So you’ve been wondering, “What makes a good story a great story?” Answer? Plot. Yes, characters, setting, and theme have a lot to do with it, too. But can you imagine what a story would be without plot? It wouldn’t even be a story, just a list of events. And, no matter how unique your style is (we’ll cover that topic later), or how lushly described a scene is, you will have a much better chance of making it if your book has thread that your readers can pick up on or follow. So, how do get this awesome plot line?
There are infinite answers to this question. There is no method, no particular rules or structure of rules that you have to follow to create a plot.
Plots come from everywhere. They come from moments when your brother is annoying you to death or your dog is barking. A mere combination of spoken words that are meant for you to understand might hurtle your mind into a whole other world. Your sister snowboards off a ramp and falls off of the snowboard. You suddenly get an idea about a girl who injures herself just before a major high school competition. Will she ever reach her dreams of becoming an Olympian?
I got one of my plots from a dream that I once had. A young boy was serenading his sweetheart, who was on a platform about to be…..well, I don’t know. Hanged, maybe? That little dream, which was actually a sign that I was totally obsessed about the book Voyage of Slaves by Brian Jacques, became just what I needed to start a tale which took place in 1814 Baltimore. That short dream is now nearly novel-length Sweet Chariot.
If you already have your plot, you know that it didn’t come to you planned from A-Z. And that’s okay. Most of my plot lines begin as a vague, unfinished summary with a few images of certain characters doing something (which, half the time, I have no clue why they are doing it, it’s just there).
I don’t want to give too much about creating plots; just the basics for now. The rest will be covered in the lecture So You’ve Got a Great Idea. Okay, What Now?
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