After you have explored all the important ideas for writing a book,and believe you have the basis for your story well in hand, it is time to get down the job of actually writing your book. As I've touched on in other articles, characters are a critical element linked with this process. But a similarly crucial feature is plot structure. How does one develop a plot that is engaging enough to keep your readers turning pages? In my opinion, the answer to this question still revolves around charaters: knowing how they are going to act in a given set of circumstances and, most significantly, knowing what they desire.
Let's face it: knowing what drives your characters has more to do with creating a captivating plot than almost anything else. That is due to the fact that understanding this key piece of information helps you with the second essential element of plot development: creating conflict.
Let's suppose for instance that your lead personality is a soldier who has been injured in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also suppose he believes foul play is involved with his injuries; he believes that they resulted from another service man wanting to kill himâ€"perhaps somebody who has something to gain by his demise.
What's our protagonist inclined to do with this info? Here's where conflict comes in. Does he investigate the circumstances and speak to the person he thinks is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does know,, will confronting this person be enough. Perhaps our hero suspects a buddy he joined the unit with, one he learns has been having an affair with his bride. This of course would add a completely new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will inevitably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the many roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be forced to keep turning pages to discover how things are going to turn out. Also, as your character reacts to these difficulties, he will undergo change, another strong facet 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 person attempted to kill him? Or, alternatively, will he take action to try and settle the score?
However you choose to end your story, if it is done right it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that's the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
Let's face it: knowing what drives your characters has more to do with creating a captivating plot than almost anything else. That is due to the fact that understanding this key piece of information helps you with the second essential element of plot development: creating conflict.
Let's suppose for instance that your lead personality is a soldier who has been injured in Afganistanâ€"perhaps he's lost a leg. Let's also suppose he believes foul play is involved with his injuries; he believes that they resulted from another service man wanting to kill himâ€"perhaps somebody who has something to gain by his demise.
What's our protagonist inclined to do with this info? Here's where conflict comes in. Does he investigate the circumstances and speak to the person he thinks is setting him up? Does he even know who the individual is that did it, and why? And if he does know,, will confronting this person be enough. Perhaps our hero suspects a buddy he joined the unit with, one he learns has been having an affair with his bride. This of course would add a completely new layer of conflict, with its own set of possible resolutions.
These conflicts will inevitably lead us to another requisite element of plot development: suspense. As your protagonist maneuvers the many roadblocks placed in front of him, readers will be forced to keep turning pages to discover how things are going to turn out. Also, as your character reacts to these difficulties, he will undergo change, another strong facet 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 person attempted to kill him? Or, alternatively, will he take action to try and settle the score?
However you choose to end your story, if it is done right it will build the suspense necessary to keep your readers turning pages. And, after all, that's the goal here: the goal of developing a highly engaging plot.
About the Author:
Michael Snow is the writer of ZION'S WEB, the premier novel in the Zachariah Burton detective series. As well as writing novels, Michael maintains a blog site which contains some engaging and illuminating blogs including tips on writing a book.
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