You already have the reason to start
writing a novel. You have given it a lot of laps and you are clear about
what the plot will be and who its protagonists will be.
But no matter how good the plot and
characters are, the novel will fail if you don’t have good plot ideas that
differentiate it from other books. If you don’t compose a framework that
holds the different parts of the story firmly and beautifully.
The plot is a fundamental aspect in
any novel.
You have to start working on it from
scratch. Here are some ideas that will help you start to weave the
tapestry of your story.
Seven ideas for writing a novel
1) The protagonist must have a clear
motivation
Motivation can be subtle, like
assuming the death of your father; or obvious, like saving the
world. In this article we talk about the types of motivation that a character can have Vox Ghostwriting.
However, the objective pursued by the
protagonist must be clear to the reader. And not only that, it has to be
consistent. This consistency is achieved by making the protagonist fully
involved in the achievement of his goal. Keep in mind that if the
protagonist doesn’t seem involved, how can you expect the reader to be?
2) The motivation of the protagonist
must appear soon
The motivation we talked about in the
previous section must be made clear as soon as possible. Do not wait until
the middle of the novel to then tell what the objective of the protagonist is
(in fact, if the motive that drives the main character does not appear soon, it
is difficult that the reader has accompanied you until the middle of the
novel). However, keep in mind that the character’s objective may vary
throughout the story: in Ian Fleming’s novels, James Bond first seeks to locate
the bomb; when he finds her, it is the desire to capture Blofeld that
moves him.
3) Gradation
The intensity with which the
protagonist knows and assumes his objectives and the desire to achieve them
must be gradual. To outline the plot at the objective level, the
objectives must be clear to the reader from the beginning. The protagonist must travel a path that
leads him to the complete understanding of what his goal is. In this way,
the reader will want to accompany the character in that discovery as well as in
the actions he takes to reach it.
4) Continuous movement
Every chapter, and even every scene,
must contain a change. The situation may improve for the protagonist or it
may get worse, but at the end of the chapter a change in the character’s
circumstances had to occur (otherwise, you can delete that chapter). This
change does not have to suppose a material or physical variation, it can be a
psychological or emotional change: the protagonist suddenly understands
something, their feelings or their attitude change.
5) No downtime
Precisely because the narrative must
advance, we must not fall into the temptation to fill in the gaps in our story
with “straw.” The ideas for the plot can be limitless, but each
line must contribute something, be it a description, a reflection or a
dialogue. You can also build interesting and vigorous subplots, but be
sure to wrap them up last, otherwise they are just that: filler.
6) Structure
Keep in mind the classic structures
of the novel and develop your story accordingly.
In Campbell’s famous analysis of the archetypes of history, it is often identified:
1. The invitation: where the protagonist is asked to take on a
challenge;
2. The negative: the protagonist refuses;
3. Acceptance: something happens that forces the protagonist to
change his mind;
4. The adventure: the protagonist tries to fulfill the challenge;
5. Failure: everything seems to go wrong and then
6. The triumph: when everything seemed lost, the protagonist achieves
success.
7) Characters
Most novels have a single protagonist
(this is usually the best option for beginning writers). If you want to
include more, you need to make sure that you give each of them enough weight in
the story, a character and goals of their own, and that you don’t abandon any
throughout the story.
