Structuring Your Novel, Part 2
Much of this blog post draws on Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks. I read, highlighted, outlined, and typed notes on what I learned. After some time passed, I revisited the book, and, like most books on writing craft, it revealed deeper levels of understanding with each revisit. As I trudge along in my writing endeavors, each time I plot a novel and revisit this reference book, I tend to learn and grow even more.
Please read "How to Begin Your Novel": https://www.amnielsen-author.com/post/how-to-begin-your-novel
Opening scene:
Define the status quo, or the hero’s normal world.
The writer establishes POV, protagonist, theme, setting, and tone; defines the protagonist’s misbelief (what he thinks he wants, and what feeds it); and what he needs, the opposite of the misbelief, the truth he must learn and accept.
Establishes the stakes if he doesn’t get what he wants.
May or may not deliver the inciting incident, the first external event in a series of plot events that forces the character’s internal arc or flips the misbelief into truth.
Tom is a second son, turned heir, and a drunkard. He wants to eschew responsibility and party. He attends a ball with his fiancé and pisses in a potted plant. She is mortified and can’t believe she is saddled with him. She was previously betrothed to his upstanding, now-dead older brother, Patrick. Tom believes a man should eschew responsibility and party to live well. By the end of the novel, this misbelief must be reversed to show that a man must embrace responsibility to foster self-respect, which, in turn, helps him earn the love and respect of others.
What is your opening scene? Who is your protagonist? What misbelief does your character hold at the start? What desire or goal sustains that misbelief? What is the opposite of that misbelief? What truth must your character learn?
Hook, often referred to as the inciting incident:
Occurs within the first 10%, usually within the first 20 pages.
Hooks the reader; something disrupts the status quo and shifts the protagonist’s focus and goals; a question is posed, compelling the reader to seek the answer.
Note: the inciting incident is the first domino in a chain of external events that drive the protagonist toward an internal change, a flip from his/her misbelief to the truth.
Tom’s father has a stroke. The family has no leader, no one to make decisions about the estate. Tom must step up and get them through this difficult time. Tom’s desire to maintain his party lifestyle is threatened.
What is the first external plot event, the first domino that falls and threatens your protagonist’s misbelief or want? What event disrupts the status quo and launches your protagonist’s journey toward inner change?
The setup, the first 25%, part 1, the hero as an orphan.
Introduce the hero, provide first-dimension characterization (surface quirks, traits, habits, and physical characteristics), and hint at second-dimension characterization (the reasons behind choices and behaviors).
Provide backstory relevant to the hero’s quest; it must engage the reader, establish empathy, and explain why the protagonist clings to his misbelief.
Set up the plot, establish the stakes, and foreshadow upcoming conflict.
Remember, in this section, decisions and reactions come from a character who has not yet changed or evolved. He still holds onto his misbelief.
Establish the stakes for the hero: what he will lose if he fails to learn his lesson.
In the first 25%, deliver wall-to-wall foreshadowing. This is the time for foreshadowing.
The five missions of part 1:
1. Deliver a killer hook within the first 20 pages. Something visceral, sensual, and emotionally resonant that promises an intense, rewarding experience. Pose a question the reader must have answered.
Tom’s father had a stroke. The family needs him to be responsible. Will he become the responsible family leader they need, or will he fail and leave them destitute?
2. Intro hero. Establish him, his dreams, and his goals before the first plot point; show the hero's frustrated plans to win reader empathy; and give the reader a sense of his inner demons.
Tom’s older brother, Patrick, died in the Napoleonic Wars, and Tom came to believe that dedication and responsibility get you killed. He feels guilty for taking his brother’s place as heir and for taking over his betrothed. He sees no reason to take responsibility, marry, or take over his family estate. Look what responsibility did to Patrick. Besides, he is nowhere near as capable as Patrick was. He cannot fill Pat’s shoes. No one can. Tom feels guilty for being alive. He mourns his brother. Readers empathize with Tom. They care about him and his pain.
3. Establish stakes
If Tom doesn’t pull his head out of his ass, his family’s solvency, his betrothal, and his self-respect are at stake.
4. Foreshadow events to come
The girl, Emma, thinks he’s a drunken ass. She loves him—always has—but she can’t risk marrying him and jeopardizing her future. She's considering ending their betrothal and exploring other marriage options. His friend John will always be a dissolute drunk, a negative influence, a Phaeton racer, and a gambler. Tom’s mother fears Tom will never measure up, can’t stand being near him, and plans to move with Tom’s sister and failing father to a smaller country estate.
5. Prepare for the launch of the first plot point. The writer builds from the opening toward the first plot point, the first door of no return, which occurs at the 25% mark. The author’s guideposts are from the opening to the inciting incident, then from the inciting incident to the first plot point. What needs to happen between the inciting incident and the first plot point for your narrative to make sense? Build that bridge.
First Plot Point at 25%: a door of no return; the protagonist shifts from orphan to RESPONDER at the first plot point; his journey begins. There is no turning back.
The first plot point (FPP) is where plot and characterization collide. An outside force changes the hero’s goals forever, gives the hero his marching orders, and leaves no option to turn back. It brings irrevocable change and gives the hero and reader the first full view of the antagonistic force. The author not only describes an external event in blow-by-blow detail but also ensures it has thematic meaning for the hero and his quest. The FPP must push the protagonist toward inner change. Your story and character arc must move logically from one guidepost to the next, from FPP to Midpoint Mirror Moment (MMM).
