Building Blocks of Plot

Here are some steps that may be helpful to you in terms of structuring the plot:


1. Initial philosophy revealed, the status quo established. (The story doesn't have to start here, but you should know your central character's baseline.)

2. Inciting incident. Something happens to kickstart the action.

3. You have one central character and only one. She wants something intensely and it is this intensity that will motivate her to act. (No passive central characters.)

4. She struggles to achieve her goal. (And you see to it that her struggle is as difficult as possible). Escalate the difficulties. Struggle implies a protracted effort. In the scenes that build the character resists change. Holds onto belief system.

5. Midpoint of the story/chapter, the character is closest to achieving what she/he wants. Within grasp but he or she loses it.

6. Crisis: The character faces such questions as: Do I give up? Do I change what I want? Do I dig my heels in deeper? Do I fool myself into thinking I don't care? What am I made of? Biggest dilemma of her/his life. The central character is the furthest away from success. Zero hope.

7. Climax: Show how the narrator has changed. What does the character do?

8. Resolution: End with a different belief system. As a result of her struggle, she gets what she wants or does not. Maybe she gets something else, but there is a resolution.