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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Plotting your Novel, Most Recent at Top [Help]
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1. Plot Structure, Tension, and Obstacles - #WriteTip
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By: Sherry Soule, on 7/12/2015
Blog: Dark Angel Fiction Writing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Plotting your Novel, Editing Plot, Add a tag


In order for the plot to be interesting and keep readers flipping the pages, you need some obstacles throughout the narrative. In a way, it is like problem solving or fitting the pieces of a complex puzzle together. Make sure your main character has a clear dramatic goal to reach, and then make it practically unattainable. That's how a lot of writers create a bestseller.

For example, the main character must solve a mystery or figure a way out of a bad situation (goal), but he has no idea how. The reader becomes intrigued because they’re curious as to the “how,” too. 

How will Martha prove that aliens abducted her before her family commits her to psychiatric hospital? 

How will Sara find her missing son before the kidnapper kills him? 

How will John get to work on time in the heavy traffic after his boss warned him that he’d get fired if he were late again?

Now come the obstacles. Before these characters can move forward, something else is thrown into their path that hinders them from reaching their goal. These are obstacles, and they can big or small. Pour on the troubles, and readers will feel frustration along with the character as they set out on their journey and encounter each roadblock.

Martha can’t prove anything unless she faces her own fears and tries to make contact with the extraterrestrials.

Sara cannot save her son when no one believes her and the police claim he’s just a runaway.

John will not make to work on time now because of an accident.

I know some writers that like their characters so much that they don’t put up any roadblocks or give them any difficult situations to face. Please don’t do that. Make your characters suffer, even just a little. Not only does it make them more likeable, but also the reader will start to root for them. They’ll want to keep reading just to find out if Timmy is able to find his runaway dog, Fido, before the mean dogcatcher does.


To be honest, a story without any conflict or tension or opposing force is, well, boring. All great novels need to have some type of dilemma for the hero to overcome. (I find so many New Adult novels lacking any real conflict or tension.) Just think of every blockbuster movie ever made. The hero is not only on a journey to self-discovery, but bad things kept happening to him along the way. He might even feel like giving up at some point, but then something else occurs, which gives him a spark of renewed hope to keep going. And then he faces any new challenges head-on and starts to defeat the opposing force. Now, that’s good storytelling! 

The phrase, “One step forward, two steps back,” applies to plot structure the same as it does in real life. Just when a person might think they’re moving forward, something happens to cause them to stumble backward. Whatever happens causes the person (character) hurt, tension, stress, or apprehension. The character must fight those setbacks. And the more a character wants something (goal), the harder they should fight to attain it. Don’t make it easy for them. Don't create passive characters without any goals or "wants" because those types are just boring.

The hero has to have major obstacles standing in the way of achieving his goal. Even if they’re small, annoying problems, it keeps him from doing whatever it is that he has set out to do.

He/she can’t drift through scenes without facing some problems, even his own inner-demons. Virtually every main character(s) must suffer from some type of moral dilemma or weakness (character ARC / flaw) besides all the obstacles that are tripping the MC up. 

Let your hero make bad choices and then learn from them. Allow him a few mistakes that ruin his chances of obtaining a goal. Throw huge obstacles in front of him that cause tension and conflict within his world. Raise the stakes to avoid a "sagging middle" story.

There is no plot or story if the character doesn’t have any goals to achieve or obstacles to overcome.

Some plot devices used in books:
Striving toward a goal
Overcoming obstacles in pursuit of goal
Solving a mystery
Resolving a problem
Bringing order to chaos (return to equilibrium)
The Hero’s journey
Flight and pursuit
Coming of age (from innocence to experience)
Personal growth

Let’s say your hero is a cop who’s terrified of heights (flaw). Then add a scene where he has to climb a tall ladder to rescue a kitten from a high rooftop and he’s totally freaking out. Then add another scene where if he doesn’t scale a building (obstacle) to catch a bad-guy, then the guy who murdered his wife will go free. He has a major case of vertigo and he must find a way to overcome his phobia by the end of the story; however, obstacles like his fear of heights is standing in his way of getting justice (goal).


Or it could be as simple as your character desperately wants a job promotion to be able to pay the mortgage (goal) on his dream house after his wife loses her own job. But this other guy, a kiss-butt overachiever, in the office wants it, too. So the hero has to find ways to prove to his boss that he’s the right man for the job, but the butt-kisser keeps trying to sabotage (obstacles) all the hero’s good deeds at work.

