This complete guide to plotting and story structure provides resources for finding plot ideas, developing your plot and more.
Category: Plotting
Plotting a story well ensures cohesion and connection between story events.
Find every article on plotting in Now Novel’s archives here.
Read helpful questions for plot development, and learn how to avoid common plot pitfalls. Learn what makes a good plot, and read plot structure examples that show how to connect story events in practice to tell a gripping story.
Types of stories such as the seven story archetypes identified by Christopher Booker provide a starting point for writing something entirely your own.
There is no single method for how to outline a story, but these are some ways to make story structure and planning work for you and your writing process.
Acclaimed authors have often said that it’s not plot that matters, but rather story. Yet knowing how to create a plot that uses universal storytelling elements such as action and reaction, incident and coincidence, helps you grab and keep your reader’s attention. Learn how to come up with a plot for a better story:
Understanding how to keep a scene interesting is a crucial skill for writing a novel or screenplay. Scenes are the basic building blocks of a chapter or act. Read on for tips on how to write a scene, plus analysis of story scene examples:
Deciding how to outline a novel (or whether to outline at all) is a personal process for each author. This sample book outline plus 7 checks and insights will help you outline with purpose:
Plot and setting are two essential elements of storytelling. Read tips, examples and exercises to make time and place drive story development:
Plot is a challenging element of storytelling. Writers often ask us ‘How do I develop what I have written further?’ Here are 6 plot development questions to come up with new plot points:
A plot hole, like a glaring grammar or typographical error, takes your reader out of the story. Read definitions of types of plot holes, plus 7 tips to avoid and fix them: