the secret, showing a scene of the adversary plotting, as Frank Herbert does in the second chapter of Dune. This is the obvious way to reveal it if you are already doing scenes from differing points of view, and this method has some advantages. It generates suspense as the reader learns something the hero doesn't; it gives you the opportunity to develop the adversary's character a bit, and it helps to remind you of the villain's agenda, so you don't forget about it like I did.
In the other approach, the adversary's plans remain off-stage and the reader knows only what the protagonist knows, learning about them when the hero does. This keeps the reader on his toes; and even if you opt for the first approach, you still want to keep some surprises up your sleeve. The downside is the risk that if you have too much happening behind the scenes, when you eventually have to Reveal All -- and you will have to -- the pieces you've assembled might not fit together.
Also keep in mind that villains aren't the only people who act behind the scenes. Uninterested third parties, or even characters who are on the protagonist's side, might do things to complicate the plot. Perhaps the classic example of this is the O. Henry short story "The Gift of the Magi", in which a penniless young man sells his watch in order to buy his wife fancy ornaments for her hair, unaware that she has cut her hair to sell to a wigmaker in order to buy a fob for his watch. These characters might have the best of intentions, but then so does the Road to Morocco
Wait. Wrong metaphor. Maybe we should do a diary on that too.
For this week's exercise, let's do something behind your protagonist's back. Have someone planning or doing something that will complicate things for your hero. It could be your villain; it could be a neutral party unaware of the hero; it could be a friend who doesn't realize that his actions will cause trouble, or who has reasons to do this despite the problems it will cause.
You may either show this other character plotting or performing the action; or you may write from the protagonist's point of view showing the moment whens he discovers what has been going on without her knowledge.
As always, you may use your own hero, or one of our exquisitely hand-crafted pre-gens:
* Our Callow Youth is unaware that he is not the only would-be hero that his mentor, the Wizard Froop, has been advising, and that Froop has set up another "Chosen One", complete with Stout Companion, to also look for the Jewel of Togwogmagog.
* Celia Spunk, Private Detective, is unaware that the key piece of evidence she needs to catch the Chainsmoke Killer lies in the hands of one of her regular informants; but that the guy can't or won't tell her because he owes money to Boss Bellicose and has gone into hiding.
* Belinda, still pining for Lord Postlethwaite-Praxleigh (pronounced Puppy), is unaware that her mother, with the best of intentions, has invited her cousin, the Rev. Adjoniah Addlepate, to visit, hoping to arrange a match between them.
* International Spy James Bunns is unaware that the Evil Dr. Squid knows perfectly well that James intends to seduce his unfortunately-named lab assistant, and that as a precaution has given her misinformation that, when she tells James, will lead the spy into a diabolical trap.
* Ukulele Bob, the Singing Cowboy, is unaware that his arch-enemy, Sidewinder Phil, has cajoled Uncle Aloysius into a friendly game of cards, resulting in Aloysius losing the deed to the Ukulele Ranch.