Now NovelPlotting 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.
Plot structure or narrative structure is a key element of story. Even the most simple children’s stories have story events that relate to each other, showing intriguing cause and effect, action and reaction. Here are tips for shaping your story so there is satisfying connection between scenes and events, starting with a definition of plot structure:
Foreshadowing is one way to connect scenes in a story across your longer story arcs. Here are examples of how to use foreshadowing in a sentence, along with related foreshadowing tips:
Foreshadowing – a ‘warning or indication of a future event’ – is a useful device in storytelling. Hinting at what will happen serves multiple purposes (such as building tension and suspense). Read foreshadowing examples showing how to tease approaching plot developments:
Are you a plotter or pantser? Pantsers write without planning while plotters prepare beforehand with extensive outlines. Both types of writing have their uses. Yet not having a plan sometimes creates problems. Here are common pantser writing challenges we’ve found coaching authors (and ways to get past them):
Clichéd story plots weaken an otherwise good story, a story where characters and settings are vivid. To tell a story that feels original and inventive, it’s key to learn plot clichés to avoid. Yet many original stories do use common tropes. The key is to make famous story types and scenarios your own:
A good plot twist adds intrigue, suspense or surprise to a novel. Plot twists are particularly popular in suspense-heavy novels such as murder mysteries, because they prolong suspense-creating questions about cause and identity. Read 7 examples of effective plot twists and what they teach us:
What is a subplot? It’s a secondary plot in a novel, play or movie. Subplots are the additional minor arcs that help develop characters, themes and settings. Read 5 tips for writing subplots, including useful examples of subplots from books:
What is foreshadowing? Generally, the term means a ‘warning or indication (of a future event)’ (OED). As a literary term, it means creating earlier scenes to build suspense, anticipation or understanding ahead of later plot developments. Learning how to foreshadow is a useful skill for creating well-structured writing. Here are 8 rules to foreshadow like a pro:
Plot development means ensuring that your novel contains what makes stories enjoyable to read: Action and event, change, wonder and surprise. Here’s how to improve your plot-writing skills
