Novel Writing 101 -- Plot

I love to read books about writers and writing. I always wonder, "How do they do it?" "What's their schedule like?" "How do they juggle competing demands?"

So when NPR's Three Books was titled: Get That Book Deal, Three Books Tell You How, I was excited. Sarah Pekkanen suggested these titles: On Writing by Stephen King, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas and Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell.

Since I've already read and loved On Writing, I got the other two books.

The main thing I took away from Writing the Breakout Novel is that it requires hard work, perseverance and digging deep, deeper, deepest with character development and layered plotting during revisions.

Plot & Structure may not have the sexiest title, but James Scott Bell writes in the most accessible way. I feel like I'm sitting down with a good friend every time I open the book. A good friend who knows A LOT about writing.

I want to share one exercise in the book that I think will help clarify your novel's plot.

(From page 21 of Plot & Structure)

Fill in the blanks for your novel.

• My lead (main character) is a _______________.
• Her objective is to ________________________.
• She is confronted by ______________________ who oppose(s) her because __________________.
• The ending will be a knockout when _____________________.

According to the author, if you fill in the blanks, you'll have the skeleton for a solid novel.


What book about writing most inspires you?