For years I have been writing, but looking back on what I have written I’ve come to realize I finish very little of what I start. I want to stop that and to finish a work. I feel a big part of this is not-plotting and, despite knowing what I want for the ending, never knowing how to bridge that gap between beginning and end. Whenever I try to plot, I end up either not following it or realizing halfway through that it is something the characters would not do. Is there any advice you can give me on how to plot properly? I have been reading several writer’s websites, but I can’t seem to find any concrete steps in how to properly plot—and finish—a novel. If you have any advice or can suggest any readings, I would greatly appreciate it. Sincerely, Annie H.
Yes, Annie, I can teach you how to plot properly. When you sometimes find yourself unable to follow a plot—when your characters simply will not do what you thought they would do—it’s because all good plotting grows out of character. So only when you entirely understand your characters and already know that they will do when their backs are against a wall can you begin plotting a story that will remain true to those characters.
However, because a novel is such a very long work of fiction, the in-depth details of plotting an entire book can be quite complex, especially when you take into account protagonist(s), genre, and your hoped-for readership.
I try to cover a wide variety of writing issues here on this advice column and my blog, although of course each novel is unique and requires its own unique details in the design. So please feel free to begin by browsing my website. There is years’ worth of information here. You can search for “plot” and “character” both here on my advice column and on my blog, and you should find useful advice.
I also have two books on writing, organized according to what I consider the three fundamentals of fiction: character, plot, and prose—The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual and The Art & Craft of Story: 2nd Practitioner’s Manual. My books are the cheapest avenue to learning the basics of what I know about plotting and character. I teach writing through the simplest concepts possible, as I worked for years in the tech sector writing simple explanations for complex computer concepts and procedures. And besides, my brain leans toward simple answers.
Additionally, if you’re a young writer, you may want to do a search for “young” here on my advice column, as I’ve addressed specifically the issue of writing a lot of fiction without finishing it—I like to consider that work “committing random acts of literature.”