In Lesson 2 we look at what, in a nutshell, embodies the difference between writing and writing a novel. I may believe myself to be a good writer, but the key to writing a good novel is not only a matter of literary prowess or a gift for prose. It is rather, and here comes the hard work, structuring your writing in such a way that it is easy to follow and a reader is enticed to read on.
When someone asks you what your novel is about, what do you say?
If someone asks you for the elevator pitch of your book, do you go into a cold sweat? Don’t worry if you do, or if you stumble reaching to the heavens for descriptions. Sometimes plotting and structuring our novel is a lot simpler a process than we anticipate. However, it is a process, and we all tend to forget about processes when rushing to put pen to paper and get that Booker winning scene from our head to the page.
Scenes
The Indie Novella Writing Course
Lesson 2 - Plot and Structure
As alluded to above, scenes can be a writer’s biggest downfall. Consider a television soap versus a classic film. A television soap is deliberately unending and goes on scene after scene with plots lasting for months. A classic film – usually – resolves after two hours. Take Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and its Three Act Structure. 1) Robin returns from the Crusades to find his father murdered and vows revenge, 2) Robin creates his own resistance and takes back what the Sheriff has stolen, up to the point where he fights one battle too many, 3) the finale where Robin defeats the Sheriff and lives happily ever after… you get the picture. Simple as it is, it is a solid structure, and very easy to explain. However the key point is, as with a classic film and very much unlike real life, a novel resolves i.e. comes to a conclusion.
One common issue some writers have is what is often referred to as ‘the sagging middle’. The writer has drafted a solid opening, laying out what their novel is about, and knows where she wants to take it i.e. she has pretty much drafted the ending in her head. The problem she faces is the bits in between.
A novel is long-form work, and usually requires a plot to please the reader. The writer needs to work out how to progress from writing a series of individual scenes to writing a plot with a beginning, middle and end (if not always in that order!) linked by causation. If a story begins in March and ends in December, the author may struggle with how best to walk their reader through these months so each chapter may end up being a monthly update of what the character has been doing in the intervening time with little relevance to the overall story. Alternatively, the writer could find themselves being episodic, as in soap or short-story, creating strong compelling scenes but not sure how to link one to the next.
A tip therefore is rather than trying to conclude each scene by rounding off what has just happened, make the end of each chapter create a question, hook or hint to what will be happening next. This will build a flow to your writing.
Story vs Plot
This comes up frequently in books on novel writing and writing courses. Essentially the prerequisite of a good novel is both a plot and a story. We won’t get bogged down in definitions, just be aware that plot gives form to the story, and story is the driving force to the plot. For example, ‘The queen died. Then the king died’ is a story. ‘The queen died. Then the king died of grief’ is a plot. Without a story, there is actually no plot – it would just be a random series of events.
Story: Put simply, Story is an overview of what is happening. The Story of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is that a man comes back from the crusades to take from the rich, give to the poor and defeat an evil sheriff. Story is made up of events. Plot, however, is what makes these events into a story.
Plot: Plot is the engine room of your novel. It gives it impetus and the causality of a plot creates forward momentum. Plot is advanced through action. The Plot of Prince of Thieves is Robin returns home to find his father murdered and because of that he vows to defeat the evil sheriff. Because the sheriff has stolen his land and the land of others, Robin steals from the rich to give to the poor. Reflections from the character can help give background to the overall story, but it is usually words and actions which drive the plot forward. Plotting, in its simplest form, is the planning of events in a certain order so as to create effects. Cause and effect. A plot-driven narrative where the events are not linked can feel lifeless – it feels underdeveloped and can struggle to keep the reader engaged. The other issue is where the author has too many events happening, making the plot too busy and overwhelming the reader. Therefore, pay close attention to the events you want to take place in your novel and think carefully about how to link them to each other.
