#book plot
Always start with the character!
As writers, we tend to focus more on the major plot points as these are the things we spend hours pouring over when we write. But for the reader/publisher/agent to care about your book, they first need to care about your character.
As humans, we value a connection, even with someone fictional. When you open your pitch/synopsis with who your character is and what they value, you allow the reader to root for them, even in the synopsis.
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So you’ve written your outline, maybe even your first draft, and you’re a bit worried about the length. Maybe it’s too short for your genre. Maybe you feel something’s missing. Well fear not! There are many ways you can flesh out your plot without making it feel botched and pointless.
1)Check your beats. Whether or not you’re actively using Save the Cat! as a structure, the beats make for good inspiration. Do you have a clear theme? Do you have a clear catalyst? Do you have a mid-point that raises the stakes? Do you have a B plot? If you’re missing any of these, it might be a good idea to weave them in.
2)Foreshadowing.This is a good time to ask yourself if you’ve foreshadowed your plot twists and major character decisions. Have you laid the groundwork? Is it justified in the text? If not, you might want to add another couple of scenes that show the reasoning behind the plot twits and big decisions in your novel.
3)Light Relief. If you really want your reader to feel something when reading your book, you need good dynamics. That means soaring highs before tragic lows. If your book lacks light relief, your reader will become used to the tragedy and it won’t have the same impact. Don’t underestimate the need for a bit of fluff here and there.
4)Relationships.No, I am not talking about your romantic interest. I’m talking about friends, family, enemies. Explore how you can develop these, how they shape the character. If you’re planning on killing one of them off, make sure we see how much they mean to the protagonist to ensure it will really hurt the reader.
So there you have it, just a few ideas for fleshing out your plot. Feel free to add any other you can think of below! Happy writing!
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So far on my blog, I’ve covered the first two steps of writing a novel: developing realistic characters and coming up with a plot. Congratulations! You now have an A plot.
An A plot is the surface level plot. It’s what your character is doing and what’s happening to them. This plot deals with questions like:
- What is wrong with my character’s life at the beginning of the novel?
- What do they think will fix their lives when—spoiler alert—it won’t?
- Why haven’t they achieved this goal yet?
- What catalyst (or inciting incident) will cause them to get off their butts and start chasing this goal for real?
Now it’s time to move on to the B plot. The B plot is about your character’s development and changing who they are as a person. This is about working out not what your character wants but what they need.
Remember all those flaws we gave our characters? This is where we need to ask the questions:
- How does this flaw affect the rest of my hero’s life?
- Do my characters flaws get in the way of them achieving their goal?
- How is the plot going to help them realise this flaw and overcome it by the end of the novel after their breaking point?
- How is overcoming this flaw really going to make their lives better?
This character development is what gives novels their sparkle. The A plot is what makes your plot interesting, but the B plot is what makes your charactersinteresting.
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I wanna make a villain love interest with soft dark hair, pretty eyes, feminine features, tattoos, round glasses held by a thing decorative chain, and op powers with a yandere type of crazy personality but still has a friendly charm to him.
Question is what is he(an eldritch god? An unseelie king, a dark mage? A demon monster??) and what would the plot be?
I’m kinda getting vibe for a dark fae with a “he who shall not be named” type of reputation and since it’s “mer-may” there could be a little mermaid deal going on…
