What makes for an effective plot? How do you keep a tale moving?
Plots are really the simple part. Can’t you think of five right off the top of your head? Most writers can (and do).
The difficulty comes in the development—creating the story effectively and believably, with the right cadence to pull all of the elements together. You can outline any book out there (including your own) by simply jotting down what happens in each chapter. But is that the plot? Or the storyline?
The plot is the gist, the point, and part of the theme of the book. And the storyline is how you get from point A to point Z. I.e., the plot is the entire forest, and the storyline, the trees. Both organization and structure come into play here as well, the organization being the roadmap that the structure bolsters up.
So, once you have your plot clear in your own head—boy finds girl; boy falls in love with girl; girl dumps boy; boy spends rest of the novel trying to win girl back—the real work begins in regard to moving along the plot, otherwise known as the fleshing out of the storyline.
Many factors come into play within the specter of creating interesting and believable storylines and plots.
֎ First and most important (in that everything hinges on it) is focus. Most often I see storylines that ramble. One might begin with a bang-up cliffhanging scene, which really pulls in the reader and sets a great tone, leaving us champing at the bit to turn to the next chapter. But then, that next chapter wanders off to Brazil somewhere (a setting which then never reappears in said book), often with different characters entirely, and the thread of the narrative is lost.
What just happened to your plot? Your storyline? The protagonist in whom I’ve just invested my trust to take me through the course of this book? In other words, where are we, and who the heck are THESE people?
֎ Or, the narrative is going along fine, except the writer keeps drifting off on tangents that sort of relate, but don’t add one thing to the plot or characters. An old adage in this business says to not take readers down a road that doesn’t lead directly back into the main stream—those readers just may take that road and not come back (i.e., put down the book and not pick it back up). A good litmus test for every single scene in the book is: Is this vital to my plot/characters? Can I lose the scene and lose nothing of real value (except, of course, brilliant writing 🙂 ?
֎ Pacing is key, and by design. It doesn’t just happen. This relates to focus, as again, without it, everything pretty much falls apart. But pacing includes a variety of factors, even the cadence of your voice. Do your prose and sentence structure relate directly to the type of book you’re writing? As an example, the long, rambling nature of Faulkner’s prose would be completely out of place in a Thriller, where the style required through so much action is short and crisp, in places, almost staccato. Next, are your plot points strategically placed? Plot points are what make your story move. You’re looking overall at roughly three major plot points, and a host (nine or so) of minor ones.
I see a lot of belabored minor points—where the writer spends way too much time beating the reader over the head with some issue—and conversely, big holes remain that the reader can’t bridge. Spend your time creating the important things, and then you can tell the lesser ones. Yes, some of this is by feel. But much of it’s logic too. And when you focus on the nuts and bolts, the feel will eventually come.
Writing is an odd amalgam of art and skill, with the latter feeding the former at just the right times.
See, writing books is simple. Just decide on your plot. Then outline how you get from A to Z. Organize it with effective plot points. Make sure the pacing fits the book. Stay focused. Simple. We only run into problems when we confuse simple with easy . . .
As an award-winning author and editor, since 1993, 50 + of my authors’ books have sold to Traditional publishers. Many have won awards, been made into films, been featured in Publishers Weekly, and become bestsellers. I also love English Labradors, red wine, and write literary fiction and co-authored nonfiction,
Reading this my first thought was that as a writer, I don’t follow any rules. 🙂 This post I believe applies to fiction books and not to personal storytelling. If it does, I think I break each and every one of these all the time.
I’m faced with the task now of creating a semi-fictional story to interweave with almost true personal stories and perhaps if I followed your guidelines, the rest of the collaborative book I’m writing, just might get written. Thanks for sharing these distinctions, Susan Mary, as it is definitely food for thought for this cosmic meanderer.
Love the not following rules, Beverley! But I bet you know them 🙂 And the funny thing, the arc of the story for fiction and narrative nonfiction is pretty much the same. I’d be willing to bet you intuitively follow it!