The Beginning, Middle and End
It may sound logical but the inception of many novels begin with a “jumping-off point” where the concept of a novel becomes clear in the author’s head. In a TedX Talk literary agent Johnny Geller talks of an author struggling with their second book, agreeing to shelve the project, and when discussing what she could do next saying that a portrait print in her house had always fascinated her and she always wondered what the woman in the portrait was thinking. This “jumping-off point” soon became The Girl with a Pearl Earning.
However, what next? How do thirty seconds of conversation translate into four hundred pages and a major motion picture? Or more accurately, how do we turn these jumping-off points into a novel? Some writers take their idea and start at page one – again a logical starting point. However other authors advocate beginning with the ending. By understanding how the story will end they have a clearer idea of what the beginning needs to be – what they need to say, the scenes they need to use.
Either are solid beginnings in the journey of plotting, however, the one area that often still gets overlooked is the middle.
The Beginning, Middle and End form the basic elements of storytelling and layout out the simplest form of structure. It also adheres to the Three Act Structure mentioned above:
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Act I is the set-up
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Act II is the conflict / confrontation
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Act III is the pay-off / resolution
Towards the end of Act I we have what is known as the first plot point. Plot Points can be referred to as the Discovery or the Reversal and are the points of no return. It is the key moment that brings to an end all that has gone before and propels us into the next act. For Prince of Thieves, Act I’s plot point was Robin standing over his father’s grave swearing retribution. Act II also hence contains its own plot point, bringing it to a close and leading us into Act III. In Prince of Thieves this would be Robin losing the battle in his woodland community, his men being taken prisoner and formulating the plan that will take the fight to the sheriff.
However, it is worth noting that despite the need for a beginning, middle and an end to drive your plot, you do not need to deal with them in that order. The core essence of a detective story or a crime novel is that it works backwards from discovering the body and reconstructs the story of how the person got killed in the first place. A popular tool in modern fiction, particularly thrillers, is to start in the middle – sometimes at the plot point of Act II – and then move backwards, perhaps even jumping to the start, before moving forwards.
Plot is the logic and dynamic of the narrative. However, logic and chronology do not need to be the same thing. Good plotting does not need to tell events in a chronological order to be logical. In fact, it may result in the reverse: the novel becoming episodic or flat – for example, there is no need to say; we just chilled out the next day, and had to do grocery shopping on Friday so had to wait until the following Wednesday to take up the case again.
Rather, a novelist can play with time and reorder events.
Consider again David Nicholl’s Us. The story begins with Douglas, married for twenty plus years, being told his wife is considering leaving him. However, the next twenty pages concern the events twenty years earlier and how Douglas met his wife. Throughout the novel Douglas flashes back to the early days of his relationship with his wife and then with his son, intermixing these narratives with the events of the present day. However, the big skill is that, to the reader, the plotting seems logical and not forced. Is Douglas’ backstory exposition or key events in their own right? He does tell us about his wife, but then he shows us their relationship.
Therefore, consider the following questions when writing your story and plotting your novel:
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How will your story resolve?
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What is the central question you are asking in your story? Get that question into the story early on.
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Whose story is it? Who is your protagonist and what does he/she want? NB: a book may have more than one protagonist
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What is the journey or arc for the protagonist across the novel?
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Your protagonist should rapidly come up against an antagonist – the opposing force(s) in the story. This is what prevents your protagonist from fulfilling their needs.
With your answers to these questions you have the basic components of your plot. Then throw in the questions:
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What forms will the conflict take? There should be plenty of conflict.
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What is the setting for your story – the time and location?
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Across what period of time will your story unfold – days, weeks, years? From this you can decide how the parts of the novel will be divided up. This should give you your structure.
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Will you need to give much backstory and how will you do this?
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Do you want to misdirect your reader? How will you overturn reader expectations and what twists will there be in your story?
and you have pretty much written out the plot of your novel and have some idea of the structure you want it to take. You can then plan how to defeat your greatest antagonist, the sagging middle.
Backstory
When drafting and planning, it is common to overestimate how much backstory really needs to be included. Backstory may lead to large blocks exposition which can somewhat halt the flow of your writing. Do you use flashbacks to show characters in the past? Will the narrator tell backstory directly to the reader? Will backstory come out through both dialogue and internal monologue? Think about what information you will need to give the reader so he/she can make sense of your story.
