A plot is the Formula I racetrack on which you will run your story. While creating the plot on which your story will run, you have make sure it is as interesting as possible. A gripping beginning, twists, suspense, mystery, surprises, accidents, scheming, are all parts of a good plot. Your plot should have something new to offer. A story without novelty is as boring as a straight road.
Always choose a plot where there is plenty of scope for action. An old man is sitting on his wheelchair, watching television. That is not a charming beginning if you are not going to introduce another character soon. Maybe a thief is trying to get inside the house while the old man is watching T.V. Introduce action or the possibility of action soon after you begin your story. The reader is impatient.
Introduce conflictsConflicts create excitement and reveal our characters personalities. Build up tension by creating conflicts. Conflicts can be of five kinds:
Between two individuals
Between an individual and society Between an individual and nature Between nature and society
With himself
In an effort to produce highly dramatic writing, don’t forget that it should also be believable. If Susan jumps off her third floor flat one morning, the reader needs to know why. While developing your plot, ask the character, why. Why did you try to kill yourself? She might say that she cannot live without her husband who died a week ago. She will give you a reason. Listen to her. Include that detail before or after she jumps off the building. That will make the reader believe in your story.
Creativity implies that you maintain a balance between surprise and believability. To do that, surprises (if they come first) should be followed by reason (whys) and visa versa.While including information about the setting or characters into fiction, don’t fall into the trap of providing unnecessary details. Unnecessary details are those, which don’t move the plot forward, doesn’t help you visualize the setting or tell you something new about the characters. If a passage or a sentence is doing none of these three, cut it out for good. If your character is overtly religious and decides to become a nun, don’t write long paragraphs on her praying or talking about God. Instead, use actions, which show that she is swiftly getting obsessed with religion. She might weather a storm to go to church. She might sharply turn down Bret’s proposal for friendship. One fine day, she might throw away all her fancy dresses. These details not only move the plot forward, but also reveal the change in the character. Remember, tightness of plot will keep the readers glued to the story.
The structure of the plotThe clichéd but still largely employed structure of a plot is – the beginning, the climax and the end. Think of it as an arc.
In the beginning, you introduce the environment, the situation in which your characters are. It can be a classroom, a garden, the road, a car, room, office or any place with which you would like to start the story. You describe it through sight, sound, smell and touch.
You also introduce your characters, either through dialogue or narration. Your protagonist should have entered the story by now. He is the main person in your story and it is better that the readers get to know him from the very beginning. He might be alone, conversing with another character or at a party. It is not a good idea to introduce more than three characters in the first few pages. It becomes confusing and diverts the reader’s attention from what the author is trying to show. Create the plot in such a way that a character has enough time to imprint his image in the reader’s mind.
The beginning of a story should initiate a conflict. Remember the three witches in Macbeth. That scene started the conflict, which took us to the climax (the murder) and the resolution (the suicide of Lady Macbeth and the beheading of Macbeth).
Once you have established your characters, setting and situation, build up tension. Put the characters into situations, which will bring out the conflict. If Julia is torn between staying on with her husband and kids or moving to South Africa for a better career prospect; show that by putting her in situations which show her dilemma. Her husband and kids can throw a surprise party on her birthday even after she has told them that she has decided to go. Plot and character can do wonders for you if you use them in synchrony.
The end means just that. The End. By now, you have resolved the conflict through climax. After all, Julia decides to stay with her husband and kids. That’s the end, but you can’t leave the climax hanging in the air. You’ve got to wrap it up. Show what happiness Julia and her family is experiencing after her decision not to go. Maybe her husband can say that he knew all along that she wouldn’t go. Maybe she gets another offer of a high profile job in the same city. Just give the readers an idea of what will follow after you close your story. Even in an open ending, there is a hazy clue of what will follow. Readers like uncertainty, but not at the end of the story.