I will continue with Donis Casey on The Plot.
But first, Last Clichés:
Blind Leading the Blind–People who try to guide or teach others, even though they don’t know more than their pupils. Phrase comes from the Bible, one of Jesus’s teachings, Book of Matthew(15:14) and Luke (6:39). Afterwards, quoted by several authors.
Cast of Thousands–A large crowd or a great many individuals. Term originated in Hollywood as an advertisement for epic-scale films, i.e. Ben Hur (1926), which had an enormous cast.
Skeleton in the Closet–A shameful secret. Term means like a family secret to a murder victim hidden away in a closet or cupboard. If term was real, history is lost. The metaphor came current in early 19th century, with several British writers using it, i.e. Dickens, Thackery, George Meredith, etc., and the term remains current.
How many did you find?
If the cast of characters in your book are the ingredients of your novel, the Plot is the recipe. The recipe–how you put all the ingredients together and the way you order events to create interest and suspense. It has been said that the plot is the journey. Night driving, you can only see as far as the headlights, but that ‘s how you make the entire trip.
To avoid going around in circles, start with The Hook of your novel. This is where you start at the beginning in the first sentence to make your reader keep reading. You could start with action, maybe start in the middle of your story. If you haven’t grabbed them in the first three pages, find another beginning.
The Set Up is where you create your world, introduce the characters, establish the goal of your novel, and introduce the conflict. Show flaws, more conflict –keep your reader reading, raise questions.
If you want to make out like a bandit, you want to create Obstacles for your hero. Get him/her into trouble and don’t get him/her out too soon. Focus on the wrong person is another way.
Make sure your novel has a Side Story. In the real world, a hero has other problems. There’s always more than one thing going on in a person’s life.
The above are four elements to the Plot. I’m going to call it a day and finish the rest of the Plot elements next time.
Until then, Keep Writing!!
Julie
