It’s confirmed: I am not a character writer, able to start with a character and “see where the character takes me.” Nope. I need to plot first.

Now here’s the thing. I can tell you about 29 different plot paradigms. There’s the hero’s quest, especially as it plays out in Bridge to Terabithia. But it seems that we must constantly relearn everything for each new novel and what worked on the last one may or may not work on this one.

I know the overall structure of this story but was having problems with the plot. This time, a simple 8-step structure has helped.

1. Story Goal: What is the main problem in my story?
2. Consequence: So what? If the main character fails, then what?
3. Requirements: In order for the goal to be achieved, what must happen first?
4. • Pre-requisites: In order for those requirements to happen, what must happen first?
5. Forewarnings. Directly opposing the Requirements, what could go wrong to indicate that the Goal will never be achieved?
6. • Preconditions. In order for the Forewarnings to happen, what must happen first?
7. Costs. What price does the main character pay for success? What must s/he sacrifice to achieve the Goal?
8. Dividends. And the opposite of the Costs, is the unexpected wonderful things that might result of the struggle to gain the goal?

What these questions gave me is a way to start adding events to the story in a somewhat structured way. I also repeated the questions for each of three subplots, knowing that I could skip one or two of the questions for any given subplot because they don’t have to be as well developed as the main plot. What I’m doing now is working through a synopsis that weaves these plot lines together. At this point, I feel free to change, edit, restructure, omit, embellish as needed. I’m hoping for a 5-10 page synopsis of the story from which I can start to develop a scene list.

Some things I’m considering as I work on this synopsis:

• Raise the stakes. Are the stakes of the story constantly evolving?
• Concrete events. Are there concrete events that could develop into strong scenes?
• Balance of plot/subplot: Is a subplot overwhelming the main story? Am I maintaining a strong through-line for the main plot?
• Setting. Am I selecting the most effective setting for each scene? In fact, have I chosen the right overall setting, time period, etc?
• Characters. Do I really need all those supporting characters? Can I combine functions and get rid of some?

How I WISH I could do all this intuitively, on the fly, as I write. But I can’t.
How I WISH I could follow the same process as last time. But I can’t.

All I can do it struggle with the story and find the right structure, the right blend of story and characters this time. And let the process unfold, as it will. Plotting this week–I hope I’ll be writing next week. We’ll see.

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Weaving Plot and Subplot Together

I am working on my new novel’s plot and subplot. The subplot is a secondary goal, in this case a love story: Boy meets Girl, Boy and Girl hate each other, Boy and Girl love each other.

I’ve written a short synopsis of each plot and am working at this early stage to interweave them, to find common ground for development and ways to enmesh them deeply.

• Setting. Where can the setting overlap and both stories can intersect?
• Dialogue. Where can a phrase or saying carry over from one plot to the next? What topics or themes of conversation, or what ways of speaking can cross the plot lines?
• Plot Events. Where can one plot line interact with the other? Where can events of the main plot impact the sub-plot events and vice versa?
• Escalation. How can I play the plots off each other to raise the stakes in each?
• Characters. Can a couple characters cross the plot lines, becoming crucial in each?

Now, my only question is, do I need a couple more subplots with a similar meshing?

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by Darcy Pattison

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How to End a Story Well

30 Days to a Stronger Scene Table of Contents

Featured Today in Fiction Notes Stores

There’s a last special scene to consider and that’s the last scene in your book. This may or may not coincide with the climax of the story; traditionally there’s a denouement, a French word that originally meant an untying or to unite. It’s the place where all the plot threads are brought together for a last time.

Subplots and Denouement

Romance Subplot. In terms of plots and subplots, traditionally all subplots are resolved before or during the climax scene except the love subplot. The love story is often reserved for a tender moment at the end of the story. In the movie, The Princess Bride, it’s the five perfect kisses in the history of the world moment and this is one of them. And the kid who has listened to the whole story. doesn’t even mind this emotion because of all the action/adventure he’s endured.

More about denouements

• Short. The denouement is usually short, with just a couple pages, or perhaps a short chapter after the climax. I often see pages and pages after the climax scene and usually advise that these be cut or placed earlier. Please, solve all subplots before the climax, except the romance.

  Yes, in detective stories, there’s often the long explanation, a la Hercules Poirot from Agatha Christie’s books. But these type scenes don’t play well for today’s fast-paced audience. Wrap it up fast.

• Mirrors the Opening. One option is to mirror the opening scene. For example, in Dicken’s The Christmas Carol, Scrooge is challenged in the beginning with how he treats the poor, his employee and his nephew. The ending mirrors these three challenges as he gives to the poor, takes care of Tiny Tim and his family and visits his nephew’s Christmas party.

  Mirror openings are a way to demonstrate the character change in concrete ways and is often part of a good quest story. But even here, be careful and don’t drag it out.

