#book plotting

in addition to designing rai’s weapon i have written a journal entry from his perspective about it, complete with an image of the weapon and three stat blocks on a cute little interactive flip folder thing about them

It can be the smallest detail like a joke a character makes to the largest plot point but no matter what it goes in. Also length does not matter. I have written well over a page of just points about one subject but also single words. Nobody else is going to read it so if it makes sense to me that’s all that matters. 

I also write down questions I need to answer when I find a plot hole or something I need to work out. eg. Why did a whole civilisation just up and disappear? to What are [character]s allergies?

When I feel compelled to write but don’t know where to start I go through the document until I find a point I can expand on. It can be writing the scene it happens in/is about or just expanding on the idea. It helps to widen my options rather than plucking something out of my brain on the spot. 

As I get further through my process I’ll probably find points that I won’t use but that’s OK. It doesn’t mean I cant use them later or in a different context or story. Remember that you are allowed to cut stuff. If you don’t really want to cut it but you need to because of plot, add it to the list and see if you can write it in again later. 

I suggest giving it a try, especially if you forget ideas often. 

Act I

Opening scene - Introduce your characters in their natural habitat. Show them in a situation that they are comfortable with/used to being in. (Try not to pack too many characters in all at once, two is plenty for the first scene.) Often, the opening scene/chapter ends with the inciting event or leads into it.

Inciting event - The event (or injection of information) that sets the stage for the rest of the story. This one thing makes everything that comes next possible. But the main character is not personally invested in the story yet.

Introduce antagonist - If your conflict involves a big reveal later in the story, it needs to at least be foreshadowed early on. We either need to know that something is wrong or be introduced to the character who will end up being the antagonist later on (and show that something is off about them.)

In the first Harry Potter book, we are introduced to Quirrel early in the book and he is a questionable character but we don't question it because Harry suspects Snape, so when it is revealed at the end, we are surprised but it still makes sense.

Key event - This is the event that changes things. It gives the main character a reason. They are now personally invested in the story, which leads to the next point...

First doorway of no return - If the key event is the reason, the first doorway of no return is the action that it causes. They make a decision and in doing so, allow a change to happen that they cannot undo. (In traditional fantasy, this is the moment that the character literally takes a step into a new world or reality and leave their home behind.)

In The Lord of the Rings: Frodo must leave the Shire

In Star Wars: Luke leaves Tatooine

In other types of fiction, however, it might look different.

In a relationship-driven story or romance: a character kisses their friend and in doing so cannot return to how their relationship was before, etc.

Act II

Intro to new world - Introduce the world that your characters have just entered into through the first doorway of no return.

The plan (1) - What is the current goal and what is their plan to achieve it?

Reminder of antagonistic force - Sometimes referred to as the first pinch point. Put your characters in danger, show that there is a threat. Even if not everything is revealed about the antagonist yet, the readers need to know that there are stakes.

Midpoint - Big juicy plot twist that changes everything. (Sometimes called the Mirror Moment because it often causes the main character to reflect on themself.) Change our perspective on the story.

The plan (2) - Reaction to the midpoint. What is the new plan now that they have had their revelation? Sometimes the midpoint changes the goal, if they have a new goal now, what is it?

Second reminder of antagonistic force - (Second pinch point) Up the stakes, the villain is still around, there is still something wrong and now they have to fix it faster. (They still don't have everything they need to win.)

Second doorway of no return - The event that pushes the characters into the final act. The step forward that ensures they will see the story to the end. Show their resolve.

Act III

The Plan (3) - The final plan. How do they intend to finish the story. (The plan is more for you, you don't need to list it in your story or anything, you just need to make the character have intentions)

Also, a rule I like to use whenever characters are plotting something (at any point in the story): if the plan is going to succeed, you shouldn't explain it. If it's going to go exactly the way they want it will feel repetitive to the reader.

Final battle - Storm the castle. The climax. Confront the antagonist. From this point on everything is going to happen fast.

Black moment - The 'all is lost' moment. It seems like there is no way for the story to be resolved.

Moment of hope - Something or someone provides the final push, either coming to the rescue or providing the character with the last piece of information that they need conclude the story.

