Every story needs a beginning, middle and end. Careful plotting will lead the reader on a satisfactory, realistic journey through each of those stages, creatively weaving in and out, up and down. But how do we begin to plot our stories? Is there a magic formula?
There are many ways to “start plotting.” How you begin will depend on your personal preference/style. Some work off of an outline. Some cluster. Others use the storyboard method. I use a 12-step plotter, which you will find outlined in this chapter.
Regardless of what method you choose, you must come up with a convincing story idea, interesting to the reader, unique to all other stories (as much as you are able) and logical/sequential. Above all, you must create a story with conflict.
Nothing can be easy for your primary character. She must face obstacles and overcome them, only to face more. In the end, she must rise above her problems, triumphant. And all of this has to be completely believable.
Consider this quote from author Stella Cameron:
“If the reader stops, frowns, re-reads, and stops again–there’s something very wrong. The cause of this pause may be loss of viewpoint control, chronological slips, failure to provide adequate pegs into the setting or, much more likely, an inconsistency in plot.
These inconsistencies, whether they result in an uneasy sense of implausibility, or actually slap the reader between the eyes with an impossibility–these inconsistencies result from careless plotting compounded by either failure to double check each development, or some vague, but suicidal conviction that no one will notice the blunder!” (Plotting Your Novel by Stella Cameron http://www.stellacameron.com/contrib/plot.html)
If you’ve struggled to plot your novel, if the story arc doesn’t seem to work, then hold on for the ride, writer. Whether you’re a seat-of-the-pants writer or one who over-thinks every plot twist, the lessons you will find on this site will prove helpful!
