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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/21086
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Prison drama can be interesting and fascinating, actually. You can read books about real prison experiences for inspiration - I would recommend _Inside: Life Behind Bars in America_ if you need a starting point. Also recall that several works of fiction revolve entirely around prison settings - _Oz_, _Orange is the new Black_, and the classic story/film _The Shawshank Redemption_ leap immediately to mind. (_Shawshank_ was inspired by the prison section of _The Count of Monte Cristo_).

What sets your story apart is that you are determined to not have other prisoners. This cuts down on a lot of dramatic potential - a reader can only take so much institutionalized sadism toward a sympathetic character before they lose interest.

I see three possible approaches:

1. Tell the story of the characters who aren't in prison. How does the hero's absence affect them? What are the antagonists now able to accomplish? Does someone else try to take the hero's place, but with less effective results?

2. If nothing interesting happens while the hero is locked up, then you can just skip ahead in time. The difference in characterization between the previous chapters and the subsequent ones might tell the story of his incarceration all by itself, if you do it right.

3. If you are determined to show the character in prison, do it quickly. Describe the cell, the guards, the food. State how long he spends here. State how many months it took for him to finally give up hope. Make it very brief - a handful of carefully chosen descriptions can have the right emotional impact, without dragging the pacing of the story down at all.

Whatever you decide, you need to know ahead of time what the effect on your hero should be. This will shape the story of his time in prison.

Original score: 3