Last week I was wondering if I could combine two plots into one. One idea was for an Event and one for Characters. While I still think they could have meshed, the character story took off on it’s own into a short story.

Now the question is what to do with the Event idea, how to enrich it into a full blown novel idea. Here are some ways to enrich an idea that I’m going to try.

Setting. For me, The setting make a huge difference to a story. This is both a when and a place. When does the story/specific scene occur? What historical time period, what time of year, what time of day?

Medieval England is far different from 3030 Mars. Winter is far different from spring. A lake is different from downtown New York City. Think hard about what the setting means in terms of characters: who would be there? What are cultural norms in such a place? What could happen here and what could never happen here?

Also, what conflict is inherent in the setting? An ice-covered lake becomes dangerous during an early thaw – and you’d be a fool not to take advantage of it. A board room implies conflict in a power play.

Family. Another way to enrich all plot/story is to look to family situations. This could be anything from a blended family to a strong matriarchal family to adopted kids. Included in this could be any of a wide range of betrayals, misunderstandings, etc. I try to put this together with my original idea. Given A, what is the worst thing that could be happening in the family relationships? Depending on the audience, can you include this in the story, or some variation of it?

Backstory. I like the idea of building in connections between characters in the back story. Characters met at a previous job, went to the same school, had the same kind of dog – anything.

This will also build in possible conflicts: the dog likes A better than B, resulting in jealousy. Or A passed a test by copying off B’s paper.

By looking at the setting, the family and the back story — something every story already has — and making the most of these, my plot will grow. Of course, I’ll have to throw in some twists and unexpected things, but it’s a start. Here’s hoping the plot develops this week.

Revise with confidence.

Finishing up the series on plot: We’ve talked about the outline level of plot, plotting with scenes and now we’re at a finer granular level as we talk about pacing of a novel.

Pacing Helps Plot Succeed

Nick Lowe, in his article, The Well-Tempered Plot Device, criticizes many well-loved fantasy novels because of their use of plot coupons. A plot coupon plot is where the story is set up someway (riddles, prophecy, commands, etc) so that a certain number of objects must be collected (or tasks completed), in order to defeat evil or accomplish the main character’s goal. Lowe says there’s little question left what will happen in the novel, because, well, duh!, the hero/ine will collect those the tasks/objects/coupons and defeat evil. So why read the novel?

Lowe berates novels such as The Lord of the Rings or Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising series as having flawed collect-the-coupon plots. Well, yes. So what?

If there are three levels of plot (outline, scene and pacing), a story actually can be cliched at the outline level and use a plot coupon and still be a great story because it excels on the pacing level.

Pick up the first book in the Dark is Rising series (I love the audio versions) and begin reading and you’ll be drawn immediately. Why? Because it has excellent pacing. On this local level, you are totally involved in the story and the minor ongoing conflicts.

So, here’s one thing about pacing: it can’t overcome all the objections about bad plot, but it can keep a reader going and enjoying your story.

Pacing: How to Keep Reader Interested

Pacing is the trick of continually changing something in the story, creating some uncertainty in the reader’s mind, which results in the reader wanting to know, “What happens next?”

The change is what’s important and what will create a strong pace for your story:

• a new piece of information
• a realization
• a change in emotion
• A deepening of emotion
• a small action
• a small reaction

Basically, these are the “beats” of a scene (See Dirty White Candy’s Beat Sheet), the small back and forths of momentum. It’s like the last two minutes of a basketball game, when the teams are tied:

The Razorbacks (Yes, I’m a Hog fan!) have the basketball and they race for their basket. The guard pulls up at the top of the key and shoots. 3 points!
On their inbound, Alabama heaves it down court to an open man. Oh, no!
In a supreme effort, a Razorback leaps high and intercepts the wild pass. He races down court, but runs into a ‘Bama player. Oh, how could that referee call an offensive charge? That’s just crazy. (Of course, the mighty Razorbacks win this game! Whoo, Pig, Soooie!

Ah, do you see how my emotions are bouncing around just as much as that basketball? THAT is good pacing. Sure, your story has quiet times and exciting times and the pacing can vary as needed.

But when a story is well paced, readers will put up with plot-coupon plots. What they won’t put up with is a rambling plot, unfocused scenes and events that drag along with no tension.

Revise with confidence.

Does your Scene Pass this Checklist?