In Star Wars: Han Solo appears at the moment that it seems that they will fail.

Resolution - Tie everything together. Make sure all your conflicts and subplots are resolved and that the ending is satisfying (and sends the message you want.)

If you intend to write a sequel you can introduce a new conflict at the very end (and you can leave subplots partially unresolved to carry on into the next story, just make sure it doesn't feel too unsatisfying)

It's never just a drizzle, it will always pour.

I know why I'm sick. There's nothing they can do. I'm just supposed to wait it out.

No thank you! I'm going out from something cool, something interesting, something I get to decide.

Imagine if it was mercury poisoning? Or, or, oleander? You know, like in that book?

Now, I have pantsed and I have plotted when writing.

With pantsing I have felt the excitement of realizing I’ve surprised myself with enough evidence to support a plot twist I didn’t see coming until I wrote it. It’s an amazing feeling and I don’t knock anyone who chases that feeling in their writing.

But let me tell you something as I’ve become a plotter: there are few things that give me such deep satisfaction as watching how the threads of my story come together while I am purposefully weaving them. When the smallest detail that a reader might see as insignificant is something I placed there because it has a purpose. When I are trying to give them something specific in a scene and have to decide how obviously to present it. It’s a stage production I am setting up where the actors bring their own life to it, but I still set the scenes. That type of intention is empowering.

So, you have a story idea and now you’re faced with the eternal question: should you outline your novel?

You’ve probably heard of the two flavors of writers—the pantsers and the plotters. Plotters being those who actually create an outline for their work, and pantsers being those who simply ‘fly by the seat of their pants.’

Well, like most things in life, this dichotomy is actually a spectrum; while some people are adamantly at one extreme or the other, most will fall somewhere in between. However, for the sake of argument, let’s assume you can place yourself into one group or the other.

The Case for Pantsing

For me, the moment I outline a story it’s dead to me. I can’t even start writing it out in prose. In fact, the basic set of key scenes I wrote out yesterday is the most I ever outline. When starting a story, I need to have very little structure in my head.

Why? Because to me, outlining is inherently judgmental. Just like with idea generation, if I try to give my writing turtle any rules at all they will retreat back into their shell and I can plan on not seeing them again for a long, long time. By outlining, I’m examining my thoughts and deeming some worthy and some unworthy before they’ve even had the chance to be explored. Some of the ideas I try out will not be usable. But I want to reserve my judgment for the editing process, not for writing.

Instead, if I let myself once again be completely uncritical, there comes a point about a quarter to a third of the way through the book where the story hits me like a brick. The little threads of plot that have been weaving through my subconscious and somehow ending up on the page without me noticing converge until I realize what’s going on and can see the conclusion the story is going to be building to from now on. I will have to go back later to clean up the beginning and tie everything together, but that’s a job for editing, not for drafting.

For me, this process is fun and lets me try out ideas that I might have been too embarrassed or critical of to put in my outline.

The Case for Plotting

For some people, the process I described above might sound terrifying. For plotters, structuring the story beforehand can bring out more creativity by removing the anxiety of trying to figure out what to write next. If this is you, that’s great! Do what feels good for you.

An outline might be as detailed as writing out every shift in the main plot, subplots, tone, and character state across the entire story, or it might be as simple as listing out the main sequence of events and a bit of explanation about how they get from one event to the other.

An outline is whatever you need it to be. It’s the structure you hang your story on. For many plotters, the creativity comes in the outlining, in imagining how the story will unfold, and the writing is the execution of those ideas.

Of course, if you’re writing for a client or employer, you’ll probably have to outline at some point to let them give their input on your plan. But if you’re writing for yourself, your outline is yours to get creative with.

The Case for Being in the Middle

I made it sound as though my ‘pantsing’ process is completely intuitive. Which from one perspective is true. However, the reason I’m able to start writing at all without using an outline is because I have a sense, from my own reading, critique, and editing, of how a story unfolds.

A story is the change in state of the main character(s), and the journey that gets them there. But it’s how that journey is told that makes the change satisfying.

