Great plots, whether a mystery, romance, or action thriller, are often described as like onions. There's a problem. Oops, remove a layer -- and it's worse. Oops, remove another layer -- it's even worse than that! Oops, remove layer -- this can't get any worse... and then you remove another layer and it does!
But how do you write a plot like that? It's harder than it looks!
When I first tried to learn how to write computer software, I was awful. I couldn't program my way out of a wet paper bag. Software development is essentially being presented with a problem you're trying to solve. I know the problem -- how do I get to the solution?
Just like writing a plot that peals away layer by layer. Impossible!
Turns out, there's a way to make both software development and plotting easier. It's the same approach you might use to solve one of those maze puzzles. Just start at the end. Start with the solution.
What is your happily ever after for your plot? (Assuming it's not a tragedy...) Once you know that, what's the worst thing that could happen to foil that HEA? Once you know that, what might have happened immediately prior to cause that worst thing? Is that cause itself a not-so-worst-thing problem? What caused that not-so-worst problem? Are there a couple possibilities? You can red-herring one and then reveal the other. What caused the red herring? What caused the real issue? Are any of these causes a secret?
It's more a framework, a way of thinking, than an algorithm or formula, but it does make it easier to construct those plot onions without so many tears.
Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing
wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular
order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.
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