1. Where/When. (Setting) Did you orient the reader at the beginning of the scene? Does the reader know where this takes place: room in house, city, state, country, etc? Does the reader know when this takes place: time of day, season of year, place within chronology of story? If the answer to where or when is no, do you have a firm reason for leaving the reader disoriented?


Do NOT Pass Go Until You've Passed this Check List

2. Stakes. Are the stakes of the scene goal clear? If the protagonist fails, do we understand the consequences? Are the consequences substantial? Can you put more at stake, or make it matter in some way?
3. Structure. Is the structure clear, with a beginning, middle, pivot point and ending? Is the chronology of the scene clear (did you use transitions such as then, later, before, after, etc.)?
4. Actions. Are the actions of the scene interesting, and told with active verbs and great clarity?
5. Emotions. Are the emotions clearly stated or implied? Can the reader empathize with the characters? Does the reader weep or laugh, even when the character can’t or won’t?
6. Dialogue. Does the dialogue move the scene forward or is it empty chit-chat? Are there minor conflicts embedded in the conversations?
7. Language. Are you telling or showing? Does your storytelling have clarity and coherence?
8. Voice. Does the language create the proper mood, tone, voice?
9. Transition. Does the scene make a smooth transition to the next scene? If you use a scene cut, does the reader have enough information to follow the cut without getting confused?
10. Cohesive. Do all the elements work together to create a gestalt, a scene that is better than the sum of its parts?

Where does your scene fall down? Revise. You know the drill.

Revise with confidence.

Scene Quiz: From a Harvard Bar to Your Scenes

Yesterday, we talked about what you’d find if you dissected a good scene. Today, we’ll apply this information by studying a scene from the classic movie, Good Will Hunting. (Warning: Adult language) Then, you can apply it to your own scenes.

Watch this four minute scene (If it’s not showing above, you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymsHLkB8u3s&feature=player_embedded) and identify the following:

1. What happens in the beginning phase?
2. What happens in the middle phase?
3. What is the turning point or focal point of the story?
4. How does the scene end? In a disaster (tragedy), in success, or somewhere in between? At the end, what has changed for each character?
5. What is the setting for this scene? Why is this an appropriate scene for the action that happens?
6. What is the underlying emotions of this scene, the pulse, as Sandra Scofield calls it?
7. List at least 3 reasons why this is a necessary scene for this story.
8. What else do you notice about scenes by studying this film clip?

Repeat this analysis for each of the scenes in your novel.
If you want confirmation of your answers, or want to discuss the analysis, please leave a comment.

Revise with confidence.

Anatomy of a Scene

If you dissect a scene, what do you find? Sandra Scofield, in The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer lays out a simple, yet insightful discussion of this concept and it’s usefulness to a novelist.

Here are the basics of a scene:

1. Event and Emotion: Something happens and it makes the reader feel something. We’ll say it again: novels are made up of external events, not interior thoughts and feelings. Yes, novels are distinguished by their ability to take a reader inside a character’s head and show us their thoughts and feelings. Yet, paradoxically, the scene is the solid framework of events to which the character reacts.




2. Function: Hey, why did you write this scene and include it in your novel exactly here? For example:
   • Character: character entrance, develop character’s qualities, build relationship, complicate relationship, argument, making up, romance, etc.
   • Plot: conflict, twist, surprise
   • Technical stuff: foreshadowing

   The question is always, do you need this scene, or could you skip it or just summarize it?

3. Structure: There should be a beginning, middle (including a turning point, or as Scofield describes it, a focal point), and end.
4. Pulse: This is the emotional content of the scene, the underlying emotions, whether expressed explicitly or implied.

I could spend pages explaining each of these, but a demo will work better. Tomorrow, we’ll look at a film clip and see if you can identify each of these in the clip.

Meanwhile, read Scofield. Her explanations are so good, you should get it directly from the master.

Revise with confidence.

OK, you’ve narrowed down your story to a plot template and you know what characters, events, settings are implied by the story you are thinking about and the plot template. You know some of the pitfalls of plots. Now what?

It think this is the hardest part of plotting a novel, going from generalities to particulars, actually choosing and writing scenes. But you have to make a start, so let’s get to it.

Working Methods

Plan or write. Plan first or write and see where it goes? Oh, the perennial question! I’ll dodge it, though, by saying you must follow your own bent. Find your own working methods and habits of working that produce pages that lead to a full draft of a novel.