One tip regarding backstory is to first make sure your story is well-established and going forwards before you start to move backwards at all.
Resource: Example of the Three Act Structure
Poet Jacob Ross has the following guidelines to help plot your story:
The opening of a story follows the protagonist focusing on their first major goal (this is the first plot point). However, by the middle of the second act or later the protagonist realizes they are pursuing the wrong goal. The protagonist is forced to struggle and alter course to pursue the correct goal.
What happens in Act 1: The Setup
Characters are introduced. Their interrelationships are demonstrated. They are placed within a time and place. We know who the main character is – it is this person’s actions which drives the story.
The Dramatic Premise is also introduced – the reader gets an idea what the story is about. We have an idea of what the circumstances surrounding the action are i.e. what the dramatic situation is.
The inciting incident occurs. This event sets the plot in motion. In Robin Hood this would be Robin’s return to England.
Plot Point 1 – occurs toward the end of Act 1 where the dominant characters take on the main problem and, in turn, leads to Act 2.
What happens in Act 2: Confrontation
At times this may be the main character encountering obstacle after obstacle preventing them achieving their dramatic need.
Act 2 contains: The First Culmination, where the main character is close to fulfilling their objective. However, it falls apart. The midpoint, which usually occurs halfway through the narrative where the character is at their lowest and appears furthest from achieving their goal, i.e. usually after the first culmination.
Plot Point 2, the major event which causes the story to change course and sees the protagonist onto the correct path.
What happens in Act 3: Resolution
Second Culmination / Climax, where the plot reaches its maximum tension. Opposing forces confront each other at the peak of physical or emotional action. Denouement, is the brief period of calm at the end. Equilibrium returns.
Ask An Agent
When working with authors, what problems do they encounter when it comes to plotting and structure? Is there any advice you would give authors when things aren’t working?
Juggling too many characters can be quite a common problem. Therefore, I would suggest two or three central relationships. Really have a think about your central cast. Sometimes it can be useful to think in terms of the foreground, middle-ground and background and try to untangle the canvas in your mind to clarify what the central relationship (or two relationships) is. Try to conceptualise as far as you can – know the length, it is not going on forever – so you have that robust sense of structure. I definitely love a strong sense of structure and doing something interesting or original with the structure. The three or five part approaches are common ways of thinking about it, so that’s helpful, and just try to take an eagle-eye view. You need to step back from it and think ‘these are the peaks, these are the troughs and these are the flashpoints’ so you don’t get too close to it and lost in the detail.
Weekly Writing Exercise
This week's writing exercise comes in two parts. The first involves telling your fellow participants a little bit more about your novel. You've already introduced yourselves last week, so this week let's introduce your novel. Please use the simple Three Act Structure outlined in the above Robin Hood example to answer that all important and infuriating question, what is your story/novel about? See if you can lay out your story in three sentences or short paragraphs. If you haven't quite decided yet, don't worry, use this as a space to elaborate on whatever is already in your head - perhaps your jumping off point.
Second, have a go at the below:
You need both a plot and a story for a good novel. Just as the plot gives form to the story – so the story breathes the life into a plot. Without a story, there can’t actually be a plot – it’d just be a load of stuff happening. Last year, I gave a workshop at Dalston Library in Hackney (London) and we did the following exercise. I’m going to give you a line of action – i.e. some stuff that happens. This is the Plot. In return, write me a short scene which brings to life this action:
A woman is speeding alone on a dark country road at night. She brakes suddenly, stops the car, turns around and heads back in the direction she just came from.
What I want you to do is to show us WHY she’s doing this – that’s what turns this simple piece of action into a story.
Has she forgotten something?
Has something frightened her?
Has she made an important decision? What is going through her mind as she’s driving, and as she’s braking?
Just a few hundred words and have fun with creating a mini story behind these series of actions.
