The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 26 December 2007

Genre Tips for Plot and Structure (28)

It's beginning to look a lot like a plot, all around the scenes?

Anyway, before we torture any other old songs with words of writing, let's get to Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, shall we? Along about page 218 in chapter 14 where Bell gives various tips. Perhaps the most important is the two-fold injunction to know the chosen genre's conventions and always add something fresh. Good advice for all genres!

Mystery. First bit of advice is the suggestion to start with the scene of the crime and plot backwards from that. Take one killer, a good strong motive, and the murder or crime that gets committed. Then work out from that what clues need to be planted in the plot and what other suspects, distractions, etc. will keep the readers guessing.

Thriller. Often like a mystery, but where the mystery is a puzzle or maze full of clues, the thriller is a narrowing chase towards a climactic confrontation. Probably easiest to start with that scene, then plot and write towards that. Make sure your opposition has a good solid motive throughout, too!

Literary. Mood, texture, impressions -  that's the literary goal. So think about resonances, images that will stick to your readers' minds.

Romance. Think about all the things that might keep two lovers apart. Frustration can be good for romance, so pile it on!

Science-fiction and Fantasy. The joy and danger of these genres is the ease with which the writer can change the rules. So don't do it! Establish your world and keep it naturally woven into the story. Make sure there's a real story there, beyond just speculative visions.

Bell cites Brenda Ueland's book "If You Want to Write" where Brenda asserts, "Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say . . . Everybody is original, if he tells the truth, if he speaks from himself."

Plot and structure are tools you use to connect with your readers, but you will be pouring yourself out in the story, that's what makes it unique. So start pouring.

That about does it for Plot & Structure. There's an appendix where Bell summarizes the key points in five pages, and another appendix with a four-step kickstart based around writing the backcover description first, but maybe we'll leave those for purchasers of the book. Right now, it's almost time to start thinking about a story a week!