In a post on Writer Unboxed, Tom Bentley says that the simplest way to create narrative drive is to show your characters in physical motion – going places and meeting people that draw on their thoughts and emotions and force them to act.
Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s journey” framework is a literal embodiment of this concept. Bentley’s own first novel depicted a character hitchhiking across the country. “Clearly, writers can’t just fling characters all over a map and just hope fortune’s tumbleweeds scratch their shins in a reader-pleasing way,” Bentley says. “But picaresque adventures that don’t rely on a crutch of 1-2-3 episodic challenges can be satisfying stories of trial and growth.”
