Somewhere along the way of writing your story, you will need a plot. The plot is the glue that brings everything else together: characterization, voice, setting and style. Without a plot, you do not have a story.
Here are five things to consider when minding your plot:
- Conflict – There is nothing a reader loves more than a character who is faced with a conflict, struggle or dilemma. Or something that needs to be overcome. As readers we want someone to root for. We want to follow them on their quest, whatever that might be: falling in love, moving to a different place or seeking buried treasure and all the difficulties they meet along the way.
- Growth – Over the arc of the book, your character hopefully will experience some personal growth as a result of the plot or at the very least have a clear revelation of themselves because of the plot by the end of the book.
- Pacing – It is important to pace your book correctly. Although you need to supply the reader with information, you can drip feed it throughout your story to keep it suspenseful. All books, regardless of genre are suspenseful in the fact that the reader keeps turning the page in an effort to find out what happens in the story.
- Sub-plots – These are the minor stories within the main story that not only support the main plot but tie into it as well.
- Final Resolution – This is the last portion of the book where all questions are answered and all answers are revealed. Leave no stone unturned and no loose threads, everything needs to be resolved by the last page, unless of course, you are writing a series.
All stories are boiled down to a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is your plot that will bring your reader from one section to another and a good plot will do it seamlessly.
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