However! IF you usually just start in writing, TRY planning each scene. IF you usually plan each scene, TRY just jumping into the writing. Every once in a while, it’s great to break your pattern of working and see what happens. Shake yourself up! (I suggested this once at a national conference and got several notes later that this was the best advice the writers had ever taken, the resulting novel was the best she had written – so try it!) If the results are disappointing, you can always go back to your original methods of writing your novel.

It just depends. But I just avoided the question again of what to write first, second, third, etc. And here’s where the answers get frustrating: it just depends. Not knowing your genre, audience, voice, characters, setting, plot template – I simply can’t say. But I can give general guidelines.

Try to write in scenes. A scene is a unit of story that is self-contained, in that it has a beginning, middle and end; it has a goal and a resolution (either tragedy or success); it plays a role in the story. Writing in scenes adds tension to a story and keeps the writing focused. (MUST you write in scenes? No. Yes. It depends. If you’ve never done it, try it!) This is easy advice to ignore; I did it for many years and my writing suffered. More on the anatomy of scenes tomorrow.

Working Attitudes

Don’t be boring! Try to build in surprises. Bored readers won’t finish your story.

• Scene cuts. With each new scene or chapter, stop and think about what is expected next. Don’t do it. Instead, jump ahead a bit more than expected.
• Leap-frog story lines. Or leave a character in the middle of a crisis and leap frog to another character where you get us involved emotionally, before leap-frogging back to the first story line.
• Ground your novel in physical, sensory details. In the scene’s opening, set the scene, especially the emotional tone. Do this by careful selection of sensory details and the specific words you use to describe what is happening.
• Focus on emotions. Always remember to make us care about a character before springing danger.

Don’t be cliched! Brainstorm like crazy. Before you start a scene/chapter, list ten possible events and sequence of events. Yes. Ten. Not nine. Not eight. Ten. Force yourself to go beyond the cliche that you thought of first and go on to something different, more striking and more original.

Plot Complications and SubPlots

Depending on what source you consult, you may hear a couple terms used concerning subplots and plot layers, or extra complications for the main character. These work for me.

• Plot layer. A secondary problem given to the same character, usually the main character. For example, if an orphan child wants to find parents and a family, that’s the main problem; however, you could add several plot layers. Perhaps the child has a broken leg and must go through a couple surgeries, learn to walk again, etc. The leg was broken when she fell off a horse, and the foster family who might adopt her raises race horses; now our MC must learn to like horses, or risk being rejected by the family she wants.
• Subplot. This is another through-line of the story which focuses on a different character and is tied to the main plot in some way, usually intersecting at several key points. In our orphan-broken leg-scared of horses story above, we could add a couple subplots. The family wants to adopt our heroine, but they need money to do that and they are hoping their premier race horse wins big races and big purses. Unknown to the trainers, though, a stable boy is riding the horse at night and the horse trusts him more than the jockey; he’s the natural person to ride the horse in the next race, but no one believes him. So, he sets out to prove it and in the process, the horse gets a hairline fracture – has to sit out of racing for six weeks. (Of course, this echoes the girl’s broken leg; will the family sell the horse – he loses his family because of a broken leg – or will the girl and stable boy somehow find their way through all this?)

Do you see how both plot layers and subplots enrich the story? Main characters (and sometimes villains) who only have one layer are in danger of being boring. Subplots need some kind of connection to the main story, either parallel to it or, perhaps showing an attitude turned ninety degrees away.

Weaving Together Plot, Plot Layers and Sub-Plots

In Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, Donald Maass suggests creating a table to intersect these three plot components. Write one column with names, one with setting and one with events. Draw lines between the plot elements trying to connect them. Alternately, write out each plot, subplot or plot layer each with its own column.

For example, settings might be a barn, a hospital and a racetrack. How can you put events from each major plot line/subplot line in the same setting? Can they happen together? Perhaps, when the horse’s hairline fracture is discovered, it happens in the barn. The Girl is there because she’s trying to get over her fear of horses. The foster parents are there because they are concerned about the horse’s limp. It’s a big scene when the stable boy must admit he’s responsible for the injury; the girl overcomes her fears and pets the horse; however, the foster parents realize their hopes of money are evaporating just as the Girl proves she can live on a horse farm anyway, it’s unlikely they can afford to adopt her.

Use what you have built into the story in multiple ways to connect the plot elements.

