The Evolution of Plotting Techniques for Bookmobile Novels

The idea for my first novel came to me forty years before I seriously started writing. That's when I realized reading a novel was a lot easier than writing one. I took classes and struggled for six years to finish Where Love Once Lived. Then it took two more years to get it published.

As I began my second novel, The Vengeance Squad, I remember thinking how much easier it would be than writing the first one. About half way through the writing, however, I heard about a plotting technique proposed by Joseph Campbell called the Hero's Journey. I won't attempt to explain it here, but there is a wealth of information available on it and how to apply it to modern novels. However, using this approach is an effective way to keep your readers turning pages.

The method was perfect for the mystery I was writing. I was able to use much of what I had done so far, but I rearranged the scenes and added new ones to increase the suspense. I finished The Vengeance Squad in less than a year. It has been my best seller so far.

When I started Love Lives On, I began using the same Hero Journey technique. But then I learned about Blake Snyder's method of outlining a movie. I bought his book, Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need, and knew it was perfect for my books. About that time, I went to a writing class on using Snyder's method for novels.

I used this method for Love Lives On and The Vengeance Squad Goes to England. I'm using again for what I'm calling Book 5.

Snyder proposed fifteen beats from the beginning to end with the first being the Opening Image and the last the Closing Image. In between, there are beats with such interesting names as Set Up, Catalyst, Debate, Fun and Games, Bad Guys Close In, and All is Lost. This plotting method not only provides an organization to help writers remember to include numerous ups and downs on the way to the story goal, it also provides a formula for how many pages you should allow per beat.

This method is easier to do with 3 by 5 index cards on a bulletin board so you can rearrange scenes for the best balance. I've done this with real index cards, but with fifty or so scenes, it is difficult to find a place to work. I tried the dining room table, but I can only have it for so long before my wife starts looking at me funny.

This time I'm using an iPad app for the index cards. There are several available, but when I saw DenVog's Index Card app and the way it works, I selected it because it matches what I want to do. This is not one of those free apps, but the $4.99 cost seems reasonable.

I use one index card per scene and start with 50 scenes. Ten scenes in Act 1, 27 in Act 2, and 13 in Act 3. I will often add or delete scenes after the writing begins. The app lets me group the index cards and work with a smaller number of cards at a time. I group them by act. When I click on a group, I see all the cards for that group. When I click on a card, I can edit it. The card image is a widow and it scrolls as needed so you are not limited in how much you write.

In the photos shown here, you will see what I've done so far for Book 5. The cards can be easily changed and rearranged. I don't include scene numbers, but maintain order visually. When I'm satisfied with what I have, I will add scene numbers and convert the cards to Microsoft Word.



I've embed a YouTube presentation about Index Cards so you can see how to open groups and rearrange cards.

This is the result of opening Act 1 group

This shows the grouping by act.

Scene 1 scrolled down to show how it works.

Act 3 with its 13 scenes. Not yet out

This is Act 2 with 27 scenes, not all shown. Scrollable.

Writing Novels: Keeping Readers Reading

My pastor said this yesterday, "God uses us when we go where we are most uncomfortable." She was talking about how we should listen for where God leads us and trust him even when it means we must move outside our comfortable worlds. However, what her statement made me think about was how we as fiction writers can make our readers so uncomfortable they will keep reading, and perhaps enjoy our story more because of it. Sorry, Pastor Amy. My mind roams sometimes.

What keeps a reader reading?

I suspect you all can point to recent books you've read where it was impossible to find a stopping place. This is good and bad. It's good because it means the story has pulled you in and you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. The characters have become your friends and you're reluctant to say goodnight. But, such a book is bad because most are too long to be read in one sitting. We have to stop reading  and put the book aside for a while to go on with our real life, be it eating, sleeping, or carting children to and fro.

Being retired, I have the privilege of reading during the day, but for years the only time I could read a novel was after I was in bed. The imaginary world and people in the stories helped me clear my mind of the day's problems so that I could relax and a fall asleep. A good book, however, had the opposite effect. I could get involved in the story and not want to put it down. And, when I did, my mind played around with what would happen next, or how did the author grab my attention the way she did.

Cliffhangers work

My wife reads to the end of a chapter before stopping. Some of the books I read don't allow for that. For example, chapters in Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennan novels nearly always end with a cliffhanger making it the most difficult place to stop. I read mostly on a Kindle, so it is easy to stop anywhere. When I go back to it, Kindle opens where you left off.

So, cliffhangers at the end of a chapters keeps me reading. What else can writers do?

When I was studying novel writing techniques, I learned about scenes and scene goals. I was taught that the protagonist must never achieve the scene goal. That seemed wrong. I wanted my characters to be happy. I wanted them to succeed. I didn't want them to keep bumping their heads against a brick wall. My instructor told me I must live a happy life with no conflicts. She said such a story would be boring.

In real life we tend to want to stay in our safe place. We seldom go where we are uncomfortable. But, reading novels is a way to escape, to get outside of ourselves and experience what's out in the world. If our character is facing a major hurdle, or could possibly be hurt, it is like watching a scary movie with one eye covered. We, the reader, want to know what happens next, but it is still hard to do. Curiosity wins and we keep reading.

The Hero's Journey

Another plotting techniques is The Hero's Journey. This is a technique proposed by Joseph Campbell. I won't attempt to explain it here, but there is a wealth of information available on it and how to apply it to modern novels. However, using this approach is an effective way to keep your readers turning pages.

Save the Cat Technique

The latest technique I've studied is based on a screen writing method developed by Blake Snyder and published in his Save the Cat series of books. He proposes fifteen beats from the beginning to end with the first being the Opening Image and the last the Closing Image. In between, there are beats with such interesting names as Set Up, Catalyst, Debate, Fun and Games, Bad Guys Close In, and All is Lost. This plotting method not only provides an organization to help writers remember to include numerous ups and downs on the way to the story goal, it also provides a formula for how many pages you should allow per beat.

Whatever method you use, don't forget to make your reader uncomfortable. For some reason that seems to keep them reading.