All plots and good stories need tension, conflict, and an opposing force. The “opposing force’ doesn’t have to be a crazed mass murderer or an evil villain. It could even be nature, like a deadly tornado about to wipe out the hero’s hometown, or a 300-pound young woman trying to lose weight, but she lives in a world filled with chocolate. 

She could be a college student trying to join an exclusive sorority to make her dad happy so he won’t cut her off financially, but she’s worried they’ll discover a dark secret she’s hiding. 

Or maybe she’s a demon hunter with a fear of the dark and evil only comes out at night.

Or maybe the character just inherited a haunted house from her uncle and the ghost residing within the mansion wants to kill her. 

Or even, a teen girl that is in love with a mysterious boy, but their relationship is forbidden by his family.

And once your character overcomes all those nasty issues and huge dilemmas, and finally obtains his or her goal, the reader will be satisfied and cheering him/her on. 

So, PLEASE, because I need more amazing books to read, make your beloved characters undergo some form of torture or problems. The bigger, the better. The harder to overcome, the better. The more dire the situation, the better. Pile on the complications and turn your story into a page-turning, un-put-downable read!

This blog post is awesome at explaining plot structure in more detail: http://www.writing-world.com/children/obstacles.shtml
If you have any questions pertaining to plot structure of a fiction novel, please leave a comment.

 So, how do you torture your characters?

0 Comments on Plot Structure, Tension, and Obstacles - #WriteTip as of 7/12/2015 1:50:00 PM
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2. Straight Road To Plotting Your Novel - #WriteTip
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By: Sherry Soule, on 12/4/2014
Blog: Dark Angel Fiction Writing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Plotting your Novel, Editing Plot, Add a tag

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Today I want to talk about plot. Most successful novels all pretty much follow the same basic plot structure to give their audience a satisfying read. 


Every novel should contain at least most of the basic plot points listed below to ensure that the story progresses at a good pace and entertains the reader.

I find that a lot of unpublished writers or newbies do not even try to include plot points and their novels read as if the narrator is just drifting through scenes without any direction or clear goal or character / story arc.

Nobody likes to be bound by rules. I hate following rules. But the rules of basic scene structure will help you excel at meeting the goals of storytelling. They will keep you moving the story forward, not backward, to show not tell, and entertain, not bore your reader.


If your goal is to hook an agent and get a six-figure publishing deal, then I strongly suggest first doing a chapter-by-chapter outline of your finished manuscript or your current WIP.

Does it follow a straight road from beginning to end?

Or does it meander off the road without any solid structure?

I have always been more a pantser, with some clear ideas on how I want the storyline to progress and usually how it will end. But “writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” means that you have to go back after one or two drafts and do a LOT of rewriting. Rarely does this type of writing follow a direct road from start to finish. My own storylines (main plot) tend to meander away from the plotting road, with stops along the way (scenes) that do not further the storyline or character arc. And I end up doing months of revisions. Not fun.

As some of you know, I am a freelance editor and I edit a lot of fiction manuscripts, and I also have CPs (critique partners) where I critique their work, and I find that most of them take the meandering road. Which means there is no clear-cut story arc or plot development.

This post today is to offer some of the wisdom that I’ve gleamed from other writers, books, and plot outlines, which I sincerely hope will help you to polish your current WIP (work-in-progress) into an awesome, page-turning read by following a straight road to plotting success!

Blake Snyder wrote and developed a great beat sheet for movies, which novelists can use, too. Based on his beat sheet, another helpful beat sheet for novels was tweaked and assembled by author, Jami Gold (http://jamigold.com) with a hat tip to Elizabeth Davis's Blake Snyder/Save the Cat Beat Sheet (www.lizwritesbooks.com). You can download these awesome beat sheets here: http://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/

I’ll also use these plot points to some degree in this post. But first off, you need to be sure that your story is going in the right direction by answering all of these questions about either your finished novel or your WIP:

What is the story arc (theme)?

Do the scenes have multiple reasons for being in the story (character development and plot point, etc.)?

Does each scene have an arc (emotional and story-wise)?

Do the scenes start and stop at the right points for that arc?

Is the Goal/Motivation/Conflict clear for every scene and character?

Do all the main and major secondary characters have arcs?

Are the characters’ motivations appropriate and deep enough?

Are the main characters likable and sympathetic?

Is there tension on every page?

Are they unanswered questions in each chapter?

What are the 4 or 5 big moments that have occurred? (Are there at least 2 complications for each moment?)

