How to Write a Novel: Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Plotting and Structure

An author changes the plot and restructures it as the novel evolves, combining it with twists and turns that makes the reader curious to know what happens next. But before you dwell further, you need to the rough idea on how your story is going to progress. You will have to draw and redraw the plots numerous times until you have a good plot in your hand. You must have come across the basic plots thru reading. Here are bones of some basic plots that can be found in almost all novels, and all best-selling novels have at least 4 plots.

1. The Rags to Riches story or the vice versa (Cinderella)
2. Love – Finding love, losing love (A Walk to Remember)
3. Reform – A thief reforming, how an innocent child becomes a monster, superhuman, becoming a superhero, passing of ages-childhood to adults. (Superman, Batman)
4. Wrath – How the earth is saved from a disaster, how the world fell prey to a virus (28 weeks later).
5. Good v/s Bad – How the cop caught the mafia gang (lord of the rings, harry potter) etc.
6. Stranger – Someone comes to visit, an alien story.
7. Journey – The happenings on a journey or a quest. (Pirates of the Caribbean)

These are the basic plots that you will come across in most of the novels, but they could vary. The shift in the storylines or plots is the most important, they should be written in such a way that it arouse a sense of curiosity in the reader.

Structure is the order in which the story is told. It could be the chronological order in which a boy grows, or backwards like a flashback of an insane. A structure can also be thorough conflicted points of views cross linked with well defined sequences of comedy, tragedy, action with contrasts in pace and tension. The reader should read from the beginning to the end thru corridors of emotions, always asking questions “why”?

Divide your story into chapters, divide in such a way that the story is somewhere in between the action and a reaction, so that the reader will be curious to get to the next chapter and know what happened. You can never sit and write a complete novel, but you can sit and write a 10-page chapter, it’s not difficult; all you need is the patience to try different angles, some twists and turns. Once you have a rough draft, you need to edit and re-edit it to reveal weaknesses and correct them.

Discover your own structures that you find will do well in your novel, else you can take any of your favorite books and read it with a critic’s eye and find out the structure, the weaknesses and various ways to correct them.The most common structure used in almost all novels is as follows.

1. The initiation – that which gets the reader going.
2. The Tension, protagonist’s actions to crack the spine of the book and that of the reader
3. The major problem – the most important structure of the book, should be well defined.
4. The crisis – inter-connected problems, emergencies, trouble and the protagonist’s is in a juncture between devil and sea
5. Revelation – the revelation of the intensions behind the scene.
6. Climax – the most interesting part of the book where the reader stands on his toes.
7. The end – the things are back to normal, or how the things have changed.

These are just the basic key points, its all upon you and your obsession, but you may take these to diagnose your book and tackle the weaknesses.

The most fundamental preparation to write a novel is to read, read and read. Read with a critic’s eye and understand the various themes, plots and structures used how the characters are created and revealed, the change in viewing angles, the voices, the language and how they have developed their work so perfectly. This is most important exercise that you need to get going from page one to the very end. The more you read, the more you’ll understand and the more knowledge you’ll have to invent tools that will help you in the long run.

Hope this helped. I will be publsihing more useful tips and exercises in my next article on how to write a novel: chapter three: narrative voices. So don’t forget to read it.

How to Write a Novel: Chapter ONE

How to Write a Novel: Chapter THREE

                                                                                                                                               Ronne