MDQ of the STORY

I jotted the acronym, MDQ, down in my little tablet where I keep track of possible blog topics more than two months ago. I don't think I'd ever seen the acronym used though I did know what it meant.

The Major Dramatic Question is what I've always thought of as the big plot question that the story seeks to answer. It's the goal of the protagonists, the driving force behind the action and drama leading the reader toward the end of the novel. Where the lovers end up together in the romance novel? Will the forces of good overcome evil in the fantasy novel? Will Earth's spacecraft stop the alien invasion? Will the detectives stop the bad guys in the suspense novel? Joe Bunting makes it very simple in this short article.

The reader might buy into the MDQ, after all they picked up the book because they wanted a romance, fantasy or mystery novel. But what will keep them reading and have them buying the next book are the obstacles and conflicts that prevent the MDQ from being settled until that last chapter.

Analyzing a TV show or a movie is good way to visual the MDQ and the conflicts in the way. Any police procedural show will have false leads, events that confuse or create more questions, interesting characters or settings that influence the protagonist striving for the answers to the MDQ. Inspiring curiosity in the reader is a guarantee to keep them flipping pages.

Have you ever heard the acronym, MDQ? Do you love or hate acronyms? Is there a particular TV show that does a great job of demonstrating the Major Dramatic Question? Do you see how knowing your exact MDQ can help you write a one-liner for your novel?

I: Issues

Issues.  We all have them in many forms.  Some are contemporary.  'Can I pay the bills this month?  Will my day job still be here next week?' and a rash of other problems facing us every day.  Some have been with us since childhood such as relationships with parents, siblings and friends.  Some we've added in our adult years with interactions between us and significant others and perhaps our careers. 

We all have issues and deal with them in our own ways.  But as writers, it's important our characters have issues.  The most interesting protagonist has a history and it shouldn't be all silver spoons and rose beds.  Past experiences mold people.  These experiences may strengthen a person or instill them with their greatest weakness.  Sometimes our characters are aware of the issues driving them and creating a great story for the reader.  Perhaps our characters aren't aware of their motivations and the issues behind them.  A writer can weave an complex tale and slowly reveal a character history.  A character without issues, perfect and without fault, is boring. 

 Antagonist need a history too.  They can't be totally evil.  A great story has a complex bad guy with issues of his or her own. 

Issues.  Everyone has to have them, especially our characters.  Did you ever read a book where the hero or heroine was too perfect?  How about a bad guy too perfectly evil?  Have you read a book where you've admired the weaving of a character's issues with the plot of the novel?