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This week: Step two in becoming a better writer Edited by: Vivian  
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My last issue I talked about the first step in becoming a better writer - knowing the writing craft including knowing correct grammar, sentence structure, etc. This issue, we go to step 2: Fiction writing needs a plot.
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A Story Requires a Plot
A story without a plot is like bread without yeast: It is flat, a narrative, a scene, or a descriptive essay - not a story. Therefore to have a story (whether short story or novel), a writer needs to have a plot to make the framework of his/her story.
So what is a plot? A plot is the causal sequence of events, the why for things that happen. It can be broken down into four components, all which must be included:
1. Exposition - info needed to understand a story
2. Complication - catalyst that begins major conflict -- MUST have conflict
3. Climax - the turning point in story, complication resolved or solvency attempted
4. Resolution - events that bring the story to a close (and not just writing "The End")
Stories in the past had long paragraphs with detailed expository. Those stories told readers what happened. However, today's readers don't accept such writing. Pages of "telling" bore readers. Authors must grab the reader's attention and keep it throughout.
So how does an author develop a good plot, add leavening for a light, tasty loaf/story? Activity advances and enhances the plot, makes it work. Actions do speak louder than words, and especially in what people read.
A good writer uses/allows characters to "show" the story. No, that doesn't mean writing in first person, although a writer can. Characters showing the story means to write from the character's or characters' perspective. When writing in third person (the narrator is not a character in the story), an author can change perspective from one character to another from one scene or chapter to another.
Action, activity, showing from a character's or characters' perspective with all the components required for a plot builds a better story. Plot means a story that isn't flat.
Character development is directly connected to plot. Character movement and dialogue advance the plot without boring the reader. We will discuss this next time. |
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For Authors: November 20, 2012 Issue [#5371]
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