Sure, we all have a story to tell but a story doesn’t always mean we have a plot.
Now,
I’m still learning, but over the last year I've gathered quite a bit of information that
I truly wish I’d known when I was just starting out. Even if you’re fairly good
with plot, there may be a thing or two you could still learn. It also may help
you catch a problem with a plot you never noticed before.
1.
Plot means
conflict, yes, but it also means the call for action.
There
is no story without conflict, it should be inherent on each and every page, but
conflict alone isn’t enough to carry a plot. There needs to be a call for
action that connects with the conflict. What needs to happen in this story and
why? It should be something only your
character can or will do.
2.
Your character
needs a goal
This
goes along with number one because the call to action is a goal. Don’t make
things just happen to your character, those things might push your character
into the plot, but there needs to be a thing or two that makes your character active
in this story. What does your character want other than surviving?
Even “down the rabbit hole” plots need to have
something active within the “get out alive” goal.
The
best way to beef up a story is to have two different layers of conflict:
internal and external. Sometimes those goals can even conflict with each other.
They have a goal, now what connects that goal to their emotional journey?
3.
Every scene
needs to move the plot forward.
When
I first started writing this was my worst habit. I’d make the inciting incident
happen in chapter 12, thinking that all the things that happened before were
important (hint: they aren’t). If you can cut scenes without changing how the
story pans out, you’re probably falling into his pit hole.
Every
scene needs to matter, needs to change something. It can be personal, the way
the character thinks about something, or it can include a hint that pulls them
further towards the end goal, or maybe it makes things worse, deepens the
conflict. Look at every scene in your story and decide if you NEED it there.
Even subplots should connect back to the main conflict, even if it’s not right
away.
4.
Stakes
What happens if your character fails
at his/her goal? There should be some very scary consequence to failing. The
world ending? Well, yes, that’s a pretty easy go-to. But honestly, something
personal is usually more compelling. Death, the loss of a family member, being
hated by someone they care about, making their parents proud. With Middle
Grade, those stakes CAN be a bit smaller than adult works because sometimes
peer or parent acknowledgment is the most important thing to this age group.
That’s okay. So long as it truly matters to your character, it will matter to
the reader.
5.
Subplots
Developing the goals of side
characters is a great way to deepen a plot. I won’t go into huge detail about
this subject since Jamie wrote a great post about subplots a few weeks back:http://middlegrademinded.blogspot.com/2014/05/enter-subplot.html
6.
Structure
I plan to write a full post about this
because it can get kind of in depth. If you’re worried about plot structure try
using a beat sheet like this one: http://jamigold.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Beat-Sheet1.jpg.
There are some really interesting theories to plot structure that can make any
story line much stronger.
I’m still learning about plot myself, and it’s one
of those things that is different for every story (and that’s a good thing,
otherwise all our stories would be the same), but there are always ways to make
it stronger, to make it more compelling to readers. What have you learned about
plot? Any more tips for me or books you really enjoyed reading about the topic?
I’d love to hear them!
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