Plot Your Novel: 3 Tried and True Methods(+1)

Historians and literary scholars tell us there are three basic plot methods for writers to plot a novel. Of course, you choose the fourth.

First, let’s review the three initial methods of how to write a plot, implied by John Gardener’s The Art of Fiction.

The first method is to find a plot you like and make it your own. No, it’s not plagiarism, such as copying scenes word by word. The method is more like the movie ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ which is structured on the Odyssey. Stories such as Star Wars are based on ‘B’ movies of the 1940’s and 1950’s. Shakespeare gets many of his plot lines from Seneca’s works. Ironically, my western series loosely leans on Harry Potter for structure. This tried and tested method is admired by writers and readers alike.

The second method is to know the ending, then create fitting characters and events. The method is as if you are the GPS, and the man driving a car is a character who trusts your directions even though you know you’re sending him toward a cliff. For this style, it is helpful to create an outline.

Note, if writing an outline is rather elusive or distasteful for you, using the five w’s (who, what, where, why, and when) helps create a solid structure from which to fill in key elements.

If this is your favorite method, you’re called a plotter.

The third method is to conjure a scene, character, or event at the beginning, and then start writing without knowing what’s going to happen next. This method seems the most popular, yet leads to a necessary caffeine and chocolate addiction, as well as years of therapy. Trusting the plot will turn out happens to be a difficult proposition in the best of times, yet can also be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable. If this is your favorite method, you’re called a pantser because you write by the seat of your pants.

The fourth method, little known to scholars, is similar to an existential crisis, which means you’re questioning the meaning and purpose of your existence. This method looks like whatever you want it to. You simply write a series of characters and and events that don’t make any sense, and surprisingly, sometimes this postmodern method actually sells. But don’t hold your breath. It’s the rare novelist who can actually pull this off.

What is your method of plotting a novel?