"Storylines are how characters create the plots involved in their stories"
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It reads like a writing truism, then slips in a quiet provocation: plots are not imposed from above, they are engineered from within. Yarbro’s phrasing drags “plot” down from the author’s godlike outline and hands it to the people on the page. “Storylines” aren’t just what happens; they’re the tracks characters lay by choosing, rationalizing, panicking, desiring. The sentence is almost circular on purpose, mirroring how stories often feel inside a character’s head: I did this because of what happened because of what I did. That loop is the engine.
The intent is craft-forward, but the subtext is ethical. If characters “create the plots,” then responsibility sits with agency, not fate. Even in genres where external forces loom - horror, historical fiction, the supernatural spaces Yarbro often inhabits - the real torque comes from a character pushing back, giving in, misreading, or doubling down. Plot becomes consequence, not choreography.
The line also nudges writers away from ornamental “things happening.” A plot built by authorial decree can feel like puppetry; a plot generated by character decision feels inevitable after the fact, which is exactly the illusion good fiction sells. Yarbro’s wording, slightly clunky and recursive, functions like a workshop koan: if your plot isn’t working, it’s probably because your characters aren’t doing enough inner work on the page. Make them want something sharper, fear something truer, and the storyline stops being an outline and starts behaving like life.
The intent is craft-forward, but the subtext is ethical. If characters “create the plots,” then responsibility sits with agency, not fate. Even in genres where external forces loom - horror, historical fiction, the supernatural spaces Yarbro often inhabits - the real torque comes from a character pushing back, giving in, misreading, or doubling down. Plot becomes consequence, not choreography.
The line also nudges writers away from ornamental “things happening.” A plot built by authorial decree can feel like puppetry; a plot generated by character decision feels inevitable after the fact, which is exactly the illusion good fiction sells. Yarbro’s wording, slightly clunky and recursive, functions like a workshop koan: if your plot isn’t working, it’s probably because your characters aren’t doing enough inner work on the page. Make them want something sharper, fear something truer, and the storyline stops being an outline and starts behaving like life.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
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