Oct 31

Oct 31 Three handy tips to help you with plotting your manuscript

Are you struggling with how to develop your plot? Or struggling with getting a handle on the beast? Or have absolutely no idea where to even start with analysing whether it’s good enough for others to enjoy it, let alone actually submit it to a competition, a publisher or an agent?

You’re not alone. This is possibly the biggest problem writers face when starting to review their work. Aside from actually finishing the manuscript in the first place, that is!

But once you have finished that first draft and are ready to develop it and rework it – in other words, to put on your editor’s hat – then using these three handy tips will help you to understand what condition your plot is in, and how to go about wrangling it into better, stronger shape.

Tip 1. Put the manuscript away

And I mean put it away for a good while. Perspective is the key here. And how can you possibly have perspective unless you have some proper distance from your work? It isn’t possible. That’s why when you read other people’s work, you’re able to immediately grasp where its weaknesses lie. Because you haven’t been staring at it for hundreds of hours.

And that’s what you need to do with your manuscript BEFORE you start to really work on the redrafting. Put it away for at least a month or two or three so that your mind can have a complete rest from it, and you are able to start reading with a fresh set of eyes.

Tip 2. Ask yourself: What is the manuscript about?

This is the first question I ask myself as an editor after I’ve read a manuscript for the first time. Can you summarise what your manuscript or story is about in a paragraph? This is a crucial part, because summarising what a story is about helps to maintain an editor’s – and writer’s – focus on the framework of the story.

If you’re unable to write in a few lines what the central plot is, then the story isn’t clear enough and therefore the concept needs strengthening or defining/refining.

In other words, no matter how many sub-plots or sub-narratives you have running through a story, there needs to be a central plot that contains that all-important ‘hook’ – that special problem or conflict that will make your story stand out from the rest, or give a new twist on the old.

To help you work this out, read back cover blurbs of your favourite titles or of those titles you hope to join on the shelves. Blurb writing is the art of selling a book to a reader in less than a minute by giving them the central storyline in a paragraph or two.

And being able to summarise your story in a paragraph will help you with writing your synopsis. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been sent a five-page synopsis. That’s far too long. It really should be about a page long, and being able to summarise your story in a paragraph will arm you with the sort of ruthless determination to outline your plot in a one-page synopsis.

Tip 3. Write chapter summaries

So, you’ve given your self some proper distance from your work and you’ve come back with fresh, clear eyes and an even clearer head. And then you’ve summarised in a paragraph exactly what your story is about and what makes it special. Well then, now you’re ready to begin working on the nitty-gritty detail.

And the first step in the nitty-gritty work is to summarise each chapter in two or three lines ONLY. Yes, I know, it’s really hard to do this. Especially when there are so many terrific moments in the story that you can make note of. But trust me, this is going to be your best armour against being lost in the story and actually being able to define the plot.

If you write chapter summaries in two or three lines only per chapter, you will not only have an incredible handle on exactly what happens and where it happens, but you will see with startling clarity where the action DOES NOT happen.

In other words, this exercise will help you to highlight those chapters where nothing good enough or interesting enough happens to advance the plot towards the conclusion. And if they aren’t good enough, then the plot arc is weak and needs reworking.

This is particularly crucial for stories that aren’t driven by action. And this is the biggest problem with stories that don’t think they need to rely on action to drive the narration. Because they do. No matter what genre you’re working in – commercial women’s, literary, thriller, fantasy, junior or any other fiction – if action doesn’t drive your storytelling, then the pace won’t be strong enough to keep readers turning those pages.

And that’s what we’re all aiming for here. To keep readers reading until the very end.

Once you’ve done your chapter summaries, you can then map out a clear outline of your plot from start to finish, with points of action only, to be able to see where the conflicts arise (or where they should), where the twists and turns escalate (or where they need to), and how they lead us towards a powerful, satisfying conclusion.

Happy writing and editing 😊