Plot Dictates Content

A couple of days ago, one of the social media groups I follow was discussing how much steam and sex to put in a story. In this case, the author was asking about whether or not editors told them to add more or tone it down some. This got me thinking though about how an author decides what things to put in a story and how to approach a story. It also got me thinking about this in terms of the recent discussions about diversity in writing. 

In the end, it is the plot of the story that dictates what you put in the story. Let me explain it to you this way with academic writing.

When writing research reports, and academic essays, we always start with the thesis of the essay. This is the guiding force for everything we do. I often tell students that the thesis is the list of rules for the game. What you put in your thesis establishes the parameters of issues you will discuss and approaches you will take. Consider this.

The task is to write a character analysis of Hamlet. At this point, because it is so broad, you have to discuss pretty much everything. If, however, you limit this to the brother/sister relationship of Laertes and Ophelia and how it relates to current day sibling relationships, you have limited your focus a lot. This also becomes essentially a cause and effect paper (the external effects of the relationship) and a compare/contrast essay (Shakespeare vs. present day).

Now, when we look at novel writing, there is really no difference. If your story does not require sex scenes, or, because of the characters, that element of their life is always behind closed doors, the you take that approach. If, however, you have created characters that are hot and passionate about every thing they do in life, the sexual tension may clearly be over the top. Look, if you have a girl who is a 100% virgin (not just physically but also emotionally) she is not likely going to pair up with a Christian Grey and not likely to go to the level of what he "liked." 

The same goes for the type of characters you put in your story. Are you creating an interracial relationship because this is something that would have happened in that world and is necessary to the plot? Or are you inserting this relationship to just make the story relevant? Again, it is the plot and the "thesis" of your story that will dictate that approach. 

Knowing the approach you take is, once again, a reason why authors need to take the time to study the craft. It is the reason why you as an author need to stop and examine everything you do in the story and know why you are adding that element and what the effect is on the reader. If you don't know, then you are not ready to write that story.