Next, I’ll share what I do to make sure that my storyline stays on track by using a simple chapter-by-chapter questionnaire, with an example from the second novel in my YA series, MOONLIGHT MAYHEM:

Chapter One

Scene / Date / Time of day:

Luna Pizza – Saturday, Sept 10 evening

James dies after lycan attack

Drive to Ravenhurst with Ari, get attacked by wolf, and see spooky raven

MC (main character) goal in this scene:

Help boy and seek answers to wolf attack to protect others

Obstacles/Conflict:

MC is unsure of herself and scared of new threat in town

What’s at stake?

Others in town could be hurt or killed by animals if MC doesn’t find a way to stop them

Important Information Learned:

James bitten by wolf and ends up in a mysterious coma

Shiloh is embarrassed by her scarred arm and has demon blood inside her

Description / setup of Whispering Pines

Snapshot of MC’s life

Overall scene Goal:

Establish main villain / threat

Introduction of Main Characters
First Inciting Incident

Set the tone, mood, type, and scope of the storyline. World Building: A "before" snapshot: Show MC normal world and usual routine.

What questions were left unanswered? What new ones were created?

Where did the wolves come from? Why are they attacking innocent people? Why are people going into mysterious comas after being bitten? What can the MC do to solve the mystery without being killed herself?

Okay, now you have an idea on how to go through your own MS (manuscript) and do a chapter-by-chapter outline of every scene in your novel. If you cannot answer these simple questions for each scene and/or chapter, then perhaps that particular scene needs to be cut from the narrative. In, MOONLIGHT MAYHEM, I did end up cutting three scenes that did nothing to push the story forward, because they meandered off the straight plotting road.

Remember: Every scene must involve the goal and motivation of the main character. Whether it’s your hero, heroine, or villain, their goals and motivations drive the story. 


Now I will include a basic plot structure and what each point means below for you to use to ensure that you stay on the plotting road and don't meander from the storyline:


(First half of the story) Part 1 Theme / Opening Scene / The Set Up:

Introduce MC, hook the reader, and setup First Plot Point; major goal is to establish empathy (not necessarily likability) for the MC. The definition of the setup is just that—it “sets up” the opening scene by giving a snapshot that allows what will take place in the following scene to be clear to the reader. Your setup should contain at least a hint of the trouble to come, either directly or indirectly.

(Should include all) OPENING (1) the inciting incident; (2) the story-worthy problem; (3) the initial surface problem; (4) the setup; (5) brief backstory; (6) a stellar opening sentence; (7) setting; and (8) foreshadowing

(Every novel must have this) Inciting Incident:

The event that creates the character’s initial surface problem and introduces inklings of the story-worthy problem. In essence, this is the “action” part of the story, the part that is plot-based. This event happens to the protagonist, and then the writer shows what hero tries to do to resolve it, and so on. Consider it the driving force behind the main plot as it ultimately becomes what the protagonist must reconcile by the end of the story.  

Hook Moment:

Opening scene or sequence of story; protagonist must be introduced within first 1-3 scenes. And include the new problem that occurs as a direct result of the inciting incident. And while it may seem at first glance that solving this problem is what the story is really all about, it’s not. It is about solving the deeper, more complicated story-worthy problem that is slowly revealed as the story progresses. *Optional -Add "Save the Cat" moment for hero likability.

First Plot Point:

Something that creates a question the reader wants an answer to or an itch that needs to be scratched; doesn't need context with protagonist's needs or stakes. Foreshadowing is hinting at the action or obstacles to come. Hints about upcoming perils to create a page-turning read.

Part 2 (second half of the story) The Response / Emotional Heart:

The MC's reaction to the new goal/stakes/obstacles revealed by the Inciting Incident; the MC doesn't need to be heroic yet (retreats/regroups/doomed attempts/reminders of antagonistic forces at work). Response: The hero/heroine responds to plot point. This response can be a refusal, shock, denial, fear, etc.

Heart of the Story:

*Optional* "The promise of the premise" / the heart of the story. This act has been called the emotional heart of the story. Make sure that the emotional /growth arc is clear here. During this time of safety or rest, the protagonist's focus should be on making a decision - one that forces them to weigh on pervious events - and what they anticipate will come in the third act.

First Pinch Point:

Reminder of the story's antagonistic forces, not filtered by narrative or MC's description, but directly visible to the reader. For example, it has to be something bad that the reader gets to see happen, showing us how bad the bad guy really is, raising the stakes. *Show don't tell

Midpoint:

Middle of Story; stakes are raised; fun and games over. And here, the hero and/or the reader receive some new bit of information. It’s pretty important, though—this is the kind of revelation that changes how the reader views the story world, changing the context for all the scenes that come after it.