• A Year Later. Another option of the denouement is to take us a year ahead (or whatever time period is logical) to see the results of the story. It’s a great option for some stories, just keep it short.
• Hint at Sequel. Of course, you want to hint at a sequel. You want a series and sales! But do it here with a light touch, a bit of mystery, not leaving the reader totally hanging. UNLESS–you know up front that this is a series/trilogy/multi-part story. Then, try to wrap up something and just hint at what comes next. And do it quickly.
• Short. Did I say keep it short? Well, keep it short. Really. Cover loose ends, but make it snappy.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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I’ve done enough prewriting work on my new novel to know a lot about it. But today, as I worked, I realized that I know the main plot, but not the subplots.

This is a complex story, with about 12 character who need to be clearly delineated. There will be about 5-6 subplots going on between characters and they need to be clear, need to have a connection to the main plot, and need to have minor arcs of both plot and emotions.

Because of this complexity, I feel the need to clarify in my mind those subplots before I start. When I laid them all out, I found that they seemed disconnected.

Subplots must support or reinforce, contrast or counterpoint, the main plot and intersect at important points of the story. If there’s more than one subplot, there should be variety with some supporting or reinforcing and some contrasting or counterpointing. Variety is what’s needed.

I looked at my subplots to see if I could categorize them in some way. I found that I am playing with the idea of identity or self-image. Do we define ourselves by our education, body image, entertainment preferences (TV, food, music) or by ethnic differences? The main plot says we define ourselves in terms of our families. So, these subplots work. My tasks will be to make sure they refer back to self-image/identity without being too overt, and to add variety among them.

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by Darcy Pattison

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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!

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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UnBlinded: Revising the Second Draft

419 Specific Comments

I’ve just gotten back two critiques on the second draft of my WIP novel. 419 specific comments. I’m excited.

• Larger concerns. Each critique was accompanied by a letter with larger concerns. Both are still concerned that the characterization needs work. One would like a stronger opening and one thinks a subplot is off-kilter. Those will get my attention first and foremost in this revision. But after two drafts, this third draft needs attention to the finer details.



• Specific comments. One critiquer was kind enough to say my sentences were beautifully written. But she still had hundreds of specific comments:
  • Characters weren’t believable in what they said or did.
  • Motivations were unclear.
  • Motivations were clear, but a bit more detail would help make it even clearer.
  • Awkward wording.
  • Actions needed clarification.
  • Continuity questions – if this happened on p. 12, then why this on p. 23?
  • Minor spelling and grammar typos (of course, not errors! Just typos!)
  • Suggested deletions.
  • Suggested rewordings.
  • Character questions to me, the author. Does this character really care about this?
  • Asking for more reaction from a character.
  • Needs better grounding in the scene – where are we? On foot? In a car?
  • Questions of logic.

Different from an Editor’s Revision Letter

One friend reminded me that this is SO different from an editor’s letter requesting revision.

• Argue. For one thing, I am free to argue with, question, or ignore the critique’s specific suggestions. She’s great at letting me argue, until she says something a different way and the light breaks through my thick skull. I know it’s common for critiques to be set up NOT to allow arguing, but I need it. Simply telling me what’s wrong doesn’t help; I need to understand WHY it’s wrong, weak, ineffective.
• Over the Hump. The second way it’s different is that this critique is designed to get me over the rejection-hump into editorial territory. An editor would reject the story if I sent in this second draft. I knew that, or I wouldn’t have sent it for a critique. Hopefully, this third draft will be a cleaner, sweeter, story, ready for an editor’s 419 specific comments!

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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Every Novel Needs a Scene

In my WIP, I need to write a big scene: cast of dozens, culmination of major plot threads, emotional high for major characters.

Big scenes should be a part of every novel, because there should be places where characters, plot events, outer and inner narratives arcs, and subplots intersect. The climax of the story, at least, should be big. Big as in it takes up a lot of space, covers more pages than other scenes. Big as in it impacts the lives of the characters, representing a major turning point.

OK, I’m ready! But how do I write a big scene?

Decide What Type of Big Scene Your Story Needs

Sandra Scofield’s little treasure of a book about scenes, The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer, has a whole chapter devoted to just such a scene.

Scofield suggests two approaches to a big scene:

• Small focus. Focus on the emotional reaction of the POV character, or the interaction between two main characters. Essentially, this is a small scene within a big setting.
• Multi-focus scene. This type of big scene opens up the interaction to include many other characters, who have input, express and evoke emotion, and trigger reactions from the main characters.

It was immediately clear to me that I wanted the small focus scene. The interaction between the two main characters was indeed the point of this scene, although it would take place within the context of a community gathering. They would have conversations and interactions with minor characters; in fact, a couple of subplots would either wind up or would have a strong plot point. But these two characters are the pivot point of everything happening.

Planning a Big Scene for Your Novel

Scofield suggest you plan the beginning, middle and end of such a scene, to make sure enough happens in each section, and to make sure you can manage all the characters.