You have a road map, a car with someone driving, and a destination in mind. Get that journey under way!

Revise with confidence.

This is part of a continuing series on plot.

Plotting with Scenes

The second level of plotting is Scenes: this is where the story moves from the cliched outline level to the specific level of your story.

Moving from Abstract to Concrete

Suppose you want to tell the story of Cinderella, what scenes would you include. The story might start with the love story of Cinderella’s parents. Or, maybe you want to start with her birth. If you list every possible scene for the story, starting with the first time her parents met, until her wedding to the Prince, it’s a huge list!

Looking at the Plot Templates, you could make a case for any of these plots:

• Quest: Cinderella seeks a better place in life and finds that she must set aside appearances to see the inner character of people.
• Rescue: From the Prince’s POV, he must rescue Cinderella from the clutches of her evil step-mother.
• Revenge: How Cinderella takes revenge on her step-family. Not often told, but it’s a possibility.
• Rivalry. Usually the step-sisters are awful and not real competition to the lovely Cinderella. But what if (and great stories are made from what ifs!) one of the step-sisters is a real rival. It’s a new twist on the story.
• Underdog. Of course, this is the classic Cinderella story.
• Love. Or is her story the classic love story?
• Ascension. Cinderella’s rise to power in the kingdom.

Each plot pattern would require a different set of scenes, emotions, motivations. Let’s take the unusual one of Rivalry, just for fun.

Cinderella as a Rivalry Plot

First, recognize the minimum required by your chosen plot template.

• Characters: Cinderella, Prince, Wonderful Step-Sister
• Plot:
  • Girl meets boy.
  • Girl recognizes her rival in her Wonderful Step-Sister (WSS)
  • Girl has series of events in which she competes with WSS; a typical plot would have her fail most of these
  • Girl has a final showdown with WSS for Prince’s attention; some character quality, previously dismissed as unimportant will give her the victory; OR, Girl has final showdown with WSS for Prince’s attention and loses (this would be the tragic version of the story)
  • Girl gets boy

Now is when you need to start deciding on scenes and developing characters. Some of you will concentrate on character, others on events, doesn’t matter. The point is that you know the general outline.

Implications of your plot template. You could stop here and think about optional things implied by your plot template: some back story about Cinderella’s position, a fairy godmother, a step-family (cruelness is optional, as long as you explain the cinders), the presence of the father is optional, a kingdom with a prince – king and queen optional, an event where the Prince meets the girls (traditionally a ball or dance, but that’s optional), etc.

From here, it’s always a messy matter for me to develop the plot because I go back and forth between character and plot and the implied events from the plot template. Some find this too messy and want to turn to a structure program like the Snowflake plotting or other branch structuring programs. Read more about these on my previous post, 9 Ways of Plotting.

General or Soldier in the Trenches

While you’re working on the plot, think about one more thing. When you tell a story, you choose the position of the observer or narrator. For example, if you want to tell about a battle, you can choose the point of view of the general sitting on top of the hill, watching the battle unfold below him/her.

Or, you could choose the point of view of the soldier in the trenches facing one enemy soldier at a time.

This choice of “camera positioning” will mean vastly different stories and scene selection. Both are valid, but they aren’t equal. Most contemporary novels tend to do the soldier in the trenches stories, but there’s no overwhelming reason for that bias, except the belief that the reader will care more in one or the other.

FunTools for Plotting

Hey, have you seen these?

Index Card Bleachers hold your cards so you can see them while still shuffling them around.


Similar is the Note Card Action Board, a bulletin board for note cards that doesn’t require thumbtacks.


Also see my previous post on Plotting Software.

Abstract to Concrete

Revise with confidence.

Agent Emphasizes Need for Plot

The Guide to Literary Agents blog has a new agent interview with Kristin Nelson, who writes the PubRants blog. Since we’re talking about plotting a novel, this remark jumped out at me.

When GLA asked what what she’s looking for right now, Nelson said:

KN: I’d love to see more literary fiction with that strong commercial bent—like Jamie Ford. Great storytelling, lovely writing, and a dynamic plot to really drive the story.
I see a lot of literary fiction with superb writing but there’s no solid plot to keep the pace strong. (emphasis mine) I certainly see the value in beautifully written and introspective literary fiction such as Prague—but it’s not right for me.
I want literary fiction with a genre plot—if that makes any sense. (Read the whole interview here.)