Characters need to strive for something. They need to fail, not just once, but again and again, until finally they reach their goal (or until their desires have shifted to the point where they no longer want that goal). They need to be misinformed about things, so that later on they can make discoveries about their misconceptions and deepen their understanding of the world. In short: they need to struggle, and succeed, and fail, and struggle again.

After the characters go through several cycles of struggles, you can finally reveal the turn that leads them to their end state and maybe spend some time with them in that new state. Every genre has its own tropes regarding what kind of struggles they need to face (think about the perennial problem of going after the wrong suspect in crime fiction); you probably have a sense of this from your own reading (and if you don’t, don’t worry! You don’t need to match what anyone else is doing to be writing a good story. You just need to keep gradually deepening our understanding of your characters by showing them work through the obstacles you put in their way).

So while I say I’m being entirely uncritical when I start, what I really mean is that I’m not judging my ideas for the particularities of my own story. But I’m still holding a basic story structure in my mind. I might not know the exact ending, but I know it will have to show a change in my character, and I know it has to be earned.

Somewhere in between pantsing and plotting, that’s where most of us fall. Outline as much as you need to, but don’t try to force things into a neat structure before you’re ready. And be willing to pull up your outline by the roots and plant something entirely different if you realize partway through that your original outline no longer works for the story you want to tell.

You own your outline, it doesn’t own you.

In a few days, I’ll revisit the outline to show you how I might outline my portal fantasy book, but tomorrow, we’re talking about research (yayy).

Until then!

When writing a story, whether it be a novel or an epic film, it’s important to have subplots. While all stories should have, in addition to the main plot, something called a “B Plot,” C plots, D plots, and E plots should play a role too. Smaller plots wouldn’t change the entirety of the plot if removed...but when included, they can enhance the main plot, deepening it, and providing a greater meaning to the overall story.

While it isn’t always the case, the B Plot is often the “romance” of a story. While the hero is trying to defeat the bad guy, he develops a friendship or rivalry with a companion, before ultimately falling in love. Of course, romantic or platonic, the best sub plots explore the characters in relation to one another.

These character arcs - the changes to not only the characters themselves, but the evolution of their connection to others - give readers a reason to root for not only your hero, but the whole cast.

The film which exemplifies this point well is the first Lord of the Rings. While the groundwork for these characters, and their relationships, are laid in the book, I will be focusing on the movie version. When adapting Tolkien’s story, Peter Jackson knew the characters had to be more than names on a page. In order to foster a connection between the audience and each member of the fellowship, bonds were strengthened, or even invented, between the various members.

Merry and Pippin & Boromir

The bond between Merry and Pippin is solid in the books, but little is known about Boromir - beyond knowing he’s Denethor’s son, and a future steward of Gondor who attempts to steal the ring from Frodo, there is little else. In the books, he is a tragic figure and a lesson in how destructive the craving for power can be.

In the films, though, he becomes a friend to Merry and Pippin. He teaches them how to fight, and laughs when the two hobbits doggy pile him. It’s only one scene, but it gives us a relationship. When Boromir is later overwhelmed by orcs, it isn’t as punishment for his actions - instead, he redeems himself. He races to the defense of Merry and Pippin, giving his life for them. His death is that much more tragic because of his connection with the two. When they see him fall, he isn’t just their companion - he’s a good friend, who once laughed with them and ultimately died for them.

Aragorn & Boromir

Boromir also has a connection with Aragorn. The sub plot between the pair, which focuses on Aragorn’s mistrust in Gondor and Boromir’s belief in Gondor, is set up before the Merry and Pippin arc, beginning when Boromir drops the fragments of Isildur’s sword to the ground. His comment that these shards are no more than the remains of a broken sword underscores his lack of faith in Gondor needing a king - a point of tension between him, and the man who could be king if he cared to. 

Boromir is an idealist, seeing the best in Gondor and loving it to an almost blind degree. Aragorn, by contrast, seems to care more for the elves than his “own” people. He leads the party towards Lothlorion, home of the elves, but makes a point of avoiding Gondor. He seems to hate Gondor, connecting it with the failure of his ancestor, Isildur; like Aragorn’s antecedent, Gondor is weak. When Aragorn refers to Gondor, he calls it “your city,” to Boromir, rather than theirs.

