Write Great Fiction--Plot & Structure

by James Scott Bell

  So important is the back cover copy to your plotting — it is the very least you should have before you when you begin to write — that I’ve created a worksheet found in Appendix B for your own use.

  Now you’re ready for the next step — employing a plotting system.

  A SYSTEM FOR NOPS

  You may think that if you are a pure NOP, there is no such thing as a plotting system.

  Not necessarily. In fact, you will benefit greatly by going at your wild flights of literary genius with a little bit of good old left-brain discipline.

  Don’t worry, you will be allowed all the freedom and joy of creation you desire. But you’ll be happy in the long run that you added a little order to your creative chaos.

  [1] Set yourself a writing quota. Each day you write — and preferably that is every day — you should not leave your writing desk until you have completed your quota. The magic number for many writers seems to be one thousand words. You’ll have to find the number that works best for you. Frankly, that is easier for those of you who are pure NOPs because you are discovering your writing as you go along and as it pours out of you.

  In fact, writing quickly is the best way for a NOP to go. What you love is getting those wonderful, stream-of-consciousness words flowing out of your flying fingers.

  Further, you may want to attempt to write first thing in the morning, in order to take advantage of what author Dorothea Brande called the “unconscious on the ascendant.” Those first images in your mind as it emerges from sleep into the conscious state are gold.

  So you do your quota, and if it’s going good, you press on and do more. You have fun; you let your characters tell the story.

  Can you go on and finish a whole novel this way? Certainly, but you will have a lot of rewriting and rethinking to do. That’s all right. Some writers like to do it that way.

  The Nifty 350

  I like a kick start in the morning. For my body it is the medium of the coffee bean. For my writing it is 350 words knocked out before I do just about anything else.

  There are any number of things I can do besides write. If I don’t watch it, my day can fill quickly with little tasks, distractions, interruptions, phone calls and crises of various magnitudes.

  But if I set down those “nifty 350” early on, I find I am immediately motivated to do more. Often I’ll press on and get even closer to my quota. Even if I stop at 350, I still feel good because I’ve got those words under my belt, and finishing up my quota later on doesn’t seem so daunting.

  [2] Begin your writing day by rereading what you wrote the day before.

  I recommend you read your previous day’s work in hard copy. You are not to make major changes at this time; you can only clean up minor things or add to what you have written.

  Here’s how you add. When you reach a place in the previous day’s pages where you want to add something, put a letter with a circle around it. Start with the letter A. You may have an A and a B and a C. (This, by the way, is a Natalie Goldberg idea.)

  Now begin your new writing by doing the added portions. For example, you’re writing a story about growing up in Los Angeles. You decide that in the section describing your street you want to add something about a creepy neighbor who lives around the block. You have placed an A where you want this copy to be inserted.

  Write about the creepy neighbor. Let yourself go. This section could be one paragraph or it could turn into an entire chapter. When you’re done with it, cut and paste it into the master document. Or you may not want to add anything to your previous day’s work, and that’s fine. After reading it over, begin writing today’s pages.

  [3] One day per week, record your plot journey. Take time to record what you have done using a plot grid. What you are doing is, using Ray Bradbury’s terms, recording the characters’ footprints in the snow. This will be incredibly useful to you later on.

  You also use this grid to record dates and times so you know at a glance how your plot is stacking up logically.

  There you have it. That wasn’t so painful, was it? Be glad. You are still a NOP. Now you can use the plotting suggestions in the rest of this book to make what you have in front of you that much stronger. It’s a win-win situation.

  SYSTEMS FOR OPS

  There are as many ways to outline as there are writers. Most working Ops develop their own systems over the years, picking and choosing from what other writers do.

  I’ve written novels every which way, from NOP to OP and in between. So I feel qualified to offer a selection of systems for you to choose from. Try them out. See what works for you. That’s the way to go and grow.

  Index Card System

  Writers have been using index cards since index cards were invented. I suppose they used slips of paper before that. Blaise Pascal, the great genius of the seventeenth century, was planning to write a huge treatise in defense of Christianity. He kept his notes on pieces of paper tied up in little bundles. He died before he could start his magnum opus, but his notes were published as the Pensées, one of the great books of the Western world.

  So index cards may be just right for you.

  There are software programs that simulate index cards and allow you to manipulate them on the screen. Some writers find it a little too constricting, however, to be bound by the parameters of a computer monitor.

  Personally I like the feel of the cards in my hands. I can take them with me anywhere. (There’s nothing wrong with being a bit of a Luddite when it comes to writing.)

  With index cards, you can then spread them out before you on the floor, pin them to a big corkboard, or do whatever else you want to do with them. Cards can be easily switched around or thrown away. You can put them in your pocket and work on them while you’re sipping your morning coffee at the local cafe. If inspiration hits you while you’re in the shower, you can towel off and jot a note on an index card, and throw it on the pile.

