Now that you have your character, it’s time to build your Plot:
There are 3 functions to storytelling:
1. Entertainment
2. Escape from a difficult world
3. To understand, life, God, each other, ourselves.
However, the plot is the way we experience these functions, whether it’s a horror story, a romance, a mystery or a historical suspense. However, all plots have the same basic elements. Because I’m a gal who loves lists, I’ve come up with an acrostic to help you keep your plot straight. (And because I like to dance, it’s a dance term!)
The Lindy Hop
Act 1: Lindy Hop
1. Life or Normal World – This is the world in which your character normally lives. His/Her challenges, their status quo. Sometimes this is a chapter long, maybe longer, although more and more, it’s shortening to the first few pages. It gives us a glimpse of their regular life. You need this starting place so the reader can see the changes your character will make along the way.
2. Inciting incident – Something happens. Some writing classes call it the trigger, or ignition. But it’s the first blip in their world, big or small, that will change it and set them on the course of their journey.
3. Noble Quest – The effect of the inciting incident is to start a quest – In the case of an unpleasant inciting incident, the quest is to return to normal world. In a positive inciting incident, the quest is to increase that pleasure.
Act 2:
4. Disappointments! – These are the obstacles they encounter, the conflicts; even positive things that happen that cause a rumple in the advancement of the plot. It may be revelation of information, or because of a choice, or because of outside forces. The Dissappointment must contain two elements:
a. Unexpectedness – (But don’t foreshadow the surprise too much, or you will disappoint your reader.)
b. Plausibility – (Aka, it has to be in the bounds of credibility.)
5. Y in the Road — These Disappointments lead to a choice, a “What am I going to do now?” moment. Every character reaches a point where they have to make a choice about their actions. Do they quit? Is it worth the cost? Do they go forward? Often, the best stories include two equally worthy choices, and the characters are forced to choose between external goals and internal goals…which we’ll get to. Their choice, however, will spark new conflicts and at some point their reach the point of no return.
a. Consequences – A plot must allow for a characters choices, and then consequences – preferably worse – for each choice, so it seems that it leads to only the darkest point. We’ll be talking about character desires and how a character makes these choices in the second half of this class.
b. Surprises and Choices can continue in the middle act of the story as needed, each one testing the character’s mettle more and more.
Act 3:
6. HELP! Climax – This is the final challenge, the event that the book has been building to. The character’s goal is usually in jeopardy, and everything he/she’s worked for at stake. This is also called the Black moment – where everything seems that it can’t get any worse.
7. Overhaul — This is the change/epiphany that occurs in the character, something internal that leads to an external change. It is alway something that redefines them, something logical that is derived from the journey.
8. Perfect ending Resolution – the new status quo, the new normal.
To sum up, this is the overview of the Lindy Hope (or good plot structure):
Life – Once upon a time
Inciting Incident – Something out of the ordinary happens
Noble Quest – Causing the protagonist to seek something
Disappointment – But things don’t go as expected
Y in the Road – Forcing the protagonist to make a difficult decision
Help! – Which has consequences
Overhaul – The result in which is a change of status
Perfect Ending And they all lived happily ever after (or didn’t)
The plotting is the most challenging part of writing. If you need more help, try: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!
Tomorrow, start building Storyworld with Step 5!
Write On!
Susie May
