Let's Stir the Plot

How to make things worse for your characters--and better for your readers.

Photo credit: Geralt via Pixabay

I get more questions about Plot than any other subject in this writing series. For some reason, this part of the process tends to overwhelm people. I get it. I do. Creating a workable, clever plot can often feel like you’re wrestling an octopus into a mayonnaise jar. Which is why I like to break the process down into smaller bites. So, regardless of where you are in the story, here is a method that I think will help. I’m going to give you the one task, and three questions that always shake me out of a plotting funk. 

Your task for today: write down all the events in your novel from beginning to end.

But what if I only know three things that will happen? Great! Write them down in order.

What if I’m not certain about the exact order of some events? Not a problem! A rough placement of events works for now. Remember, we’re just getting started and will build from here.

Don’t overthink it. You don’t need a one page summary per scene. It’s fine if your list looks like this:

1. Claire and Frank go to the Scottish Highlands for a belated honeymoon.

2. Frank takes Claire to meet the local vicar. 

3. While Frank and the vicar are in the office, Claire has tea with the housekeeper and gets an alarming palm reading. 

You get the point. These are only brushstrokes of what will happen—which for Claire (in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, if you haven’t guessed)—is that she will tumble several hundred years back in time and be forced to marry a Scottish warrior in order to save her life. 

The point in ordering your scenes is that you will inevitably come to a gap between events. Which is where our three questions come in handy.