Plotting
Upon finishing a book or film, there have been times when I've asked myself "What was the point? Nothing happened." Without a plot, the story will leave the reader unsatisfied, and you'll end up like Stephenie Meyer or something.
I kid.
But without a journey of some kind (physical or emotional), the reader has nothing to invest themselves in. So a plot is perhaps the most important aspect of a story.
While there is no one predefined method for formulating a plot, I personally like to employ a method described in James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure, namely the LOCK system:
L - Lead
O - Objective
C - Confrontation
K - Knockout
Lead
At the centre of a plot, we have a lead character. A protagonist need not be entirely sympathetic, but as long as he or she is compelling, and encourages the reader to join them on their journey, then we have a solid beginning.
Novel Spoilers
For the novel, Daniel Conrad is a complicated, troubled character. Suffering from night terrors, vivid dreams and a tormented conscience, he begins to project is issues to those around him. This ultimately leads him towards Professor Charles Ridpath, who hires him as an assistant.
Daniel is not going to be too happy for the majority of the book, but his arc will hopefully compel the reader to read cover to cover.
Objective
What's a lead character without an objective of kind? What does he want to achieve? What does he want to escape from? These questions can summarise the story as a whole in a single sentence. For example, Lord of the Rings: Frodo wishes to take the One Ring to Mordor and destroy it to save Middle Earth from Sauron.
Of course there is more to it than that, but at it's essence, the lead wishes to get to a particular place. To raise the stakes, if he should fail, the fate of Middle Earth is doomed, so lives are at risk. The greater the importance of the object, the more likely it is you'll grab their attention. This gives the characters motivation.
Novel Spoilers
Daniel has several objectives throughout the story. Dealing with his conscience and get out of his rut, marry Ginny Dillow (daughter of Horace). Perhaps his bigger challenges are to juggle two separate worlds: his night time research and his day time social events. As the story progresses, it would be to stop Professor Charles Ridpath from continuing his research.
The minor objectives threaten to ruin Daniel's future career and love life, so he obviously wants to come out of his downward spiral. However, on a grander scale, he also has to deal with a nihilistic Professor hell-bent on opening a portal to Yoggoth. If the Professor succeeds, humanity as a whole will be at risk.
Confrontation
In pursuit of his goals, the lead character shouldn't have it easy. There should be conflict and obstacles. If Frodo can just walk up the side of Mount Doom and throw the One Ring in, then that's all too easy and the reader is underwhelmed. However, if there is a huge army in the way that makes things a bit more difficult and suddenly there is conflict and the reader will begin to worry. How will he ever get out of this one?
Novel Spoilers
At the beginning of the novel, the conflict for Daniel is self-created. His downward spiral is beginning to be felt by his family and loved ones, straining the relationships. This is amplified when he begins working as Professor Ridpath's apprentice, as he then begins to deceive others.
When Daniel discovers the true nature of Ridpath's research (and his beneficiary) after a tragic accident, he re-evaluates the last few months and decides to cease the experiments before he is successful. Then you've got Ridpath and others all trying to defeat Daniel, jeopardising Virginia, his family and his own life.
Knockout
As the story comes to a close, it needs a powerful ending. One with closure, that ties up the loose ends and leaves the reader satisfied. It should deal with the lead achieving his objectives and defeating the antagonists. Alternatively, the lead could fail, and everything could fail apart. Whether the story is commercial or literary is up to you.
Major Novel Spoilers
The third act begins when Daniel realises the truth regarding Ridpath and his research. He decides to put a stop to his work, but in doing so creates a very dangerous antagonist with powerful allies. So they take the offensive which leaves to a deadly climax.
Peel back the layers of romance and Lovecraftian horror, the novel covers obsession and dealing with grief, situations that we can all relate to. How the character comes out the other side, is the question the novel will answer.
