Let's Tell a Story

A while back, I wrote a piece about how to plot your novel. Well, today, we're going to break that down
even further into its basic elements. How do you go about the “simple” process of telling a story. I've read and seen a lot of answers to this question, but we're going to keep it as simple as possible.

At its base level, there are 5 parts to a good story; foundation, change, significance, culmination, and purpose. That’s not to say that these are the only parts or the order in which they must appear. However, take any one of these away and you might be left with a story that doesn't feel whole. And starting to write before fully understanding what makes your story complete can make the experience harrowing. Writing can be challenging as it is. Let’s go through the parts and see what we have.

1.       Foundation – This is the “Once upon a time…” or “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…” aspect of the story. What’s the norm? What’s the average day-to-day like in your story? Even if it’s just a glimpse, providing this information gives your story a platform on which to build. We don’t always need to put this up front, but we need to know it’s there. No character should live in a bubble… unless your story is about a character in a bubble… so, show the life that goes on around him/her/it. Bob was a hard-working man who loved life and his family.

2.       Change – Something needs to change the status quo. You’ve established the norm, so now you need to introduce the catalyst that induces a change to which your main character(s) needs to react. The extent of the change need only be relative to the main character’s need to be affected. Folks have a tendency to assume that big things need to happen in order to invoke change in a story (eg, death, cataclysm, zombies). However, sometimes the smallest stones make the largest ripples. Bob loses his well-paying job.

3.       Significance – The change has occurred. What does this lead to? How is your main character’s daily life affected? In life, as in the stories we tell about it, events aren’t usually cut and dry; Bob can’t afford food anymore and is forced to kill his neighbor. Hmmm…seems like we might be missing something. Like maybe some details? Bob can’t afford food anymore; Bob’s neighbor offers to give Bob help, but he wants something in return (a night with Bob’s wife); Bob’s got nowhere to turn and is running out of options; Bob’s sadistic neighbor taunts Bob and threatens to… and we could go one, but you get the point. A series of events then leads us to the…

4.       Culmination – …and in the end, Bob and said neighbor struggle in a fight to the death before Bob comes out on top. Extreme? Yes. Overly simplified? Indeed. But, you get the picture. You’re significant events must lead to a focal point, or climax. This is where everything comes together and the conflict that has propelled the story to this point is resolved, one way or the other.

5.       Purpose – Why did the character just go through all of that? What’s the resolution, or the new norm? Essentially, what’s the moral of your story? I would argue that this is the most important part of your story. What is it that you’re trying to tell the reader? When Bob is arrested, the police discover that his neighbor is a wanted serial killer and Bob is exonerated and they all live happily ever after (except for the neighbor, obviously). The moral? Don’t mess with Bob.

These 5 points create the thread of your story. While the order of the story thread can vary, it’s rare to find a good story that doesn’t incorporate each one of these. If you have an idea for a story, determine which of these parts you know and which you don’t. I often have 1, 2, and 4 in mind before I ever start writing, but 3 and 5 can often be the most difficult to put together on the fly. Starting your next project with all of these pieces in place can make the story-writing experience that much more enjoyable.

Plotting Your Novel

Four Steps to Putting Your Plot in Order

I've spent a bit of time on Reddit's writing forum over the last couple of weeks. One of the recurring questions I kept seeing was about plotting (or outlining) a novel before starting to write. To be honest, I was never a big proponent of plotting. Until, that is, it worked for me.

Do you remember the movie How to Train Your Dragon? Well, the morning after seeing that movie with my then 4-year-old son, I woke up with a name in my head and the title of a book on the tip of my tongue. While the title quickly died (for being a bit too similar to an existing series), the character thrived and within 48 hours I had plotted out the first book of a proposed trilogy. Six months later, I had translated that outline into a 55,000 word YA novel (which is still on the proverbial shelf). As soon as I finished that book, I sat down and plotted book #2. I was thrilled at how easy it came to me. But, it doesn't always work that way. Let's take a look at some of the key points to successfully plotting your novel:

1. Know where your story begins

When I sat down to write my suspense thriller, I cranked out 40 pages of writing. It was the least suspenseful pile of drivel ever imagined. I shelved 98% of it. It was back story. I had spent ~10,000 words trying to build up a sense of who my character was, without realizing he had accomplished absolutely nothing in that time. You need to establish your starting point. If you're protagonist is a 24-year-old, the reader doesn't need a detailed description of the 24 years that preceded the story's starting point. These are details that can be infused throughout the rest of the story (y'know, the one you really want to tell?). Don't be afraid to throw your characters immediately into the fray. Whether it's drama, fantasy, suspense, or sci-fi, nothing will tell the reader more about your character than seeing how they react when the pressure is at full tilt. Finally, don't be afraid of being vague at this point. We're not writing yet, we're plotting to write. A sentence will do if it conveys Who, What, Where, and When (Why can wait a while). When you recognize your starting point, give yourself a pat on the back. You've found the starting line. Now, stop the self-congratulations and move on.