It’s one more reason why you need to know the 20 Plot Templates we discussed yesterday.

Revise with confidence.

Continuing the series on plot: Plot templates are helpful in telling an author the possible events for different sections of the story.

I like to consult these when I’m first thinking of a idea for a novel and when I start a revision. I want to know what is typical for the type story I’m telling and knowing that, I can create variations that will hold a reader’s interest.

Plot Templates

Here are some of the most helpful.

The most simplistic plot template

1. Adventure comes to you. A Stranger comes to town.
2. You go to Adventure. You leave town.

A more complex approach to plot templates: Ronald B. Tobias discusses 20 Master Plots:

3. Quest. Character oriented story, the protagonist searches for something and winds up changing him/herself.
4. Adventure. Plot oriented, this features a goal-oriented series of events.
5. Pursuit. This is the typical Chase Plot. Definitely action-oriented.
6. Rescue. Another easy to recognize action-oriented plot.
7. Escape. A variation on the Rescue is when the protagonist escapes on his/her own.
8. Revenge. Ah, character comes back in with this one. Someone is wronged and vows to take revenge.
9. The Riddle. Love a good mystery? This is the plot for you.
10. Rivalry. Character oriented, this story follows two main characters, one on a downward track and one on an upward track and their interactions.
11. Underdog. Everyone is the US roots for the Underdog. This is the plot where the under-privileged (handicapped, poor, etc) triumphs despite overwhelming odds.
12. Temptation. Pandora’s Box extended to novel form.
13. Metamorphosis. This is a physical transformation of some kind. If you recently watched the movie, “District 9″, you’ll recognize this plot form. It’s Dracula, Beauty and the Beast, or the one I remember best is The Fly.
14. Transformation. Similar to the previous, this plot features an inner change, instead of changing the outer form.
15. Maturation. Bildungsroman, rite of passage, coming-of-age–these terms all refer to someone growing up morally, spiritually or emotionally. Often, it’s just a hint of growth, or a tiny change that hints at larger changes.
16. Love. The classic Boy-meets-Girl plot.
17. Forbidden Love. Oh, hasn’t Stephenie Meyer milked this one in her Twilight series? Brilliant use of the forces that keep her characters apart, while still attracting.
18. Sacrifice. From the Biblical tale of Jesus to the story of parents sacrificing for their children, this is a staple of literature.
19. Discovery. You know those secrets you’ve buried deep in your past? This story digs around, exposes secrets and watches them affect the characters.
20. Wretched Excess. When a character is in a downward spiral from alcohol, drugs, greed, etc. this is the plot form.
21. Ascension or Descension. A rise or fall from power puts a character into this plot form.

Hero’s Journey: Adapted from Joseph Campbell’s Mythic Hero

22. Christopher Vogler’s explanation of the Hero’s Journey is excellent. The basic stages, along with the corresponding character arc are these:
    • Ordinary World – Limited awareness of problem
    • Call to Adventure – increased awareness
    • Refusal of Call – reluctance to change
    • Meeting the Mentor – overcoming reluctance
    • Crossing the First Threshold – committing to change
    • Tests, Allies, Enemies – experimenting with 1st change
    • Approach to the Inmost Cave- preparing for big change
    • Supreme Ordeal – attempting big change
    • Reward – consequences of the attempt
    • The Road Back – rededication to change
    • Resurrection – final attempt at big change
    • Return with Elixir – final mastery of the problem
23. You write comedy or humor and want a plot for a novel?
    John Vorhaus, in The Comic Toolbox adapts the hero’s journey into a Comic Throughline.

Two Characters Interact.

24. Similar to the Hero’s Journey is Peter Dunne’s adaptation to a story in which two main characters influence each other, or one character drastically changes a second. The Emotional Structure details how the characters interact. This could be a sort of Rivalry story from above, a Love story, a Forbidden Love story, or even one of Pursuit, Rescue, or Escape. The main thing here is that two characters act upon each other.

Card’s MICE quotient

Taking a completely different tack, Orson Scott Card in his book, Characters and Viewpoint, asks what aspect of the story are you most interested in? One strength of this approach is that it tells you where to start and end your story.

