| Below I talk about plotting. You have the beginning | | | | her clandestine lover and has a flat tire which |
| and its complication, the first plot point which leads | | | | makes her late, which causes him to leave their |
| to the middle, the mid-point action, the second | | | | meeting place early which causes her to lose her |
| plot point which leads to the ending and of course | | | | temper entirely and create a great scene. Which |
| the resolution. However, in a story line, these | | | | leads to something else...and so on. A complication |
| probably should come from the character's | | | | does not have to be big but it must change the |
| interior...a sort of getting to know herself plot | | | | direction of the story.) |
| point (where she discovers that she could not live | | | | Then consider these questions: |
| with herself if she had an abortion -- something | | | | 1. Will the protagonist succeed or fail in reaching |
| that she didn't know about herself before | | | | his or her objective? |
| because she never had a reason to look into that | | | | 2. Mark the point of recognition in the novel -- the |
| aspect of her life) rather than an externally laid on | | | | place where the reader knows whether the |
| plot point (where she discovers that her best | | | | protagonist is going to succeed or fail. |
| friend lied or something like that). | | | | 3. As a result of the chain of events, an event |
| Steps in plotting your novel | | | | occurs that causes an ante-climax complication (or |
| 1. Begin with an event outside the protagonist | | | | more than one). This forces the protagonist to |
| that sets off a chain of events. You don't need to | | | | make a decision that resolves the major |
| go into great detail about the event at the | | | | complication or the decision is forced upon him or |
| beginning of your novel. You should start with the | | | | her by another character or characters. In other |
| changes that this event brings into the character's | | | | words, create a complication that resolves the |
| life. | | | | major complication. (You've seen it done in action |
| 2. Try to pick the right point of departure for the | | | | films. Just as the chase scene ends, and the |
| story. Suppose it's a murder mystery (always plot | | | | protagonist is about to lose, along comes a small |
| driven), do you begin with the murder, the | | | | complication that completely flips the scene |
| incident that drove someone to want to murder | | | | around. You're looking for something like that |
| the victim, an intro to the victim, an intro to the | | | | here.) |
| murderer...well, you get the notion. Perhaps you | | | | By now, you should have a few scribbled notes |
| won't know until later on in the process where | | | | on complications. In my novel, Jenny goes home |
| the precise beginning should be so don't hesitate | | | | for her father's funeral and her first complication |
| too much with Chapter One. It can all be | | | | occurs when she realizes that her sister is losing |
| re-arranged later. For now, you're setting up a | | | | her mind. It's a bad complication because Jenny |
| plan for your novel. You can make it pretty later. | | | | has been in exile for a number of years, after a |
| 3. Define the events that happen in the novel and | | | | scandal involving an affair she'd had, and she |
| detail how each event leads to the next event. | | | | doesn't want to get involved in her sister's life. But |
| (Yes...the events should be linked like a chain. Each | | | | her sister is behaving so erratically that Jenny, |
| event causes a reaction which is another event.) | | | | who thinks she is a caring person, cannot ignore |
| 4. Create one (or more) major complication(s) | | | | the situation. She also has an inner conflict |
| and several minor complications. (A complication is | | | | between her view of herself as compassionate |
| something unpleasant that happens to the | | | | and her inexplicably overwhelming urge to give |
| character that he or she would prefer had not | | | | her sister a swift kick in the rear. |
| happened. In mine, a character is going to meet | | | | |