Creative writing advice from Roy York

Plot

The fourth in a series of articles by Roy York.

The Plot - Don't lose it

In one of the previous creative writing pieces we learnt some of the basic requirements for building realistic fictional characters. It's time for those characters to start thinking about embarking on their journey, so before they go anywhere you must consider where you are going to send them. You need to outline a scenario - a sequence of events which will keep your reader interested from the start of your story right up to your final words.

Once you have given due thought to the primary elements of your story - the characters, (human or otherwise) who are to be an essential part of your story-line, their relationship with each other, the conflict/problem and its solution, you should have most of the ingredients for a plot. If you are writing a short story your plot needs to be carefully structured to ensure you have not left any loose ends.

Most plots, (not all, admittedly) still abide by the tried and tested device of a beginning, middle and an end.

Beginning, middle and end

A short story beginning - should contain a hook to arouse reader curiosity. Curiosity is one emotion you must arouse if you want your reader to continue reading, it doesn't necessarily have to be a matter of life or death, it just needs to be interesting - it is up to you as a writer to keep the reader interested up to the end of your story.

The beginning is also where you set the scene, introduce the main characters and establish the background to the problem or obstacle, or even introduce the problem itself. A story without some form of conflict, however slight, is no story at all.

Many short stories submitted for publication or as an entry for a competition start in the wrong place. Do not begin with irrelevant information, start at a point of transition. If for instance a letter is to play a pivotal part in your plot, do not start with a lot of narrative about the postman walking up the path, (unless he is a necessary character to your story), start inside the house with the main character picking up the letter from the doormat, show the dismay or joy on the character's face as he or she reads the contents of the letter. Remember a short story is just that - don't waste words, save them for moving your story forward. If you feel you must inform the reader of a back-story you can introduce this in the form of a flashback, in a short story the flashback should be kept fairly short, in a novel there is far more room for expansion.

In the beginning or fairly early on in your story it is a good idea to plant a clue to the outcome. This clue foreshadowing if skilfully planted is another element in the art of creating successful fiction.

The middle section of your story is where you introduce the problem or conflict (if you have not already done so) you bring your character's initial unsuccessful attempts to resolve the problem. Describe how the character feels as he/she fails. Make your reader feel your character's frustration or despair. Your protagonists must now re-think the situation.

The end section of your story should show how the obstacle or problem facing your character is solved. It must be credible and satisfying to your reader. If your reader has enjoyed your work he or she will come back for more, if not, you have lost a future reader and they may not bother with your next story.

Never compromise your story by allowing the denouncement to become a damp squib and be aware most editors dislike a lazy get out, eg Then he woke up, it was all a dream. Mistaken identity by using twins is not very popular either.

Do not go beyond the story's end - if your character has become estranged from his family and your story is about his efforts to become reunited with them, finish your story with the reunion, do not waffle on beyond that point, unless you have decided to make your story into a novel.

Short stories

Before we go on to plotting the novel, a brief note on short story variations. The target you are aiming at and the style and wordage for that target will inevitably dictate the theme of your plot and the amount of information it can contain.

Short, 'Twist in the Tail' stories of 800 to 1500 words will not allow a space for a lengthy storyline and will only allow room for you to give a thumbnail description of your character. Stories for some popular women's magazines have a required wordage of 1000 to  2500 words, a little more room for plot development but generally requires a fairly short time span. Study the stories in the magazines you are aiming at before you write yours.

Competition stories are often character driven and allow room to show the character's emotion and feelings. By virtue of longer wordage - often 2500 to 5000 words, there is also room for a longer time-span if your story requires it.

When sending a story to a competition you must read and abide by the rules. More competition entries are thrown out for non compliance than any other reason. Make sure yours isn’t one of them.

Constructing your plot

The ingredients which go into the recipe for creating a successful novel are many, the components which are required need to be carefully weighted and skilfully mixed.

Show your originality when constructing your plot.

As we saw in an earlier piece on creative writing, around the turn of the 20th century Georges Polti devised a list of all the possible plots available to the writer - these have become known as the thirty-six dramatic situations. The way you build your plot around a well-used theme must be unique to you. The reader will expect your work to be original not just a re-write of Ken Kesey’s novel 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'.

An initial idea on its own is not sufficient. A plot for a novel needs the initial idea to be developed and evolved into a story line. The basic idea is not a plot. The storyline is created by your characters, their attitude - how they act and react to others, how they deal (or don't deal) with conflict and problems. Sometimes the most difficult conflict to deal with is within the characters themselves.

A short story is often centred around one single main character, a novel is about inter-relationships of a number of characters and how their relationships unfold during your story.

Learn something about your character's past, you don't have to put their past life on the page unless absolutely essential to your story but you, as the writer, should feel you know something about them, it will make it easier for you to bring them to life.

Most of your fiction characters have already developed characteristics which may have a bearing on the way they think and act. Where were they brought up? What education did they receive? Have they suffered any traumatic experiences that may have softened or hardened their way of thinking?

One of the main differences between a novel and a short story is the size of the canvas you have to work with. With a novel you have the space to create and develop interesting and fully rounded characters. With 80,000 to 150,000 words or more at your disposal you are also not limited to a strict time-span, your plot can cover a week, a month, years or hundreds of years, it is up to you - whatever your story demands - but beware, a large canvas does not allow for  loose or sloppy writing, be professional with every line you write.

The skilled novelist weaves together the changing lives and relationships of the characters. The main plot or storyline of a full length novel must be strong and readable throughout, but it will need more than just a single plot, it will require one or more sub-plots, lesser, but supplementary associated stories.

For example, a married police inspector is in charge of a team hunting a sadistic serial killer. The inspector's wife is an alcoholic and causes problems; this requires his attention and occasionally makes him take his eyes off the case. The search for the serial killer is the main plot, dealing with his wife's problem is a sub-plot. You could even add a member of the team who is at odds with the inspector - someone who has their own reason for disliking him. You have now created more problems into your story, more scope for characterisation, more conflict but remember that main plots and sub-plots require some sort of resolution by the end of your novel.

Read some successful authors that write the type of novel you intend to write, see how they construct their plots.

Perseverance is the key to the doorway of success

Keep writing.

Next

5. Dialogue

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