Tom, drunk, gets into a phaeton accident. His sister, who was with him, is knocked unconscious and remains so for an interminable time. His mother cannot look at him. His father has been failing for some time, and the family’s finances are far worse than Tom imagined. They face losing their ancestral home. Both his sister and his father need costly medical care.
At the first plot point, something happens that thrusts your character through a door of no return. There will be no turning back. The protagonist will begin a journey of self-discovery. Returning to the ordinary world is NOT an option. What happens to your character here, and what does it mean thematically?
From 25-50%, part 2: The hero responds to the first plot point and is typically unhappy with the new situation; a wanderer; every scene is a response to the first plot point: decision, indecision, launching a new quest, running, hiding, questioning, analyzing, observing, planning, fearing, and doubting; Do NOT have the hero take action to save the day; it’s too early for that.
Tom drinks, worries about his sister, feels guilty about drinking, tries to stop, wants to stop, but can’t seem to stop. He wonders what his brother would think of him, tries to hide his alcoholism from Emma, hates himself for desiring Emma, wants to get closer to her, yet feels ashamed when he does. He needs to learn to run the estate and fears for his mother, father, sister, and family. The guilt that he lived and Patrick died weighs him down. The shame of his addiction weighs him down. The desire for a woman who should have been Patrick’s eats at him.
How will you bridge the gap between the first plot point and the midpoint mirror moment? The span between indecision and action?
The first pinch point occurs at 3/8ths, or 37.5%, precisely in the middle of part 2; the reader (and sometimes the hero) looks into the antagonist’s eyes and understands the power of the opposition’s desire
Midpoint at 50%: An external event triggers a context-shifting midpoint. The hero looks in the mirror and asks himself whether his initial misbelief is wrong and whether the truth is the way to go. Something kicks the hero in the butt; he thinks he has things figured out, makes a plan, and starts acting, shifting from indecision to action. A midpoint catalyst empowers him to question his misbelief and act toward the truth. These actions set up the climactic sequence, the showdown that leads to inner change at the end.
Emma ends her engagement to Tom. She tells him she cannot marry a man who shows so little respect for himself or others. She will marry Edward, Tom’s rival.
Something shifts the character from indecision to action. Something big happens, forcing the character to question his misbelief. This is the fulcrum. The teeter-totter has tipped to straight, and the story will now tilt from misbelief toward truth in the second half. What event could be powerful enough to make your hero question his misbelief?
50% - 75%, part 3: The hero in action is a warrior, proactive, ingenious, and courageous, attacking obstacles; a new awareness makes the hero’s recognition of the truth plausible; the hero evolves from an undecided wanderer to a proactive warrior; this is where the hero confronts his inner demon as well.
Tom gives up drinking and decides that Patrick would have wanted him to be responsible, marry, and care for Emma. He can’t let her marry Edward. Edward is a twat. He meets with the estate manager to restore the family’s solvency and with the doctor to determine the best recovery plans for his sister and father. He has a heartfelt conversation with his mother. He woos Emma and tries to win her back. He avoids John.
What actions must your hero take? What actions will lead to the climactic sequence, when everything is revealed? What will logically shift your hero from warrior to martyr?
Second pinch point at 5/8ths (62.5%), the midpoint of part 3: the reader (and sometimes the hero) looks into the antagonist’s eyes and understands the power of the opposition’s desire
Second plot point at 75%: An event occurs that changes the hero’s perspective forever, and he steps through another door of no return, heading toward the climax; the final chase scene begins; no more foreshadowing or new information can enter the story after this point; the hero shifts from a warrior to a martyr-like, sacrificial champion; usually, there is a lull right before the final chase scene.
John coerces Tom into attending a ball. It’s Emma and Edward’s engagement ball. Tom goes, is tempted to drink, holds a drink, lifts it to his lips, and is crushed to learn that Emma has thrown him over for another. He begs her to take him back. She says she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Is his sobriety temporary? Is his desire to be responsible fleeting? How can she risk it?
Resolution at 75-100%, part 4: The third dimension of characterization is revealed: the character’s moral compass, his heart and soul. When no one is looking, does he race into a burning building to save a kitten? No new information enters the story here; by the end, all loose ends are tied up, all questions answered, and the hero is a martyr. The hero must be the primary catalyst for the resolution; he is willing to die to save others. His misbelief must be overturned, and he must show awareness of, and ownership of, an indelible truth. A new status quo is established, and if your story is a positive character arc, the new status is the hero living w/o the misbelief, living in the glory of the truth, and living happily ever after.
Tom ends his friendship with John and tells Emma how he feels about losing Patrick and how, in his grief, he lost his way. He knows now that the path he was on was destroying him and the people he loves, and he cannot let it destroy his future with the woman he loves, the woman he will always love. He promises never to touch another drop of liquor, to be a dependable life-mate, and begs her to marry him.
Emma elopes with Tom, and they live happily ever after.
Your hero must change. The misbelief must be reversed. He must embrace the truth. The hero must make a pivotal decision to embrace this new way of thinking and living. In your story, what powerful event leads him to that decision?
Once you have defined the lesson learned, the truth revealed at the end of your novel, you know how to begin. Start with the opposite of that truth, the hero’s misbelief. Create a backstory that justifies it. Then plan the other guideposts within your structure or outline. Once you have goals for each milestone, you can plan scenes and sequels that logically connect the guideposts.
My next post will cover John Truby’s novel-outlining technique, as described in The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps in Becoming a Master Storyteller. Understanding and reviewing multiple organizing structures helps flesh out your story and builds confidence.
Comments