There are several approaches to plotting, all of which accomplish the same thing in different ways. Not all of them work for every story, however, so make sure to treat them as organic growths, rather than defined limits.
What you’re looking for by structuring your plot is a clear sense of progression. The reason it is only a ‘sense’ is because any progress that occurs in a novel is actually artificial. The writer has complete control over the evolution of time within a story; he can make one second play out over 300 pages or portray a millennium in a single sentence. You want to structure your plot in such a way that there is constantly a sense of motion towards (or away from) the goals and promises that have been made. Usually, if a story begins to lag, it is because this progression has been compromised, and you may want to start fulfilling some promises. (Otherwise you are unintentionally promising that your promises won’t be fulfilled, which may be why the plot feels slow and boring.)
Here are a couple of the tried and true structures that you may want to try out for your own plot:
- Bracketing: This isn’t so much a plotting method as an overall system that can apply to any of the ones below, but it plays heavily on last post’s concept (fulfilling promises), so I’ll put it first. Bracketing is the idea that if you start with something, or open a bracket, then you have to close that bracket later on. For example, if the book begins with our protagonist being bested by a superior force, a closing bracket may be her ultimate dominance over that force. If she at first does not trust anyone enough to confide in them, she may very well have overcome that flaw by the conclusion of the novel. Each open bracket promises a level of fulfillment to the reader, which then drives them through the story in an attempt to reach that satisfying, closing bracket.
- Orson Scott Card uses a similar concept to structure a story based on its core concepts, which he divides into four possible categories: Milieu, Idea, Character, Event. The MICE Quotient, as it is called, works in much the same way as bracketing, identifying the story’s ideal entry points, then closing them in reverse. ‘Milieu’ stories begin when a new space is entered, and ends with our exit. ‘Idea’ plots introduce a question, and close with its answer. ‘Character’-centered tales are much like a character arc: They begin with character dissatisfaction, and end with either a newfound fulfillment or acceptance of their dissatisfied state. Lastly, ‘Event’ stories open as the status quo is disrupted and close when it is returned to some level of normalcy. Similar to bracketing, the stories’ endings each mirror their beginnings, and are therefore closed in the opposite order they were opened.
- Try-Fail Cycles: This format works very well for discovery writers especially, though it has many tools that can be utilized to great effect by outliners as well. The basic principle is that the character has to earn their victory, and does so by failing consistently on the way up. The generally accepted form seems to be to fail at least two times before any meaningful success, though that is not by any means a hard number. A possible way of implementing this is by using the “yes, but”, “no, and” method. At every fork in the plotting road ask yourself: Does the character achieve their desired goal? Then answer, “yes they do, but something even worse happens,” or “no they don’t, and something even worse happens.” Start with a random scene in which the character desperately wants something, show them trying to get it, and go from there.
- Three-Act Format: This is probably the most famous approach to plotting, mostly because it is used so often in film. It also has an intrinsic sense of motion to it, and divides the story cleanly into three progressive parts, all leading up to the story’s explosive climax. This somewhat generalized structure can work very well for many writers who find themselves leaning toward discovery writing, but not being at the complete end of the spectrum.
- ACT I: This is your introduction phase, and is generally the second longest of the three acts. In it, the protagonist is still reacting to events around him, a time you can take to establish both his character and the overall story’s setting and tone. The act closes at a crisis point where the protagonist is called to action, forcing him to stop reacting and start acting. This act is often referred to as the point when you “chase your hero up a tree.”
- ACT II: This is your escalation phase, and is generally the longest of the three acts. In it, the protagonist tries to resolve the conflict, but just ends up making things worse. The act closes at a low point for the character; if he fails again, all will be lost. This act is often referred to as the point when you “throw rocks at your hero.”
- ACT III: This is your climax phase, and is generally the shortest of the three acts. In it, the protagonist manages to marshal all his remaining strength to just barely achieve his goal (or fail), making good on the promises of the crisis point in Act I. This act is often referred to as the point when you “cut the tree down.”
Final note: This format is not only used to structure single novels, it is often a great way to structure an entire trilogy! Also, the middle act, being the longest, can sometimes be structured in a similar way, by dividing it into its own, smaller version of the three-act structure.
So that’s the first couple of formats for you, though there’s still another two I wanted to cover in next week’s post (don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the hero’s journey.) I think the most important thing to recognize about these formats is that they are guidelines, not strict rules. Recognize that each of them has something to offer, then play around with them as you wish. Next week: The Paths To Plot (Part 2).
Fiction Engineer 