Part 3 (last section of the story) The Attack:

The attack – New information/awareness causes the MC to change course in how to approach the obstacles; the hero is now empowered with information on how to proceed, not merely reacting anymore; MC also ramps up battle with own inner demons. MC's not going to operate on the bad guy’s terms anymore—she/he’s taking matters into her own hands, and she/he’s decided to go after the bad guy. She/he’s fighting back!

Second Pinch Point:

Another crisis point in the story: Include brief scene as an example, or a reminder, showing the nature and implications of the antagonistic force, that is not filtered by the hero’s experience. Reader/MC sees it in a direct form. A show of how truly evil the bad guy really is. (The simpler and more direct the scene is, the more effective it is.)

(Key ingredient to any good story) All Hope Is Lost:

A slower paced, all-hope-is-lost scene or chapter before the Second Plot Point. MC needs to discover that the problem is even bigger than they thought – and preferably, that there is even more at risk than they imagined. MC has lost everything. This moment should be the MC's darkest moment - the portion of the story that takes your protagonist to the darkest place in your pages. *Make it appear to the reader that things just couldn't get any worse.

Second Plot Point:

Here we get our last bit of new information in the story. This last revelation is often the key to solving the mystery or fixing the problem—it’s the last piece of info the hero needs to make his world right. This comes 75% of the way into the story. This is the huge crisis moment, the event that changes everything. After this point in time, no new characters or information may be allowed into the story. *This info or scene changes everything!

Part 4- The Resolution:

1. End with CLIMAX - Wrap-up story. Solve Mystery. Expose bad guys. 2. Disclose MC’s Growth ARC. 3. Tie up any loose ends or dangling subplots. Show how much change has occurred in MC’s personal beliefs and their world. 4. If possible, bring the book full-circle by mirroring that first opening scene, circumstance, or setting in the closing pages.

Well, that wraps up my advice on plotting your novel into a story that maps out a road to success.

How do you plot your novel?

What tips do you use to ensure that your storyline doesn’t meander off the plotting road map?

More online tips:


Plot Revision for Novel Writers

Revising Plot–Scene by Scene

Write & Rewrite: Plot

Revision Tips, part One–Using Your Plot Diagrams as Working Drawings

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3. TOP TEN PLOTTING PROBLEMS
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By: Sherry Soule, on 11/3/2014
Blog: Dark Angel Fiction Writing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  plotting, Plotting your Novel, Editing Plot, Add a tag


 


 Guest Post by Alicia Rasley

NOTE FROM SHERRY:While not all of these issues will apply to your own storyline, they are wonderful points to keep in mind while revising or plotting your fiction novel. I came across this helpful post while trying to fix some major pacing issues in my current WIP, and I wanted to share it to inspire you, too. ;-)

