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Many writers struggle with plotting, which is, put very simply, how you get your characters from point A to point B to point C and beyond. But an intriguing and swift-moving plot means the difference between a reader picking up your book and tearing through the pages all the way to the end, and a reader picking up your book then putting it down after 10 or 20 pages — which is not what you want.

Learning the best way to plot a novel is a critical skill for any aspiring author to learn. There are tons of resources out there that'll teach you how to plot in different methodologies; there are webinars, courses, worksheets, books and various different techniques for plotting — some that certain novelists swear by, like the Save the Cat! method. On the other hand, maybe you're a pantser, and you just let the story come to you as you go. That doesn't mean that there's no plot involved in your process.

No matter whether you're a rigorous plotter or a pantser, I want to strip the idea of plot down so that you can see how the core elements of plot work together to create a successful, compelling story. Plus, I have a bonus exercise for you at the end that will help you think through the best way to develop your own plot. My goal is to help you feel like plotting is less daunting and you have a clearer vision for the plot of your book.

So, let’s dive in to the best way to create a plot.

Step 1: Identify Your Protagonist’s Objectives

The best method to plot a novel is to start with your protagonist's objectives. This may seem basic, but your protagonist needs to want something and needs to be seeking to achieve some kind of goal. And this needs to happen from the very beginning of your story.

Now, of course, their objectives and goals can change as the story develops and as events happen to them, but they always need to be seeking something. They cannot just be existing aimlessly in your novel's world. That's because the objective is going to make us connect with the protagonist and without it, it's going to be tougher for the reader to empathize with them and thereby get invested in their journey. Having a clear objective is naturally going to make us more invested in the story because we will want to continue reading to see if the character achieves their objective or not.

Think of the protagonist's objective as the north star of your story. It is the element that we are reading for; it is what we continually return to and what drives the plot forward and gives us direction. You'd be surprised how many times I evaluate a manuscript as a book editor and my feedback is that it's just unclear what the protagonist wants or what they're actually working to achieve. The plot will ultimately feel directionless if the protagonist has no clear objective, so in identifying your protagonist's objective, ensure it is as concrete and tangible as possible.

An overly vague objective, like, “They want to be happy in life” is not really going to do the work that it needs to. It's not specific enough, and therefore it's going to be harder for us to gauge if the protagonist meets it or not. A good rule of thumb is that if your objective is something that most or everyone wants, it is not specific enough. I want you to drill down and make it more tailored to the protagonist's specific desires and needs.

So, for example, a bad objective would be:

The main character wants to find love.

Well, doesn't everyone? A better objective would be:

The main character wants to go on a date with this other character.

That is much more specific, concrete, and tangible, and we can track whether that objective is met or not. Continue to distill down your main character's objective until it becomes that concrete, and then that becomes what your character is working toward and what drives your plot.

If your main character's objective changes over the course of the novel, which in many cases it does, then make sure you do this exercise for each time their objective changes.

Step 2: Establish the Stakes

To learn the best way to plot a novel, you need to understand the importance of establishing stakes. Now that you have your protagonist's objective, the next step is to establish the stakes surrounding your protagonist's pursuit. This refers to what they have to gain from achieving their objective and what they have to lose if they fail. Think through questions like:

How is reaching that goal going to change their life for the better?
What is it going to enable them to do that they haven't been able to do before?

If there are no stakes surrounding their objective, or if the stakes feel too low, then that's another reason why a reader might disengage with the story.

In the prior example of the protagonist's objective being going on a date with this other character, think through what that date means or represents to the protagonist. Why is it so important to them? If we don't know why it's important to them, we're frankly not going to care about that objective.

So, in the date example, perhaps they are fearing that they will be teased if they don't go on the date because they're the only person in their grade who hasn't gotten kissed yet. Therefore, we understand the stakes: the date is going to help them fit into their social circle.

Think of the stakes as the underlying human emotion behind your character's objective. It is that driving force that is propelling them toward that objective.

Step 3: Create Obstacles That Get in the Way

The third and final key element of plot is to create obstacles that get in the protagonist's way. Now that you have identified the objective and you have established the stakes of the character achieving or not achieving that objective, the best way to develop a plot is to create obstacles that get in the way of their goal.

This is what makes the story interesting, because we want to see them navigate those conflicts and obstacles. This is what creates narrative tension; without any obstacles, the plot engine will have no fuel, and it will eventually sputter and slow to a complete stop. You will lose all momentum, and the reader will frankly get bored.

Ideally, you want to make your protagonist work for their objective. Don't just hand things to them, which we see in manuscripts that rely too much on conveniences or coincidental plot moments. Those typically aren't as satisfying to the reader as seeing the protagonist make things happen for themselves via their own actions and agency. That's just one example of a common plot mistake.

In creating your obstacles, it is important that they feel realistic and true to your novel’s world. So, if you are writing a realistic contemporary novel, having your protagonist suddenly encounter an alien spaceship just wouldn't fit. Also, remember that obstacles do not necessarily have to be physical. In many cases, obstacles are another character, aka an antagonist or a villain. Even the protagonist can be their own obstacle if they are dealing internally with something that keeps them from achieving their objective.

There's no specific number of obstacles you need in your novel; it could just be that one single obstacle keeps reappearing in different forms over and over. But the rule of thumb is that any objective the protagonist has must have at least one obstacle working against it.

The Best Way to Plot a Novel: An Exercise

Use this plot exercise to put all of these elements together to see how they work to create your story. Use this sentence template and insert your own story elements:

CHARACTER wants OBJECTIVE because STAKES, but OBSTACLE is getting in their way.

Let's fill in a very basic example:

Jill wants to go on a date with Jack because she wants to fit in with her social circle and all of her friends have boyfriends, but her fear of rejection is getting in her way.

Do you see how the objective, the stakes, and the obstacles all work together to create a summary of the plot? Do it for your own novel and see what happens.

I hope this helped you understand the best way to plot a novel and how objectives, stakes and obstacles work together to create a compelling, intriguing, and compulsive story.

Thank you so much for reading and happy writing!