2. Know (roughly) where your story will end

This one can be tricky for a number of reasons, but it's possibly the most important part of the whole process. Why? Because knowing the ending allows you, as the author, to seed the path with the kinds of things that readers eat up. Nothing impresses me more as a reader than when I get to the end of a book and find that the author has tied together little bits and pieces of the story that were sprinkled throughout. Plus, as a writer, it gives you a point of focus (we'll talk more about focus in step #3). So, where do you want your characters to be at the end of your novel? Can't see it? Imagine the end of your five favorite movies. Happy endings, sad endings, poignant endings, doesn't really matter. But, the best endings are those that show how life has changed the characters involved, for good or bad. As fiction writers, we're conveying a series of events that happened to people. And, despite what some people may believe, life changes us (if it didn't we'd all be pretty damn boring). So, what are the results of the events in your story? What sort of consequences do your characters have to deal with? This is where you may discover the "Why" of your story. When you find that, you'll have found your finish line.

3. Know where the middle point of your story is

Scranton, home of The Office and... not much else.

Consider this a way point in your plot development. We're trying to get from the start to the finish, and a good plot rarely takes a straight line to get there. If it does, it probably won't be very entertaining. But, there's a difference between a plot detour and a major plot detour. Sure, we could just jump on the Jersey Turnpike to get from Philly to NYC, but it might be more interesting to take a detour through Scranton. Essentially, don't be afraid to take side routes to get to where your going. But, it's important to keep your middle point within shouting distance of your proposed ending. Go to NYC from Philly through Cleveland and you're going to lose readers (and potentially drive yourself insane). Why? You're prolonging the trip. Readers aren't dumb; they can often see where you're going. And, even if they can't, when you do finally get where you're going, you may leave them scratching their heads. Why the heck did he walk around the block to visit the neighbor?! So, what is the middle? Well, in my mind, it's the part of the story that leads right into the climax of the story. Your characters have been introduced and the catalyst of the story has been introduced. The middle is where it all begins to come together and it's a straight shot to the end game.

Your riders (ie, readers) might be a bit ticked at your "short cut."

4. Fill in the gaps of your story

Now, comes the hard part for some folks. You know your beginning, middle, and end, but now how to get from one to another. Well, this is where your ability to build a story shows itself. Here's what I do. Thirty is my magic number. It's the number of chapters I start with. I jot down my starting point at #1, my middle goal around #15, and my finish line at #28 (I like to have some room to let things settle at the end). I then mark out the first 5 chapters, the next 10, and the final 15.

The first 5 chapters are character development and initial action. It's in these chapters that you will capture your audience. Some writers will argue that it has to happen in chapter 1, which is true, but you can't place all of your hope on one chapter. Give the reader 5 strong chapters at the beginning of your novel and they will let you take them on whatever journey you want. Grab their attention and empathy for your character in those chapters and you'll be set. No empathy = no care for what happens to the characters = no reason to read on.

The next ten chapters are entirely a setup for the end game. This is where your characters are challenged, poked, and prodded into their point of no return. The reader should be able to look back at this point of the story and say, "That's where it could have changed." If he had only taken the blue pill!

The final 15 chapters are are where the roller coaster plunges over the precipice and the laws of gravity take over. This is where the novel should run at full speed to the climax of the story. Everything chapter should have a distinct effect on how the story will end. Anything else is just slowing the coaster down.

Now, obviously, 30 is just a number I like. You might have 50 chapters or 20. Either way, you should be sure to balance out the plot so that it makes sense for your story; beginning, middle, and end. End too soon, without enough transition, and you'll leave your readers feeling short-changed. Put too much filler into the "middle" and your readers will get bored before they can get to the end. And, a weak beginning won't stimulate the reader to continue reading about your characters.

Would love to hear your opinions on the subject! Questions? Suggestions? Best practices that have worked for you?