Write a novel

How to create the perfect plot (6 steps + helpful links)

Plotting is hard work. It is no small feat to get the mental cinema going and to put it into words. You have to describe events and not neglect anything: Characters, setting, plot and everything around it. But what if there were a precise template from which to write the perfect plot?

1. THE IDEA (or: the snow globe that gets everything rolling)./b}

First you need an idea. If you already have an idea, you can skip the next paragraph.

I recommend the method of Abbie Emmons. It is explained in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCVZt9qIgec
The idea is that you make a list of books and films that have inspired you. After the title, write what you liked about it: the characters, the plot, the setting or the theme.
Then choose one book for each of the categories genre, plot, characters and theme and try to make the plot of book A play in the genre of book B with the characters of book C playing with the theme of book D. Watch the video if you want to learn more about this method. There are also some examples shown there.

At this point I create a Google Docs folder with the name of the project. In that folder I create a folder called "Outline" and there I create a document called "Brain Dump". This brings us to the next point.

2. BRAIN DUMP (or: the snow globe gets bigger)

A)Here you try to write down all your ideas. They don't have to be strictly ordered and logical. Not yet 😜 Write down everything you can think of!
You can use bullet points or structure the text with paragraphs.

For me, the first draft of this document is usually three to five pages long. But it can also be two or twenty for you.

B) Next you should bring order to the ideas. Add headings that organise your ideas (e.g. character, setting, plot and theme ideas, but maybe also ideas for subplots and small snippets of dialogue).

This part is exhausting and annoying, but it is definitely worth it. Because now we come to the third point.

3. CHARACTERS (or: the snow globe gets a face that makes it worth reading)

Now you have a more or less logical idea. Maybe you have made some notes about the characters, about their appearance or their name. But now you will give them your attention for a few days or weeks.

The characters are the heart of your story. Inner conflict is the blood, the body and the soul.

Inner conflict is three things. If you want to go deeper into this topic (which I highly recommend!), you can find a lot of videos by Abbie Emmons about it.

Basically, you give each of your characters a longing, a fear and a misbelief.
Your protagonist's misbelief is the opposite of your theme. For example, if your theme is "you are allowed to make mistakes", your protagonist thinks that he or she is not allowed to make mistakes. This thought controls his or her life without him or her really realising it (they only do so at the 'aha' moment). Your protagonist thinks that his/her misbelief is true.
Your character wants to achieve something, that is their longing. But fear stops him or her from doing so. Done. Desire, fear and misbelief are the basis of a good story. Oh, not only the basis.

Now I would recommend that you do a little research on the Enneagram (there are interesting YouTube videos on it, for example). With the help of the Enneagram, your characters will become more real and it might be easier for you to come up with an inner conflict.

Then feel free to fill in character profiles. Think about the appearance, age and, relationships with other characters and the traits of your characters and write down your thoughts. But this part is incidental to the Desire-Fear-Misbelief structure.

4. 3-ACT STRUCTURE (or: preparing the snow globe to trigger an avalanche)

Now watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe3eodLF_Uo.
It explains how to create a good plot using the 3 act / 9 block / 27 chapter method.

You make a little chart and fill it in. Just follow the video. You just need to squeeze your previous ideas from the brain dump into the template.

In you want an easier template that allows more freedom, here it is: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a761264f84ac176a17ff801a3/files/fb17776c-ef26-4689...

The 3-act structure is an extremely effective method of plotting that every writer should have tried at least once.
But the truth is that once you try it, you can't do without it.

OTHER HELPFUL ARTICLES ON WRITING:

- "Katytastic's 3 Act / 9 Block / 27 Chapter Outline Method" 
- "How to develop characters" 
- "3 ways to find and use inspiration — Bonus: 21 prompts" 

5. WORLDBUILDING

As Abbie Emmons once said: you should only do as much worldbuilding as your story needs. Only as much as is important for your characters.

You can think about a few things now, the appearance of a city or magical creatures or whatever.

But don't waste too much time in worldbuilding that you don't need and then process as pointless info-dumping!

6. SCENES, SEQUELS AND MRUS (or: the final touch)

Now I would ask you to create a table with two columns in an empty document. On the left you write the chapter numbers, on the right the content.

When this is done, you should read this article by Randy Ingermanson: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/

This article explains how to set up a perfect scene. Mr. Ingermanson divides a book into Scenes and Sequels, each of which has a set structure. I highly recommend reading through this article.

Now make bullet points in the right column of your table and label them with the points of a Scene or a Sequel.

You can also write down ideas for MRUs.

If you have done this for all 27 chapters, congratulations! You have plotted a novel!

7. THE FIRST DRAFT (or: the avalanche)

Now you finally get to write it, the first draft.

You can write it in chronological order or jump between chapters. You can spontaneously add details. You should feel good - and it should be fun!

If it's not, you should put the project aside for a few hours, do some exercise, take a shower, read something and then do something else. Afterwards, you can always write - or rest a bit more.


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Write on,
Evie