What a Concept! Plotting Your Novel Conceptually

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I'm always looking for better ways to plot my novels. Every time I attend a great workshop on story structure, or see a phenomenal blog post, or read a fantastic book, I incorporate those tips into my process and update my basic plotting template. One of my pre-novel planning techniques is to start conceptually and narrow the plot down to specifics.

Thinking about a story conceptually allows us to brainstorm what we want to have happen without worrying about the details. Such as, you know you want a major reveal and surprise at the mid-point, or you want X to happen in the climax. Maybe it's whatever the protagonist does at the climax of act one that will come back to bite her in the all-is-lost-moment at the end of act two. You can shape the flow of the story even though you don't know exactly how it will go. Conceptually, you know how you want it to turn out.

For examples, let's check in with Bob and the gang.

Imagine I'm starting on book two of this make-believe series. I know after figuring out my one-sentence pitch, that this book is going to be about Bob trying to get the cure for zombification before the love of his life, Jane, succumbs and turns into a zombie. From this I have the inciting event (Jane gets bitten or somehow contracts the zombie virus) and the ending (Bob gets the cure and saves Jane). But there's a whole lot of plot that has to happen between those two points.

After I get the basics down, my first step is to figure out what my major turning points are. How I generally want the book to unfold. A first pass will look like this (for the curious, I'm absolutely making this zombie book up as I write this):

Intro and Setup: Bob, Jane, and Sally living in the zombie apocalypse

Inciting Event: Jane gets infected

Act One Climax: ??

Mid-Point Reversal: ??

Act Two Disaster: ??

Climax: Bob gets the cure and saves Jane

Wrap Up: ??

(Here's more on five different ways to structure and plot your novel))

You'll notice there's a lot missing. That's because I have no clue yet what's going to happen. This is a bare-bone concept of how the novel will unfold using classic story structure to guide me. Using this very loose outline, I'll next brainstorm, take notes, make lists, talk it over with friends, all the usual work that goes into developing a novel. When I figure out more of this story, I'll flesh out this conceptual outline. The next pass will look something like this:

Intro and Setup: Bob, Jane, and Sally living in the zombie apocalypse

Inciting Event: Jane gets attacked by a zombie, but it isn't clear if she's infected or not

Act One Climax: Jane is infected and begins to show signs

Mid-Point Reversal: They discover the government lab Sally used to work for is hiding a huge secret that totally changes their view on the zombie virus

Act Two Disaster: Jane turns into a zombie and tries to eat them

Climax: Bob steals the cure from the government bad guy and saves Jane

Wrap Up: Bob exposes the government secret and the gang goes on the run to spread the word

For some writers, this is all they need to get started. Knowing Jane will be attacked means the gang will be where zombies are. They'll be doing something that puts Jane in close contact with them. You might not know yet what that is, but you can figure it out as you write it.

For more plot-focused writers, this is a solid start to guide your brainstorming and story development. You'll start at the introduction and work your way to the next plot point, fleshing it out as much as you need to.

For example, how does it start? What is going on when you introduce the characters and the world? Knowing more details here might work to shed light on the ambiguous parts. When you reach a point you're not sure about, switch to another area and start thinking about that point.

After some brainstorming, I end up with an outline that looks like this:

Intro and Setup: Bob, Jane, and Sally are looking for places to restock their supplies. Winter is coming and they need to chose between heading south to a warmer climate or bunking down until spring and waiting it out.

Inciting Event: While searching an abandoned mall, Jane gets attacked by a zombie and falls through a store front window, cutting herself up. She kills the zombie, but with her many injuries, it's not clear if she's been infected or not. The idea of being trapped with a potentially lethal Jane makes Sally vote to keep heading south where they can keep a better eye on her. Bob isn't so sure.

Act One Climax: Bob finds clues about a possible cure in a hidden lab, but going to it will take them north, not south. Jane begins to show signs of infection. It's iffy whether or not they can make it to the cure in time or not.

Mid-Point Reversal: They get to the lab but there's no cure. But they do discover the government company Sally used to work for is hiding a huge secret that totally changes their view on the zombie virus and suggests that Jane might not be lost to them if she does turn.

Act Two Disaster: Jane turns into a zombie and tries to eat them, then vanishes into the ruins of the city. Bob chases after her. Sally wants to leave her, but he won't. As he gets near her, government types appear and snatch her off the street.

Climax: Bob creates an intricate plan to save Jane, steal the cure, and escape from the government bad guys, stopping their nefarious plan.

Wrap Up: Bob cures Jane, exposes the government secret, and the gang goes on the run to spread the word.

More plot, but now there are even more details to figure out. What clues does Bob find? How? Where is the lab and what's it for? What secret do they find? Is that the reason the government types grabbed zombie Jane? Is Sally going to play a role in getting Jane back? Does she know more than she lets on? So many questions to ask and all of them can lead to just the right answer.

The benefits of conceptual thinking, is that you're not locking onto any one particular detail that might prevent you from coming up with a better idea. It also helps you stay focused on the type of plot event you want, not just a scene that feels cool but might not serve the story you want to tell. By knowing conceptually that you want a major reveal, you'll think about ways to surprise your reader. By knowing that surprise has to tie into why an event happens at the end of act two, you can think about how things might be connected. If X happens, how does that fit with Y?

(More on brainstorming here)

It's usually pretty clear when a piece will only work for one part, not the other. That lets you throw it out or move it to the side while you keep thinking. It's like looking for the puzzle piece that fits a particular hole.

Next time you're plotting, try looking conceptually at how you want the story to unfold first. Think about:

• The types of events you want to happen at key points
• When surprises are revealed
• What plot points you want to connect or build off of
• What events will raise the stakes and where they'll fall
• Where you want the reader to feel certain emotions

The big-picture view can really help when it comes time to narrow it down to the specifics of the plot and the story. It also gives you a place to start when you're not really sure where to go after that spark of an idea.

Do you outline? How much or how little? 


Find out more about plot and story structure in my book, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems.

Go step-by-step through plot and story structure-related issues, such as wandering plots; a lack of scene structure; no goals, conflicts, or stakes; low tension; no hooks; and slow pacing. Learn how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix those problems.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems offers five self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you:

• Create unpredictable plots that keep readers guessing
• Find the right beginning and setup for your story
• Avoid the boggy, aimless middle
• Develop compelling hooks to build tension in every scene
• Craft strong goals, conflicts, and stakes to grab readers
• Determine the best pacing and narrative drive for your story

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems starts every workshop with an analysis to pinpoint problem areas and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. It's an easy-to-follow guide to crafting gripping plots and novels that are impossible to put down.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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