Following the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the seeming conclusion of their arc, Aragorn swoops in to fight off Boromir’s assailants. Though Aragorn wins, Boromir is fatally wounded. He dies, but not before regarding Aragorn with the respect he would to a king. Aragorn, in turn, seems to have hope for Gondor, promising to do what he can for their people. 

This arc enhances Aragorn’s own character arc in accepting not only Gondor, but his role as it’s king. Boromir is a metaphor and embodiment of Gondor, and Aragorn’s feelings towards him are actually the feelings Aragorn has towards Gondor itself. His relationship with Boromir allows him to verbalize his inner conflict about his homeland, and who he is. In the end, he accepts Boromir as his fellow - along with accepting the city as his. 

He hasn’t accepted his role as king yet, but Boromir’s relationship with him has set him in the right direction.

Gimli & Legolas

Though the relationship between Gimli and Legolas has little effect on the main plot, it adds both humour and character development to the story. Initially, being a dwarf and an elf, the pair are resentful towards one another. Gimli more or less joins the fellowship to one up Legolas, and the two aren’t above making snide remarks towards one another. 

After Gimli’s own experience in Lothlorion, though, when the dwarf realizes that elves can be both kind and beautiful, the dwarf is able to soften towards his companion. Their enmity transitions into a rivalry - they aren’t friends, but they make battles fun by beginning a competition where they try to kill more orcs than the other. As they fight in more battles together, and swap kill numbers at the end of each fight, they develop an actual friendship (in the extended edition of the third film, they even end up drinking together). Their relationship is light hearted, but it adds depth to the story, and makes the audience want to root for the pair.

Both characters are enjoyable on their own, but together they are that much easier to love.

Frodo & Sam

In the books, Sam is Frodo’s gardener and servant. In the movies, he is Frodo’s best friend. While there is still a master and servant relationship between the two, with Sam addressing his friend as “Mr. Frodo,” the term comes to feel more habitual than formal. At the start of the film, the hobbits share drinks. Frodo pushes Sam into his crush, Rosie, and gives Sam assurance when he’s fretting over the competition he has for her affections. 

When Sam eavesdrops on the conversation between Frodo and Gandalf, the wizard decides Sam will pay for his listening in by accompanying Frodo to Bree. On their journey, Sam panics at one point when he thinks he’s lost Frodo. He explains that Gandalf made him promise he wouldn’t “lose” Frodo. 

Even when he’s no longer obligated to follow, Sam insists on joining the fellowship. Elrond notes there is no separating them, secret meeting or not. Later, towards the end of the story, Sam tries to comfort Frodo, citing his promise to look after his master. When the fellowship splits, Sam chases after Frodo. Frodo can go alone, but Sam is coming with him. He repeats the line that is the crux of his bond: he made a promise to Gandalf not to lose Frodo, and he’s going to keep it.

Sam stays with Frodo to the end, even coming back after being sent away at best (and betrayed at worst) by his master in the final movie. While their bond is implicit, the repeated promise, and the ups and downs their relationship takes, adds another layer to the story. Destroying the ring is challenging - not only because of it’s effect on Frodo’s health, but because of how it tests his friendship with someone who proves to be more loyal than most. 

The bond Frodo has with Sam is also integral to the plot. After all, if it weren’t for Sam, Frodo would have been killed. With such a role, Sam needed to be more than a dedicated servant. He needed to be a loyal friend, capable of being tested and still willing to fight for their friendship.

In Conclusion

The set up of these sub plots allows the rest of the movies to be deeper too. While it goes without saying that establishing a connection between Frodo and Sam would improve their shared story arc, other sub plots are revived. 

The connection Boromir shares with Merry and Pippin, for example, becomes integral to Pippin’s own arc. With Merry removed from his side, Pippin is then influenced by none other than Boromir, when guilt over his death pushes Pippin to pledge himself to the service of Boromir’s father, Denethor. 

Gimli and Legolas go on to have journeys together, and start another body count contest in the third film (where an elephant “still only counts as one” when Legolas dispatches it).