I've written stories like this...we probably all have. I hit a point in my book where I wondered why I started the story in the first place. My problem was that I didn't think of my book as a series of scenes, and that was a structure issue that lead to more problems down the road.
Because I am a total computer nerd, I sought help from other blogs about writing. There are some great resources out there to help with story structure and pacing. Its important to find the one that fits with your style and method of writing.
My favorite approach is found at Randy Ingermanson's Advanced Fiction Writing website. In it, he describes the basic structure of a scene and its purpose. I will try to paraphrase it below, but I urge to check out his website for a more detailed explanation.
In Randy's approach, you try to imagine the scenes in your book strung together like beads on a chain. The chain in its entirety is the plot. Your character has to hop from one bead to the next in a logical, timely, and interesting way or you lose the reader. To do that, each scene can have only one of two reasons for being there: either the scene pushes the story forward, or it shows how the character reacts to the plot point you just revealed.
Thats it. Anything else just eats up time and patience. You don't want your reader wondering why you're taking the time to describe your MC's morning routine. Toothbrushing isn't fascinating in real life. It won't be on the page.
Easy right? Well the beads, or scenes, have to have structure in themselves.
The plot-pusher bead has three parts:
- There has to be a reason for your character to be in the scene - a conversation, action sequence, internal monologue, etc.
- Something that goes wrong or gets in the way of what they wanted to accomplish in the scene - get information, compel someone into action, stop a disaster, etc.
- The outcome - disaster, disappointment, confusion, danger, etc. This propels the character into the next scene as they react to what just occured.
- Your character changes because of what just happened - either their thinking, their goal, their motivation, etc.
- A new conflict shows up - how do they deal with what just happened or learned?
- They form a plan and act on it - this leads them to the next scene and provides you with a cliff hanger or hook into your next chapter.
With a novel, time is a commodity. The clock is ticking down on your reader's patience. To incorporate all the elements of a story: set up, conflict, back story, worse conflict, red herring, climax and ending...you have to move along at the right pace. Too fast, and the story reads like a frantic, jumbled race. Too slow, and your book gets put down halfway through. What about you? How do you structure your book? Do you have an outcome in your head and work backwards? Are you more of a 'see where it goes' type of person? How do you keep your story on track?
Oh! And don't forget to read the great entries for the Character Interview Contest tomorrow at Echoes of a Wayward Mind. Great idea, Sangu!
Until next time, my friends, Go Write!
Photograph by mshades. Photograph by horiavarlan. Photograph by sk_vel.