Having a hard time connecting my characters to the plot

Hi I really find the website helpful. I'm having a hard time relating my characters to main plot. My story is about a young desert prince soon to rule the kingdom. Time period is 1000bc. or so. His evil half brother appears and defeats him in combat. He also seals a monster in the prince that tries to take over his body. The prince and his mentor get sent through a portal created by the half brother. Evil half brother also gets sucked in portal. The prince ends up in modern times in a urban city. The goal of the story is for the prince is to return home and reunite with his master. The prince also loses his superpowers from a injury from his evil half brother. When he is in the urban city he fights street thugs. Other characters are a street kid who wants to be a mma fighter and fight crime, a tech girl who wants to explore the world and a mercenary who wants to fix his war torn past. How do I connect these characters to the plot? Whats a good idea for consequence if the prince fails to return home? I'm not sure how to connect my ideas together.


Answer: Obviously, I can't tell you how to write your story. But here's how it looks from what you've told me...

The Story Goal seems to be for the good brother to ascend to the throne of the kingdom. The consequence would be that, if he
fails, the evil brother will become king. You need to show the difference between their approaches, and that the evil brother's reign would be very bad for the world and its people. For instance, will he be a tyrant who will enslave and exploit people?

Because you are working with a time travel scenario, you might also establish that if the evil brother manages to return and become king it will change the history of the world for the worse. For instance, as the evil brother's plans advance, does the modern world change for the worse? As the good brother makes progress, does the modern world change for the better? (Just a thought.)

In the modern world, both of the brothers will have to find a way to return to their own time. You can set up a series of Requirements for them to accomplish their return. In this effort, they will have opportunities to gain allies or make enemies, which is how you can involve other characters in your plot. If you can give the present day characters additional motivation, it will help.

For instance, can the good brother offer them an opportunity to fight crime, heal their past, or have adventure? Could the evil brother offer help to some modern-day villains, or promise them greater power? Would a world where he became king be more to their liking?

With a little thought, you should be able to find reasons why each character will want to support or oppose one or both brothers.

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