Secrets of the Plot
The one overriding principle you have to remember when creating
a blockbuster of a plot is to avoid randomness. A good story is
a chain of events, and each link in the chain is bound to other
links (otherwise it isn't a chain!). This is worth repeating -
whether it is an event, a character or place name, or a
motivation, think it through and create it for a reason, not
randomly. Keep asking yourself 'why.' Your readers will
certainly be doing the same, and if you have created it with a
logical reason behind it, they will accept it, no matter how
implausible it may actually be. Done correctly, this way of
plotting will also steer the reader firmly towards the climax,
and this, of course, is important if you want to write a 'page
turner' bestseller novel.
Most plots are based on the idea of the character under
pressure. Your hero has a problem, and how he/she solves it IS
the story. You must always be careful to keep the character 'in
character.' For example, if your hero is a violent vigilante, he
probably doesn't solve the ultimate puzzle using his
flower-arranging skills. Unless, of course, you have already
prepped the reader by explaining, for example, that the hero's
zen teacher helped him control his violent temper with Japanese
flower-rituals... You can automatically create consistent
character outlines at
www.GetPlotted.com with
just 1 click of a button. And you can keep on clicking till the
character is perfect for your purposes!
You want your Audience to empathize with your character. If you
can't achieve this, you at least want them to understand the
character. In the example above, revealing a traumatic childhood
event may help the reader understand why the hero is a violent
vigilante, even if they still don't truly empathize with him).
The character's motivations, therefore, are prime. If the reader
doesn't believe or accept the motivations you expose, they won't
believe the character either, and you are wasting your time. No
real motivation turns your drama into melodrama.
There is even a case for claiming that the plot of a top novel
is the sum of the subplots of all the characters in it. The
interplay between the individual existences of the characters is
what moves plot forward. In terms of starting a plot, the rule
of thumb is to begin as close to the climax as possible. In
other words, there can be lots of 'history' before the story
begins that can be revealed to the reader as the actual plot
unfolds. The Lord Of The Rings is a classic example - the
history of the story extends several thousand years before the
opening scene. You also want to begin on an 'inciting incident'.
A 'big bang' if you will, from which the plot stems. Bilbo
giving Frodo the Ring in LOTR is such an inciting incident. This
'foreshadowing' is vitally important when writing a good plot.
Anything important MUST be foreshadowed, be it a character, an
event or location. Some writers go so far as to claim that the
entire first half of a book is foreshadowing - a prophecy of
what is to come in the second half of the book. The second half,
of course, is the fulfilment of the prophecy. If you randomly
introduce 'solutions' without foreshadowing simply to solve
problems you have created, you will lose your Audience fast.
Having said that, you must be subtle. If you give too much
warning of what's coming, the reader will get bored. The
standard way of doing this is to de-stress the importance of
what you are foreshadowing so that when the surprise comes, the
reader isn't totally 'gob-smacked.' And by the way, if the
characters in the story can't see it coming, but your readers
can, you may lose them.
That word - surprise - is important in good plotting. You should
keep your reader guessing to some extent until you reveal a
solution, and then the reader should be left with a 'doh' moment
- an understanding that you gave him all the clues he needed and
he STILL didn't see it coming. The '6th Sense' movie is a
classic example of this. By the end, and final twist, everyone
in the cinema had a 'doh' moment, because with HINDSIGHT it was
obvious what was going on. Roughing out the plot with the unique
Plot Cards (tm) system at
www.GetPlotted.com will
help you get the speed of the action right, as well as easily
organize your idea into a consistent logical and readable
structure. Setting the right pace will also help keep your
readers in a mild sense of info-overload, so that surprises are
easier to spring on them even though you have foreshadowed
properly.
The role of the hero in your plot develops over time. At some
stage, the hero must assert control (even in, for example, a
tragedy, where the hero dies, the very death should be an act of
control - the ending of 'Leon' is a prime example of this).
Generally, the hero must be 'roused' i.e. he/she is subject to
events at first but then is roused to take charge and asset
control over events. The moment when the hero starts to take
control is known as a 'counterthrust,' and there may be many of
them in a good plot as hero and villain struggle for control. A
good scene will present some problem or obstacle for the hero,
and how he solves it determines whether your reader goes on to
read the next chapter. The solving of these challenges is the
counterthrust. Often, a good plot features a problem, a
counterthrust which fails, and then a new attempt to resolve the
issues using the lessons learned.
Plots also server an ancillary purpose. The events that unfold
should express some aspect of the character's personality, they
should reveal something about our heroes and villains to us. By
putting your character under stress with plot, your characters
come alive, with the opportunity to show bravery,
resourcefulness, and all the other human traits. And this final
tip is worth re-reading - if you give your characters
characteristics without expressing them through plot, it is as
meaningless to your reader as some braggart in a bar claiming to
be a 'kung fu expert.' Believability is the condensation of
characterization via plot consistency. Ignore that at your
peril!
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