  Flexibility is the key with index cards, and if you tend to be somewhat more right-brained most of the time, index cards are a great way to harness your frequent bursts of genius. Later, with the help of your left brain, you can lay out a solid story.

  Beginning stages

  You can begin your scene cards at any point in the planning process. Perhaps you want to do some work on your LOCK elements or your characters. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you create a stack of scene ideas and then arrange them for structure.

  Here is one suggested method. Spend a few hours coming up with vivid scenes in your mind and recording these scenes on index cards. You don’t have to do this all in one sitting. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. You’ll find as you start collecting scenes that your writer-mind will work in the background, and when you come back to the cards, you’ll have ideas bubbling up to the surface that will be exciting to you.

  A scene card can be as simple as this:

  Monica drives to John’s house; chased by bikers. Saved by Fireman Dan.

  Carry around blank index cards in an envelope or small file pocket. When you have some free time or scheduled creative time, take out the stack and start writing scene ideas.

  Don’t think about structure yet. You’ll come up with scenes in random order. Just let your mind play.

  And don’t think about what scenes you’ll keep. Later you’ll toss out the ones that don’t work (only don’t toss them out for good; put them in a discard pile because you may want to come back to them at some point).

  On the previous page, there’s an example of a fairly simple scene card. You also can make them more formal, with a setting as the key indicator:

  STARBUCKS

  Bill confronts Stan about Monica.

  Fight.

  Ex-Green Bay Packer Lyle throws Bill and Stan through window.

  Ending First

  Eventually, you’ll have a stack of scenes. You’ve done your LOCK work and written the back cover copy. You’re ready to start getting serious about structure.

  Think a
bout your ending. You should have a possible climactic scene in mind. Perhaps all you know is that you want your Lead to win in a big way and you want a certain kind of resonance. Fine. Put that down on a card. This will be your last, or next-to-last scene card. Give it as much detail as you’re comfortable with.

  The point is to have something to shoot for.

  Major Scenes

  Now spend some time thinking about the major scenes that your plot will require. You will no doubt have in mind a number of these. They may be less than fully formed, but you have a feeling about them. Give them as much detail as possible, but don’t sweat it.

  Come up with a gripping opening scene (if you haven’t already), and put that on a card.

  Then figure out the disturbance, and put that on a card.

  Next, create the doorway of no return that leads into Act II, and the second doorway that leads into Act III.

  The Layout

  You are now ready to lay out your cards for the first time. Use the floor or a large table or wherever else you’re comfortable being the hovering god over your story.

  Put your opening scene card on the left, and your climactic scene card on the right. Put the disturbance card near the opening, and the first doorway a bit after that. Put the second doorway card near the end.

  Now fill in your story in between. Space out your big scenes in the most logical order, usually meaning that the scenes grow progressively more intense as you move toward that last card.

  If there seems to be a gap between scenes, space that needs filling, put a blank card or cards there. Try to get a feel for the rhythm of the story this way.

  You should be getting an idea of the big picture now. Your plot will begin to feel like a cohesive whole.

  Playing Around

  Play with these cards for at least a week. Add scenes and take scenes out. If you have the sense that a certain scene is going to go in a certain place, but you’re not sure yet what the details will be, put a blank card there. Maybe you want to have a reaction scene following some intense action. You can write “Reaction scene” and move on.

  That’s the beauty of the index card system.

  You can get even fancier. If your plot involves multiple leads or numerous subplots, each of these can be recorded on different colored cards. Or you can get sticky notes of different colors to put on the cards as codes. You can lay out the cards by color in straight lines, so the plots all run parallel to each other. Then, from above, you can integrate the different cards at different points in a single line, and there is your master plot.

  Or you can put your cards out in a plotline and character line. The plotline records the action, and a character line records what’s going on inside the character along the way. You can then create a nice character arc for your story.

  Once you’ve got a pretty solid order, number the cards in pencil. Then you can get them back in order after you shuffle the cards!

  That’s right. Shuffle them like a Vegas poker deck. This is a cool idea from Robert Kernan’s excellent Building Better Plots. Now go through the cards two at a time in this random order.

  What you’re looking for are new connections between plot elements, some fresh perspectives on the story. You may then want to revise your structure accordingly.

  There are variations upon the index card system. One writer friend of mine, a very successful novelist, takes a long section of butcher paper and along the top puts down the various beats of the three-act structure and hero’s journey. She makes a long column out of each of these beats. Then she gets different colored Post-It notes, representing her major characters, and records scenes on these. She then sticks them on the paper until it becomes a symphony of colors.

  At the end of the day, she rolls up the butcher paper and places it in a tube that is usually used to hold large maps. This tube has a strap so she can carry it over her shoulder. When she wants to work on it again, out it comes, unrolling in all its glory.