• Arrival. The opening of my scene is the arrival of everyone to the event. I’ll need about four instances of people or groups of people entering the scene. Knowing that up front helps me plan for variety, shift the emphasis or focus to telling details for each group, plan for pacing, and helps me make sure everyone gets there that needs to get there — even if those difficult characters come in late, as usual.
• Eating Dinner. This happens to be a community meal at a school cafeteria. Now, dining can be rather boring, so I’ve got to make sure there is enough action and interaction to keep this interesting. It’s here that I’ll add in a couple conversations that will end subplots. I’m still struggling to find appropriate actions and am considering a small subplot for humor, perhaps some kid trying to steal butter or something.
• Auction. The crowd has gathered for a fund raising auction, so I’ll speed up the dinner a bit and get to this as fast as I can. The conflict is clearer to me here, so I’m expecting this section to be fun and easy to write, as I wrap up a major plot point.
• Leaving. I want to leave at least one poignant, emotional moment for the aftermath of this big scene. I’d like to do this at the cafeteria, not after the characters arrive home. That way, I don’t need lame paragraphs about going home and going to bed. Just leave them going out the door and we assume that boring part. Should give me a good scene cut for the next chapter.

I also have a good idea of the emotional reactions of my main characters as the tensions between them rise throughout the scene.

I think, I’m almost ready to write that big scene.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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In my WIP, I’m working on the subplot today. I know the main story pretty well by now, and I know that the Secondary Character (SC) has a parallel story, but how parallel is parallel?

Subplots Can’t Mirror the Plot Exactly

My problem is that the subplot was conceived as a mirror or parallel plot, but now, it’s too similar. And that makes this first draft boring. Nor will an exact opposite work. Rather, I think it needs to be a slantwise plot that runs at a tangent rather than parallel. (OK. Enough geometry imagery.)

In other words, I need to rethink the subplot. The theme should be on the same topic and should be similar to the main plot. That means I’m going back today to this book: Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques by Michael Michalko.

Since I last talked about useful books on creativity, I’ve tried many more of the Thinkertoys techniques. One of the most helpful to me is the SCAMPER. Basically, you take an idea and brainstorm by doing one of these things.

• S — Substitute
• C — Combine
• A — Adapt
• M — Modify
• M — Magnify
• P — Put to Other Uses
• E — Eliminate or minimize
• R — Rearrange

That’s my task today. List the elements of the subplot I had planned then substitute something for each element, combine some elements, adapt it to something totally unique, modify parts of the elements, use elements in different ways, minimize each element in turn, or totally rearrange everything. By the end of the day, I hope I have a start on a better subplot.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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When do you start revising your novel? I start by revising the first draft of my novel’s plot outline, synopsis or treatment.

Revise Early and Late

As soon as I’ve written the first sketchy outlines of a novel, I’m revising. I’m looking for many things:

• Does the climax resolve the setup?
• Are the main characters together in a big scene at the climax?
• Is there a good inciting incident? What opening scene would catch reader’s attention?
• Are there places for the characters to grow and change?
• Could I think of better settings, places that will resonate better with the story?
• What conflicts run through the whole story?
• Can I give my MC more problems to overcome?
• Are there subplots that could support the main plot in interesting variations on a theme?
• Does the middle sag? How could I structure the story to heighten the tension all the way through?
• Does the ending have an interesting twist?
• What character has the most at stake emotionally? Can I use THAT character as the viewpoint and/or main character?
• Do I know the backstory , the events that took place before the opening scene? Can I plan to put that very late in the story?
• What character interactions are possible within this story?
• Can I write a timeline of each character and pinpoint scenes which help the character change?
• Any great places in the plot for action sequences?

In short, I’m looking at all the elements that usually need revision after I write the first draft and doing a Novel Diagnosis. But on my WIP, I’ve tried to work smarter and do the critque even earlier in the process — right after I wrote the three page synopsis of the plot.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

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Need help on the first draft of your novel? Here are some great resources.

• Planning or Outlining: Many revision techniques found here can also be invention techniques for those first drafts. As I’m working on my first draft of a new novel, I’m finding that many of the same techniques are helpful.

  For example, spreadsheet plotting works equally well as a revision technique or as an outlining technique for the first draft.

• Subplots: I searched through all my how-to-write books for tips on subplots and finally found a whole chapter in Robert Kernen’s book, Building Better Plots. He does a great job of laying out options. I’m choosing to contrast with a slightly comic (I hope!) subplot.
• Characters: While there are many great character books around, I still go back to John Vorhaus’s The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not. I know it’s about comedy — and it does help you be funny. But I read it mostly because it helps me develop characters better and faster than any other resource. Since I’m hoping my subplot will be a bit of comic relief, I’m using his plotline for that subplot, too.
• Narrative Arc: CD player in my car. One of the best things I’m doing right now is listening to a long series as a Books-on-Tape. Right now, it’s Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen trilogy. I read them long ago, but hearing them one right after another brings the overall narrative arc into much better focus. I did this a couple years ago with the Dark is Rising series and it was fascinating, too, to hear them all in relatively a short space of time.
• Emotional Arc: In Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot , Peter Dunne lays out two great charts of how the emotional arc intersects the narrative arc. I have a column in my plotting spreadsheet for the emotions of the scenes, so I can monitor the emotional arc while I’m planning, too.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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