10. Backstory Blunders:
The past is prologue, for sure, but you can tell too much too soon, if everything about the characters' past is explained right upfront in chapter one.
9. Boring Beginnings:
If you have to rely on your readers' patience while you get the story set up, you're likely to lose most of them. Start where the protagonist's problem starts, or just before that, and feed in the backstory later. This is the MTV era—people don't like to wait. Be especially wary of books that start with the protagonist on a journey, thinking about what awaits her at the destination. Editors frequently mention that as an example of a boring opening. It helps to decide what your major story questions are and make sure those are posed in the first few chapters— at least one should be posed in Chapter One.
8. Limping to a Conclusion:
You don't want the reader to think you ended the book just because you ran out of paper. Make the ending a conclusive one, reinforcing the themes of the book and the progress of the protagonist.
7. Sagging Middle:
The middle has to do more than just fill up the space between beginning and end. It should be a time of "rising conflict" where the protagonist is tested up to (and perhaps beyond) the limits of his ability— a time to develop the internal and external conflicts and show how they influence the protagonist's actions. It should set up the great crisis/climax/resolution that will bring the novel to a close. 
So when you're starting the middle, think of how the protagonist can be challenged. What external plot events can make his internal conflict impossible to ignore any longer? How can that internal conflict impede his/her progress towards the goal? If there's an antagonist, how does the antagonist's reaction affect the protagonist's progress?
6. Tumors and Parasites (The cast of thousands):
Secondary characters are distinguished from major characters— the protagonist(s) and the antagonist usually— by their lack of a story journey. That is, they exist to make things happen in the plot, but their own conflicts and issues shouldn't be part of the story. (If they're that interesting, let them star in the sequel.) Every person with a story journey (described progress towards a significant change in their life) dilutes the impact of the major characters' journey. 
In some books (family sagas, for example), this can work. But in most protagonist-centered popular fiction, tracking the secondary characters' lives and loves is going to waste time and confuse the reader. Watch out for long passages in a secondary character's viewpoint, which dwell on his problems and not on the protagonist. And keep count of how many subplots you've got—make sure each one supports the main plot in some way.
5. Plodding Pacing:
Pacing is primarily a function of how many cause-effect related events happen in the book. But that doesn't mean that effective pacing depends on shoving a lot of events into the story. Selection is key. What events are essential? What supporting events are needed to set up those essential events (aka "turning points")? 
Are all the events of the plot related causally—that is, does the discovery of the letter in chapter 2 set up the release of the imprisoned protagonist in Chapter 4, and eventually the capture of the villain in the climax? Make sure every scene has at least one event that affects the main plot—that way the readers can't skip without missing something important.
4. What a Coincidence:
 Coincidence is fun in real life. But it's death to good fiction. Fiction is about cause and effect, and there's no cause and effect when the central elements of your plot happen by coincidence. It's often hard, however, to identify coincidence in your own story, so be ruthless. Look at the chain of events. Which would be unlikely to happen unless you the author made it happen? How likely is it that in a city of seven million, your judge protagonist would just happen to get the embezzling case of the man she thinks was responsible for the hit-and-run killing of her mother? Not very.
To fix coincidence without losing the event, make it happen because of character decision and action, and watch your characters grow into strength and purpose. That judge doesn't just happen to get the case; she seeks it, determined to avenge her mother's death. Now that's a lot more fun than coincidence, because the conflict is now not just an accident, but the result of this character's need for vengeance over justice.
3. Conflicts about Conflict:
Conflict is the fuel that powers the plot and forces the characters into action. Without it, you might have a nice slice of life portrait, or a great character sketch... but you don't really have a story. Problem is, conflict is volatile, and many of us avoid it in our plotting as we avoid it in our lives. But just as children need discipline to grow, characters need adversity to change. And fiction is, at base, about change. Popular fiction is usually about change in the protagonist. No one changes without a good reason to change— that's where conflict comes in.
Quite simply, you have an authorial duty to provide conflict for your characters so that they will learn to change— and that means determining how they need to change. Linking conflict to character change will revitalize your story, and avoid the problems of serial conflict (where what looks like the book conflict wraps up in Chapter 3, to be replaced by another conflict) and incoherent conflict (where the conflict has nothing to do with who this character is or what she needs).
2. Structural Weaknesses:
Many a good story is sunk by a weak structure: a hidden protagonist (the readers can't tell early whose story this is), meandering setups, mis-presented conflict, rushed climaxes, incoherence between the protagonist and the plot (the main character doesn't have much to do with the main plot, or this person would never do what the plot requires him to do). 
Much of this derives from a misunderstanding of the purpose of structure. It's not a prison, chaining you to a "formula,” it's a map to help you and your readers explore the issues you're developing with this story. Learning structure can teach you when to modify it and when to branch out on your own.
The key to structure, in my opinion, is understanding the concept of the story questions—the question or problem your opening poses, and the events which combine to create the answer.
1. Whose Story Is This, Anyway?
The Plight of the Protagonist: The biggest single plot problem I see in my judging, editing, and critiquing is actually a character problem: the passive or under-motivated protagonist— that is, a protagonist who is not truly involved in causing the plot to unfold. 
Beware of the victim-protagonist (bad things happen to him, and he suffers a lot), the passive protagonist (he witnesses the plot events, but he doesn't participate), the bumbling protagonist (he acts, but stupidly, without learning from his mistakes). The central character doesn't have to be likeable (though it helps) or (god forbid) without faults, but he does have to be motivated enough to act and encounter obstacles and change in response to plot events.
Ideally, the protagonist should be involved in nearly every event, and his decisions and actions should drive the plot.
You might make a list of all the major plot events, and beside each note the protagonist's contribution. Is each action, decision, or choice motivated? (The motivation doesn't have to be laudable, but should derive from who he is and what he wants.) Does each action have some effect on the plot? And finally, does each action-event dynamic contribute to an ultimate change in the protagonist?
Here's a final thought that might help you plot:
One primary purpose of the plot is to force the protagonist to change, usually by recognizing and overcoming some internal conflict. Know your character, and you'll figure out your plot. Conversely, know your plot, and you'll find the character that needs that sequence of events for internal growth.


Alicia Rasleyis an award-winning author of Regency-set novels. She teaches fiction writing online in workshops around the country and at universities. 
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