Don’t Mistake Wish Fulfilment for Plot

A long time ago, when I was in an entry-level role at a publishing house and not yet editing, I used to do some reading and editing for a literary agent on the side to build up my experience.

One book I worked on I vividly remember because in the initial draft that I read there was a very good (bad?) example of a problem which I have gone on to see a lot in manuscripts at all levels – by which I mean the very early drafts I work on as an editor, the polished drafts submitted to me as an agent, and the manuscripts I used to work on in-house by authors with numerous published novels under their belt already.

Which is all to say: this is an issue that pops up frequently in various guises, even in the drafts of established authors – but you can easily find and fix it in your work.

The problem is wish fulfilment masquerading as plot.

At its worst, this can look like a character suddenly being showered with good fortune and gifts like Cinderella’s fairy godmother is waving her wand over them – and it’s entirely irrelevant to the story.

In the novel I mentioned above – which was otherwise very good and did go on to be published – the character went to stay with a family friend. Said family friend had a penthouse flat in London, and for some reason showered our character with gifts. They gave her their credit card and told her to buy whatever she wanted. The fridge was fully stocked with luxurious food.

This sounds delightful!! It also sounds unlikely. And it also, in this case, did absolutely nothing to move the plot on.

I see this version of the problem really often in romcoms and romance, where our protagonist meets her dream man and he suddenly starts e.g. sending her incredibly expensive designer dresses to wear on their dates. Unless this is foreshadowing something vital – perhaps this is a sign that he’ll actually be a controlling and abusive partner, beginning with him choosing her outfits, for example – or the book is in that fairytale/marrying-a-prince space, it feels irrelevant and unlikely.

But I see wish fulfilment play out in other ways too, and across other genres. Sometimes it does indeed move the plot on – the detective is anonymously sent a key clue, for example – but it still feels unsatisfying.

This is the problem with wish fulfilment: it means the character is getting what they want without having to work for it.

This is, at best, unsatisfying for the reader; we want to feel that the character has earned what they get.

At worst, it suggests a lack of skill as an author; it suggests to us that the author didn’t know how to get the character what they wanted or needed naturally, and so just made it magically appear.

Of course, this is often part and parcel of first drafts. If you have read my posts or notes before, you’ll know that I always encourage writers to just plough on through their first draft – and sometimes that means a little bit of wish fulfilment might be needed to get your protagonist where they need to be for the plot to work.

But you should take a hard look at that wish fulfilment before you share your novel with agents or editors or readers.

Wish fulfilment doesn’t always look as obvious as a shower of physical gifts and money arriving.

It might look like your character needing something – a map, a key, an answer to a question – and it falling into their lap the first time of asking.

It might look like the killer confessing before the detective is anywhere close to finding them.

It might look like the protagonist stumbling across a vital clue and not having to do any work to get it.

As with so many pieces of writing advice, there is nuance here, but in general here are my rules on when wish fulfilment becomes a problem:

• When it is so wildly unrealistic – e.g. there is no reason or motive for a relative to shower your character with gifts – that it feels unlikely.

• When the thing your protagonist gets is the only thing they need to succeed in whatever they are trying to do (so you could get away with your detective having one small clue handed to them – but not the name of the killer).

• When there is a way the character could get whatever the wish fulfilment gives to them if they just did a little bit more work themselves.

• When there is no foreshadowing, so that a character we’ve never heard of (and the protagonist has not been looking for) or who has no history of being able to provide the thing needed, suddenly pops up and provides it.

Here’s an example:

Your protagonist needs to find a specific antique urn, which is rumoured to have magical properties. She randomly visits her great aunt, a character we have never heard of before, who conveniently has the precise urn the protagonist is looking for.

Here’s how it might work better:

Your protagonist needs to find a specific antique urn, which is rumoured to have magical properties. Her great aunt, who we have already seen the protagonist visit regularly, is a keen antique collector, so the protagonist pops over to ask her about it. Her aunt suggests an antique store in town, and your protagonist finds the urn there.

In the second version, the aunt doesn’t appear from nowhere, and she’s already established as someone who collects antiques long before the protagonist needs to find one. Even then, the aunt doesn’t conveniently have the exact thing we need – she sends the protagonist off in the right direction, and the protagonist finds it herself.

There are myriad different ways wish fulfilment can play out in a novel. But if you are editing your draft right now, ask yourself whether your protagonist is really working for what they get – or if things are just falling conveniently into their lap – and whether everything is relevant to the story.

The most satisfying novels are those where we see the characters earn what they get, and where everything is working to push the story forwards.

If you’re currently looking for an agent and would like to submit to me at The Ampersand Agency, you can find the agency submissions guidelines here, and my manuscript wishlist on my website.

If you’re looking for an editor you can contact me via my website, or book a query-package review or coaching call immediately.

Thank you so much for reading, commenting, liking and sharing. As always, please do let me know in the comments if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to write about – or head to the chat to talk about your current projects, ask questions, and get advice!

Happy writing!

Abi