Ten Scenes – Plot Part 9

Hiya!

It feels like it’s been a decade since I’ve last posted, but here I am again with an attempt at normalcy. The last several posts were about various scenes or parts of a plot. I posted those bits and pieces with the intent of helping you to organize ten scenes that will help write your novel from beginning to the end. Think of these ten scenes as the skeleton on which the body of our book will hang. If you know where your story is supposed to go, it will make everything else easier. Plus, hey! No writer\’s block.

These ten scenes consist of your central plot or story line. Don’t use this for subplot, and don’t think that this is all you need to flesh out your book. You will need more than ten scenes to tell your story most likely. You also need scene setting. You need character development. You need to figure out your point of view, and many more elements of story craft. You need to know your marketing category and your genre requirements so you will write something people want to read.

But the starting point is working out your plot.

Using these ten scenes will help you avoid over-plotting, over-writing, wasting years and years of random writing that has nothing to do with the plot and will eventually have to be cut, and of not being able to concisely explain what your story is about, to editors, agents, publishers, and your friends.

Plan your central storyline. Start simply. Then add the necessary complexity after you have your basic plot figured out.

Start with the basic scenes: The inciting incident, the point of no return, the big complication, the climax, and the ending (these are in green). Then add additional complications so it’s super difficult for your character to get to the end (in blue). Then add your sub-plot and the additional meaty layers.

Make sense?

Now start plotting.