26. Milieu. When the setting is in the forefront, as it is in many sff stories, you have a milieu story. The setting, culture, world created is the focus of the story. This explains why Tolkein didn’t stop The Lord of the Rings when the battle against Mordor was won; instead, because the focus is on the milieu, he continues on, following the hobbits home, the leaving of the elves and so on, until the Age of Men is established.
27. Idea. A question is posed and answered. The classic mystery plot.
28. Character. This story begins and ends with pure character.
29. Event. Here, Card says that something in the universe is out of balance and the protagonist must right-the-wrong, restore-the-rightful-king, restore justice, defeat evil, etc. If The Lord of the Rings had been this type story, it would have indeed ended when the evil was defeated.

Are there more plot templates? Probably. From these, though, you can see perhaps the usefulness and limitations of using a template. You don’t want a cookie-cutter plot; however, you need to meet the expectations of readers in a certain genre. Templates are the starting point for exploration of the events in a story.

Revise with confidence.

Plot: 3 Levels of Detail

There are three levels of plot: outline level, scenes and pacing. The outline level is the most abstract level, or the skeleton level, where each section of a story is categorized in some general way. We do this by dividing stories into acts, for example. Some prefer 3 acts, some 4, doesn’t matter, as long as the division is helpful to the writer (as opposed to helpful to the critic).

The level of scenes adds more details and becomes specific to your story as you choose which scenes will best tell your story. Pacing is an even finer level, more concerned with the minor changes that take place within a scene. Each of these levels is important, though, you can choose which to emphasize.

How Many Basic Plots?

Two Stories. On an outline level there are a limited number of stories in the world. Some say there are only two stories:
1. A Stranger comes to town.
2. Someone leaves town on an adventure.

Either adventure and conflict come to you, or you go to it.

33 Plots. Another theory is that there are 33 plots in the world. Ronald Tobias talks about these in his book, 20 Master Plots, leaving out some because they seem to him to be outdated. He says that, for example, battles against the Gods is more suited to the ancient Greeks.

Plot Outlines are Cliches and That’s OK

One result of the limited number of stories is that most outline level plots are cliches: Boy meets Girl; Boy offends Girl; Boy gets girl. It’s fine that on an outline level the plots are cliched. It’s not until the scene and pacing levels do you need to worry about being original.

Why bother with Plot Outlines?

So, what good does it do the writer to know about these typical outlines or about dividing stories into acts?

Give you a General Structure, a Backbone or Skeleton. It helps because on this abstract level, it’s easy to stick to tried and true story lines – oh, not strictly, never strictly. But it helps to know that in the beginning of a story, Act 1, the main character is usually introduced quite early, as is the main conflict in the story. There’s a climax and resolution in Act 3.

Duh, you say. Well, yeah. That’s because you’ve already internalized these as typical things that happen at these points of the story. In the same way, you can learn what typically happens at different points depending on the story you want to tell. This is especially important in the middle of the story, so you can avoid the dreaded Sagging Middle.

In other words, there are some plot templates which, on the abstract outline level, are helpful to look at. It also means you need to sharpen your skills in moving from abstract to concrete, within the context of a story. That’s where the creativity comes in. It’s okay to use plot templates, as long as you use them with flair and originality.

Gives Focus to Your Story. There’s another use of the plot templates. Suppose you read through a diary of someone who escaped from a harsh childhood, then goes on to do well in business, establishing a great business, but never succeeding in their family life. You’re drawn to the story and want to write about it. But what part will you tell?

Plot templates can help. This could be a rescue story, concentrating on just the first part of the story. It will begin with an explanation of the harsh situation, continue with thwarted attempts at rescue/escape, until the climax is getting away.

OR, it could be a tragic quest for family. Here, Act 1 is the tragic childhood family situation, Act 2 shows our character trying to establish a family on his/her own, and Act 3 shows the failure in the family arena.

These are not the same story; they focus on different things and would include different scenes, events, and emotions. But both could work.

What doesn’t work is a jumble of plot templates. Act 1 begins as a rescue story which turns into a maturation story in Act 2 as the character grows up, and ends as a story about two rivals in Act 3. The plot templates can gently remind you that you must decide what story you are telling; it can help you focus the story by choosing the right combination of scenes to develop.

You need to know what type of story you are telling, then forget about it as you develop the scenes. The outline level is helpful at the beginning of the story and as a check throughout the first draft; it’s also helpful to re-check this the first thing when revising, to make sure the story hangs together.

Tomorrow, an overview of some of the more helpful plot templates.

Revise with confidence.