  Writing It

  Finally, you begin writing, scene by scene. I suggest that after each group of three or four scenes, you lay out your cards again. New ideas and twists may come to you. Create new cards if you want. Rearrange others. Add to what you’ve written on the cards.

  It’s all up to you. You’ll find this system highly flexible and creative.

  The Headlights System

  I believe it was E.L. Doctorow who compared his plotting to driving at night with the headlights on. You have an idea as to your direction, but you can see only as far as the headlights. When you drive to that point you can see a little farther. And so on, until you reach your destination.

  In other words, you can outline as you roll along. And why not? Nothing in the writers’ rule book — even the OP’s rule book — says you have to outline completely before you begin writing. In fact, even for an OP, that may not be the way to go.

  Why not? Because there is so much you discover about your story and characters as you write that it is sometimes best not to have a comprehensive outline chiseled in stone. That might cause you to resist the fresh material that has come up and get back to your preset ideas.

  With the headlights system, you don’t face that tendency. Here’s how it can work.

  Begin your journey, as always, with the LOCK system and back cover copy. You should have an idea of where you want to end up. That would be the final chapter. What sort of feeling are you going for? It can be vague and may even change radically, but it’s always nice to start a journey with a destination in mind.

  Using scene dynamics (see chapter seven) and the principles for starting off strong (chapter three), write your opening chapter.

  When you get to the end of the chapter, immediately jot down your ideas for the next few chapters.

  You should have plenty of story material cooking in your mind at this point. Now look at what your headlights see up ahead.

  Generate scene ideas by asking the following questions:

  What is my character’s emotional state at the end of the scene? How will he react in the next scene?

  What is the next action my character needs to take?

  What strong scene up ahead needs transitional scenes before it?

  Do I need to add any new characters? Has a character in the scene I’ve just written suggested other plot developments?

  Your notes can be as full or as scanty as suits your preference. For example, let’s say you’ve written an opening to your coming-of-age story, which has your lead character, a teenager named Sally, moving into a new house in a new town. At the end of the chapter, she sneaks a peek out her bedroom window and sees a boy from across the street staring at her.

  Now what? You write the following:

  Chapter 2: Next day, Sally walks to store where she sees the boy again. He tries to talk to her. She runs away.

  Chapter 3: That night, Sally’s father lectures her on how to make friends. They don’t communicate well. Blow up.

  Chapter 4: Monday. First day at new school. Sally is harassed by a jerk. The mystery boy saves her.

  And there you have your outline for the next few scenes. If you want to flesh out the scenes a little more before writing them, go ahead. For example:

  Chapter 2: Next day. Raining. Sally walks to the store to get some school supplies. She is at once enchanted by and somewhat afraid of her new environment. There are contrasting images of beautiful gardens and rundown homes, of fresh smells and the odor of dirty, wet streets. She thinks about her friends back in Connecticut. At the store, she is about to grab some notebook paper when she sees the boy. Once again, he’s staring at her, this time with a smile on his face. He comes toward her. Frightened for some reason, Sally tries to get out of the store, bumping into people, etc. She is sure she’s being stalked.

  That’s how, step by step, you both discover and outline your novel. You drive as far as your headlights allow. Enjoy the ride!

  The Narrative Outline

  Some very successful writers, like
Ken Follett, create long narrative outlines for their books. This is also called a treatment. It can run between twenty and forty pages, maybe more.

  The narrative outline is written in the present tense. It can include a bit of dialogue, but only what is crucial to the story. What you’re trying to create is a large canvas overview of the story.

  Here is what a treatment might look like:

  Randy Miller is a big man at Taft High School. He is the star of the football team and hangs around with all the right people.

  So why should a scrawny little guy like Bob be of any interest to him? Because Bob is teased mercilessly by the bigger guys, yet seems to have a serene way of taking it. There is a serenity inside Bob that Randy wishes he could figure out.

  Randy would like to talk to him, but doing so would be socially unacceptable — uncool! There is a real class system at school. This is especially evident at lunch time. There is only one cool table, where Randy and friends sit; and one definite outcast table where Bob sits, often alone.

  One day Randy observes as his buddies pull down Bob’s pants and stick him head first in a garbage can. As Bob struggles out amidst the laughter all around, Randy just shakes his head at him.“Man, you are such a dweeb. Why don’t you stop being dweeby?”

  “What do you mean?” Bob says.

  “Everybody’s got potential. You want me to teach you?”

  Bob doesn’t answer, and Randy just waves him off as a lost cause.

  Meanwhile, Randy is struggling in American Lit, taught by the tough Mrs. Agnes. Tough because she cares about these kids, and will not let them just skate by. She tries to bring out of every student deeper insights than they otherwise have, through poetry and books. Bob does well in this class …