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    The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel
    The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel
    The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel

    By Cheryl Sterling

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Have you always wanted to write a book but didn’t know where to start?

    Don’t waste your life thinking about writing a book when you can do it!

    Are you ready to start writing a book?
    You’re at the right place.
    The Plot Thickens offers you myriad methods of plotting. Whether you are a published veteran or a writing novice, we present alternate methods of finding the best path to express and deliver the stuff pinging around in your head.
    After reading “The Plot Thickens” you will know:
    •How to write more efficiently whether you’re a plotter or a pantser
    •How to take the headache out of starting your novel
    •How to avoid sagging middles and lackluster endings
    •How to use your character’s Goal, Motivation and Conflict to drive the story
    •The secret of scene and sequel
    •How to use the Hero’s Journey to plot your novel
    •How our 19-1/2 step plotting worksheet can take you from page 1 to “the end”
    •Plus 14+ ways to help you plot your novel
    Are you ready to start writing your novel?
    If you have no idea of how to take the first step, if you can’t decide if writing is a dream come true or a nightmare (hint: sometimes it’s both), this book can help you decide which method works for you.
    Scroll to the top of the page and click the ‘buy’ button NOW and get one step closer to writing your book.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCheryl Sterling
    Release dateSep 13, 2016
    ISBN9781536547979
    The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel
    Author

    Cheryl Sterling

    Cheryl Sterling is an American author of several paranormal and contemporary romance novels and short stories. Cheryl is a co-founder and past president of Grand Rapids Region Writers Group in Grand Rapids, MI. She has conducted several workshops that focused on the writing craft and co-chaired their first “I’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book” regional conference. Her passion is learning and improving her craft, but mostly, she is a teacher. Cheryl currently lives in Phoenix with her husband.

    Read more from Cheryl Sterling

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      Book preview

      The Plot Thickens—21 Ways to Plot Your Novel - Cheryl Sterling

      The Plot Thickens

      21 Ways to Plot Your Novel

      by

      Cheryl Sterling

      And

      Jack C. Monroe

      Copyright 2016 Cheryl Sterling and Jack C. Monroe

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the online distributor and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors.

      Contact the authors at

      [email protected]

      [email protected]

      We dedicate this book to everyone who wants to write a book but can’t get started.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      How to Take the Headache Out of Starting Your Novel

      Now You Can Have a Riveting Book Without Sagging Middles and Lackluster Endings

      Don’t Plot Without Looking at Goal Motivation and Conflict

      Scene and Sequel

      Plotter or Pantser?

      How to use the Hero’s Journey to Plot

      Five Plot Elements Everyone Should Use

      Warning : Don’t Plot Until You Try the Index Card Method

      Why We Plot Backward

      19—1/2 Step Plotting Worksheet

      Stop Plotting Paralysis, Use A Central Premise

      Your Answer to Being Overwhelmed: The Snowflake Method

      If You Can Plot, You Can Subplot

      Quick Plotting Exercise

      Discover the Secret of the Five Whys

      Answered: Your Questions About The Three-Act Structure

      Answered: Your Questions About The Four-Act Structure

      Theme

      How to Build a Character Arc You Can Be Proud of

      Never Suffer From Plot Flaws Again

      Who Else Wants Some Random Plotting Exercises?

      Love It or Hate It, It’s Time to Outline

      Conclusion

      About the Authors

      Introduction

      There are thirty—two ways to tell a story but only one plot – things are not what they seem.

      -  Jim Thompson

      ––––––––

      THE PLOT THICKENS offers you, the writer, myriad methods of plotting. Whether you are a published veteran or a writing novice, we present alternate methods of finding the best path to express and deliver the stuff pinging around in your head, driving you crazy and alienating friends and family. Okay, maybe your case isn’t so severe, but the great idea that made you sit up one day and say, I’m going to write a book! can’t make itself a reality without a little guided, focused help.