You’re so right Susan, simple is not necessarily easy. Because this all sounds far too complicated for me, I think I’ll leave authoring a book to the pros 😉
I’m laughing, Trish. As I say when speaking at literary conferences, “Writing well really IS rocket science.”
Thanks for stopping by!
I really could have used this in my college lit class, haha! I was terrible at writing back then!
Love that, Jessica! This works well for collect lit!
Writing is a passion of mine; writing a fiction novel is a dream. At the moment, I don’t dedicate any time to writing and won’t be able to for a long while. However, I truly enjoyed your article and completely related to it…both as an aspiring writer and as a reader. Now I know why I have books I’ve never finished and why sometimes I get bored while reading! I’m great at over-complicating things–and my writing is no exception. 🙂 For now, I’m happy to leave the art of writing to the professionals, especially because I have a lot left to learn.
Ah, Meghan–perhaps it’s time to give some space for your dream 🙂 You’re right–there is SO much to learn about writing great fiction. But rest assured–that can be learned. And if you have the passion for it (which you do), the talent is there. A New Year’s goal perhaps?
The only book I’ve written is a memoir and so it doesn’t matter that I didn’t follow your rules, I think. Let’s see, aren’t there only about 7 plots? Didn’t I read that? So just a few plots and your rules: anyone can write fiction. Right? Oh, readable fiction, maybe not. Good article.
It’s funny, Beth, but narrative nonfiction follows the same arc of the storyline that fiction does. And I’m laughing–yep, anybody can write fiction! But great fiction . . . now that’s a different beast!
Great article! I can’t remember where I heard this piece of advice, but someone once told me, “It’s not hard to pen a great book. Just think of the story you’d most like to read, and then sit down & write it.” As dopey as this sounds, it really is worth dissecting why we like certain stories. And its SO IMPORTANT. Stories like Black Beauty help with animal rights, The Hunger Games serve to empower young women, etc. Also, I think that the fact that we dream every night should tell us that mother nature wants us to incorporate storytelling into our lives.
Thank you for the great synopsis!
I love that, Joan! And yes–storytelling is encoded in our DNA. It’s how we make sense of our world, with the stories of our hearts. Love your insights!
Life has proven over an over that simple is not easy for many as humans have the knack for making the simplest thing seem like a mountain. I didnt know what a plot Vs story is as I havent written a book yet…so keeping this in mind!
Boy, don’t we ever, Julie! I can make a walk in the snow seem like skiing down a black diamond slope. Working on changing that of late!
I love this! And even though I don’t write fiction (yet), there is much here that applies to blog writing and writing non-fiction, too. Good stuff! Even a good blog article needs a plot, momentum and many of the other points you mention.
Absolutely, Jackie! And methinks you need to consider writing that fiction too 🙂
I am more of a reader than a writer, and I have read story lines that ramble too many times.
I love this article, you made writing looks simple and less complicated, thanks. I dont see myself writing a book anytime but will definitely keep this in mind.
Unfortunately, Lai, with the advent of self-publishing, we’re seeing a flood of books with no structure–because writers no longer have the gatekeepers of traditional publishing to keep them from just throwing books out there. In other words, they no longer have to learn the skills that go into crafting a good book. To the detriment of writers and readers alike! But good books are still being published–they’re just getting harder to find. Love your insights as a reader!
So refreshing to read this. I am always reading the rules for writing blogs and although the rules are similar and can apply, most blog authorities don’t write to the creative person, or to visual content woven thru a topic.
Currently struggling reading a mystery written by a father/son. Have read many of their solo novels, but this collaborative attempt is all over the place. Just when I decide to return the book to the library, I turn a page & the storyline starts moving, until… I’ll give it a bit more. The funny part is I don’t think I have ever not finished a book.
Very interesting about the father/son novel! So often these are pretty uneven. But it sounds like this one is unreadable!