Flatter than a Pancake

Isn't great when you are baking a cake and you peak in the over to see it nice and full? Then when you get it out of the oven and set it to cool, the damn thing falls?

So if you don't bake, you don't have a clue what I'm talking about but it is a good metaphor for my historical WIP. I'm about 5K words into it and nothing is happening. I've got atmosphere and plot but my characters are so boring. Their motivations feel artificial and their conflicts are too weak to carry a story and make it interesting.

For romance writers, the conflicts between the hero and heroine are the core to the story. The characters make the book, that is why romance readers read them. Plot is secondary. The plot serves the characters rather than the other way around. If your characters are dullards, the plot could be fascinating but the reader will lose interest.

Considering I write on the fly, I love plot. I like to go from point A to point B onto C. But sometimes I forget and leave my characters behind. I started this story thinking the characters would develop with the plot and they didn't. They simply drifted through WIP without any real substance. To make up for the lack, there is too much narrative.

Anyway, it was a frustrating writing day. Today is going to be no great shakes because I had insomnia last night. I never get insomnia. I've had maybe two hours of sleep. Hopefully I get a nap sometime today.