After you have explored all the relevant ideas for writing a book,and believe you've got the foundation for your story well in hand, it's time to get down the task of actually writing your book. As I have touched on in other articles, characters are a vital element connected with this process. Nevertheless a similarly important feature is plot structure. How does one develop a plot that's engaging enough to keep your fans turning pages? In my opinion, the solution to this question still revolves around charaters: understanding how they are going to act in a given set of circumstances and, most significantly, knowing what they want.
Let's face it: understanding what drives your characters has more to do with making an fascinating plot than just about anything else. That is due to the fact that understanding this key piece of information helps you with the second critical element of plot development: establishing conflict.
Let's suppose for instance that your lead personality is a soldier who has been wounded in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also suppose he suspects foul play is connected with his injuries; he believes they were the result of another service man plotting to kill himâ€"perhaps someone who's got something to gain by his demise.
What is our protagonist inclined to do with this info? This is where conflict comes in. Does he analyze the circumstances and speak to the person he suspects is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does know,, will facing this person be sufficient. Perhaps our hero suspects a friend he joined the unit with, one he finds has been having an affair with his wife. This naturally would add a completely new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will unavoidably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the numerous roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be forced to keep turning pages to find out how things are going to turn out. Additionally, as your character reacts to these difficulties, he will encounter change, another strong element of plot development, and a key to engineering great suspense. How will these conflicts change him? Is he able to remain a decent individual and use restraint when he learns that his spouse has been cheating on him with his best friend and that this individual attempted to kill him? Or, alternatively, will he take steps to try and settle the score?
However you choose to end your story, if it is done properly it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that is the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
Let's face it: understanding what drives your characters has more to do with making an fascinating plot than just about anything else. That is due to the fact that understanding this key piece of information helps you with the second critical element of plot development: establishing conflict.
Let's suppose for instance that your lead personality is a soldier who has been wounded in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also suppose he suspects foul play is connected with his injuries; he believes they were the result of another service man plotting to kill himâ€"perhaps someone who's got something to gain by his demise.
What is our protagonist inclined to do with this info? This is where conflict comes in. Does he analyze the circumstances and speak to the person he suspects is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does know,, will facing this person be sufficient. Perhaps our hero suspects a friend he joined the unit with, one he finds has been having an affair with his wife. This naturally would add a completely new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will unavoidably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the numerous roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be forced to keep turning pages to find out how things are going to turn out. Additionally, as your character reacts to these difficulties, he will encounter change, another strong element of plot development, and a key to engineering great suspense. How will these conflicts change him? Is he able to remain a decent individual and use restraint when he learns that his spouse has been cheating on him with his best friend and that this individual attempted to kill him? Or, alternatively, will he take steps to try and settle the score?
However you choose to end your story, if it is done properly it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that is the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
About the Author:
Michael Snow is the author of ZION'S WEB, the first novel in the Zachariah Burton detective series. In addition to writing books, Michael maintains a blog site which contains some engaging and useful blogs including tips on writing a book.
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