Introduction

Control freaks unite! Okay, so if you’re an architect or outliner, then this lesson is for you. If you’re a discovery writer, you’re welcome here because plot, structure, and characters arcs cannot be escaped. These elements are just as important to your novels, and to be brutally honest this is where you are likely the weakest in your writing.

Pitfall

Too often architects and discovery writers alike, believe that they must outline the entire novel chapter by chapter and scene by scene! While you certainly could do this, I do not recommend it. Why? Because you’ll get bored, especially discovery writers. You likely consider yourself a discovery writer because you like to explore the unknown. To you, your first draft is often a very rough outline of your novel. The danger for outliners is that you’ll spend so much time preparing an outline that you’ll never actually start writing the book.

Plot?

What is Plot? It is the sequence of events that takes place in your narrative. It includes the many twists and turns that occur within the story. Plot arcs often are the same or at least coincide with character arcs. When you think plot, you might think of external events that are occurring around the character, whereas character arcs detail the path the character is following.

Structure?

Not using a structure is perhaps one of the greatest pitfalls writers make, especially discovery writers. Even architects sometimes feel that the structure imposes limits on their creativity. I was actually in that same camp until I realized that structure gives you the freedom to explore. You can use structures that already exist like Fryetag’s Pyramid or the Hero’s Journey. This is a good place to start, but I recommend that you use some hybrid of existing structures. By creating your own narrative structure you can write a novel that simply hasn’t been written that way before. It gives you a foundation to build upon. If the structure you’ve created doesn’t work with what you’re writing, then modify it! You own the structure. Make it your own. Make changes if needed. Just remember to be careful to not spend too much time making changes. Get the big ideas out on the page and change them if the story is movings in a better more significant direction.

Character Arcs?

Character Arcs are the footprints the character is following. Depending on your story these arcs vary significantly. Is your character overcoming some major flaw, or making more of the same mistakes? Character arcs are also helpful when you have multiple viewpoint characters. As an outliner, you can detail specific moments where these arcs line with major plot points and how each point in the arcs changes the plot or the character.