      Do you write by the seat of your pants or outline like a crazed English teacher? We’ll examine each.

      To plot or not to plot – that is the question:

      Whether ‘tis nobler in the minds to suffer

      The slings and arrows of outrageous pantsing

      Or to take arms against the GMC of troubles

      And, by opposing, outline them.

      — Billy Rough Draft Shakespeare

      Do you write around a situation or let the characters lead? We’ll look at both.

      "Plot and character are intertwined. Take clues from your characters, they’ll drive the story."

      —Cheryl Sterling

      Is the three or four act structure your preferred method? How about centric plotting or using index cards?

      If you have no idea of how to take the first step, if you can’t decide if writing is a dream come true or a nightmare (hint: sometimes it’s both), the following chapters can help you decide which method works for you.

      Repeat: Which method works for you. There is no right, correct or perfect way to plot. Nor is there a wrong way, just what isn’t aligned with your best way of thinking. Sometimes, what works for one story won’t for another.

      Pick what works. Ignore the rest. Explore, and most of all, enjoy.

      Share. Evolve. Inspire. Write.

      —Cheryl Let’s make up stuff Sterling

      —Jack I have an idea Monroe

      How to Take the Headache Out of Starting Your Novel

      ––––––––

      Stop staring at that blinking curser and start your book. How? With a mind-blowing opening hook.

      Even if you’re new to writing, you know the importance of the opening hook. It grabs your reader’s attention and convinces him to buy. A good hook raises questions, piques curiosity, and draws the reader deeper into your story.

      Without a compelling, question-producing opening, they aren’t going to read further. You have a few sentences to make an impression. Nowadays, no one has the luxury of time. You have to hit them fast and hard.

      Your reader wants to be drawn into a believable world from word one. He expects to be entertained. Don’t disappoint him. Skip the protagonist sitting with a cup of coffee, contemplating the letter she received from dear Aunt Sally. Jump her right into the story – Aunt Sally died, but collecting the inheritance means quitting the job your protagonist loves and moving back to the town that gave her heartache.

      Conversely, don’t plunge the reader so quickly into the story with a one-line exclamation from the protagonist. The reader has no context in which to place it. It’s a cheap device that’s been overused.

      Instead, start where the protagonist’s problem begins, raise questions that intrigue the reader, and filter in back-story later.

      What is a hook? It’s a device to catch the reader’s attention and pull him into the story.

      A hook prepares the reader for what’s ahead—the immediate future of a character and introduces the conflict. It sets the mood and style and gives the setting—all the elements of who, what, why, when, where and how.

      Who is the story about?

      A penniless orphan? A struggling housewife? A wizard? Whomever you’ve chosen as the protagonist has to strike a cord with your reader. They need to quickly identify with him and his problem.

      What is the story about?

      On a quest to tighten the household budget, Maddie Nash examined her husband’s current bill for hidden charges. Instead, she found a number repeated thirty-seven times. When she called it, a woman answered.

      The story now has a what —alleged infidelity. How will Maddie respond to her unexpected find? Will she confront her husband? Another layer of curiosity is added to the reader’s expectations.

      Why is the story worth reading?

      What’s changed or unique? What’s about to change? Throw the reader a curve to intrigue them to read on.

      Charlie turned the key to her parents’ back door, and walked in on them making love on the kitchen table.

      Charlie is traditionally a man’s name, so the author has introduced the unanticipated. So is the fact of Charlie walking in on her parents making love. The author has set up many questions the reader will pursue by reading further.

      Where is the story set?

      In London? The moon? A suburban living room? You are creating a world for the reader to step into. Give them a sense of where they are and let them suspend belief.

      The air exploded with a violent crack of energy.

      Ned Archer swung toward Navy Pier, less than a mile away. His gaze scraped across the Chicago skyline, but the Willis Tower and the Hancock stood erect, and no smoke billowed from any of the other buildings.

      The reader knows the location—Chicago, within sight of its famous Navy Pier. An

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