WHICH ROAD DO YOU TRAVEL?

To bring a story to a satisfying conclusion, storytellers must stop at the final intersection and choose one of three paths: 

1) Character achieves the goal.
2) Character fails to achieve the
    goal. 
3) Character changes, and no
    longer wants the goal.

Study the scenarios below. Which journeys cause you to sit back and smile?  

1.  Samantha desperately wants to lose forty pounds before her wedding. Which road do you travel? 

      a)  She goes on a strict diet, exercises and loses the weight. 
      b)  She reads up on nutrition, realizes that addressing her undisciplined eating habits are more important than fitting into a size 2.   
      c)  She breaks her diet, and doesn't lose a pound. 

2.  Danny desperately wants to meet his idol, Eric Clapton. Which road do you travel? 

      a)  He saves his money, attends a Clapton concert and even reaches backstage.
      b)  He stumbles upon the meaning of the word idol, realizes he needs to get a life more than he needs to meet Eric Clapton.
      c)  He exhausts all his options, yet does not meet the legendary guitarist.   

3.  Margaret desperately wants to start a business using the lemon trees in her backyard. Which road do you travel?

      a)  She opens a stand, offering lemonade, pies and cookies, then sells her recipes to a billion-dollar corporation. 
      b)  She hurts her back, realizes she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life on her feet, cooking. 
      c)  She invests all her savings, yet finds no customers.

4.  Miguel desperately wants to become a detective. Which road do you travel?

      a)  He enters the police academy, works hard, makes important connections and eventually earns his badge.
      b)  He shoots a fleeing prisoner, realizes he needs someone to go home to more than he needs to get out of his uniform. 
      c)  He studies and trains, yet doesn't become a detective.

5.  Granny Opal, after surviving a stroke, desperately wants to return to her home. Which road do you travel?

      a)  She attends therapy, improves dramatically, and lives out the rest of her days in the house of her childhood.
      b)  She has a setback, realizes the time she has left means more than an old building. 
      c)  She doesn't become self-sufficient again. 

The A path is a straight line from beginning to end. It is the easiest to write and the most boring. Readers yawn when they meet characters who easily attain all they desire. To keep this ride interesting, throw in plenty of potholes, traffic jams, engine problems and state patrols. Only then will the characters deserve the goal.

The B path is a curvy line up and down mountains, in and out of tunnels. It is exciting, unpredictable and difficult to put down. Readers hop aboard a story that appears to be going in one direction, only to see it veer in another. Yippee! 

The C path is a straight or curvy line that dead ends. It is the most compelling for the simple reason that it requires a deeper dig into the soul. How will the character handle the failure? Give up? Go back? Make a detour? The answer to this will tell readers more about your character than all the descriptions you create.