{"id":23079,"date":"2020-05-26T03:00:26","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=23079"},"modified":"2020-05-21T08:55:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T15:55:34","slug":"building-plot-in-your-story-by-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/26\/building-plot-in-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Plot in Your Story by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Building-Plot-in-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-23080\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Building-Plot-in-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png\" alt=\"Building Plot in Your Story by Kay Keppler\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Building-Plot-in-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Building-Plot-in-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist, <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=kay+keppler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us \u201cBuilding Plot in Your Story.&#8221; <em>Enjoy! <\/em><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>When they start a story<\/strong>, many writers know what happens at the beginning and the end\u2014the triggering event and the d\u00e9nouement\u2014but they have no idea what happens in the middle. They understand the character and know where that person ends up. But how the character gets there\u2014that is the question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If this is you, what you need is plot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>If plot stymies you<\/strong>, as it does many people, you might be able to stimulate some ideas by thinking about your characters and what is likely to happen to a person like that. Ask yourself:<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Plot: What if\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b> What if\u2026<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve got your characters, and you know at least something about what motivates them or what their goals are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What if you introduce a complication or obstacle that your protagonist will have trouble overcoming?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or what if you bring in a secondary character who gets in your protagonist\u2019s way?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What if you give your protagonist what they think they want\u2014but then it turns out to be a burden?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask yourself what will make life hard for your characters. Seeing how they respond to challenges creates empathy with your readers and pushes your characters to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Plot: Best-Case Scenarios\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><b> What are the best-case scenarios\u2026<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s the best thing that could happen to your character right now, in this first scene? Because you want the stakes to escalate in your story, the best scenario will become bigger as you go along.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For example, consider the story of Cinderella<\/strong>. She\u2019s stuck with a cruel stepmother and stepsisters, who treat her like a servant. As the story opens, she\u2019s sweeping the hearth; the best scenario she can hope for is that she finishes early and gets a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But at the end of the story, after the ball, where she dances with the prince and then loses her glass slipper, the best scenario she can hope for is that he finds her and marries her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Your story will be longer and more complex than Cinderella<\/strong>. But let\u2019s say that in the first scene, Cinderella works hard, finishes early, and does get a good night\u2019s sleep, awaking refreshed, full of energy and hope. She achieved her best-case scenario. Then what happens? How does that good night\u2019s sleep affect what happens to her next?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nobody wants to read a book where the protagonist always fails or is always in danger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>You want to show that your character is resourceful and succeeds<\/strong>\u2014and then faces a bigger challenge as a consequence. (Maybe the wicked stepmother sees that she has more energy than usual, so she sends her on an errand to the next town to buy honey, where she \u2026)<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Plot: The Worst-Case Scenarios\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><b> \u2026 or the worst-case scenarios<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s say that Cinderella gets to the next town in good time and finds the local beekeeper. But wait!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The hives have been destroyed by a swarm of murder hornets<\/strong>, who now go after Cinderella. She is stung multiple times, causing her great pain. She can\u2019t walk back home! Her stepmother will kill her!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When your protagonist succeeds at something, the next thing is to figure out how that success sets her up for the next challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Worst-case scenarios can help you imagine what\u2019s at stake<\/strong>, and what your character, based on what you know about her, will do next. Your characters are what they do, so keep them challenged.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Plot: What Do The Characters Want\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><b> What do the characters want<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dig deeper into your character\u2019s psyche.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does s\/he want?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does s\/he fear?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Then make the best- and worst-case scenarios revolve around those things<\/strong>, people, or events. People\u2019s wants and fears help to explain why and how they make decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does Cinderella really, really want? Or fear? She wants to be loved, and she fears not getting it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>But the story of Cinderella (and yours, too) has other characters<\/strong>. What do they want? What do they fear? Their desires and fears will conflict with Cinderella\u2019s, and these conflicts will spur her story, and yours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The evil stepmother, for example, wants to live in comfort, and she fears that she\u2019ll have to scrub her own hearth when she gets old.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Plot: What Motivates Your Characters<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><b> What motivates them<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking yourself \u201cWhat if\u201d helps you develop plot points around <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">possible <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">developments, but understanding your characters\u2019 motivations helps you develop plot points around <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">likely <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">developments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, Cinderella\u2019s desire is to be loved, and she fears not getting it. Her motivation is that her father loved her before he died, and she wants to be loved like that\u2014unconditionally\u2014again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The evil stepmother wants to live in comfort, and she fears having to do her own housework when she\u2019s old. Her motivation is that when she was a child, she was forced to scrub the hearth, thus ruining her back, and she vows she\u2019ll never do it again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Your character\u2019s motivations add depth and clarity to their desires and fears, which enriches your story.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><b>Developing Your Plot\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They don\u2019t call it \u201cthe sagging middle\u201d for nothing! Developing an interesting, grounded, realistic, and gripping plot is difficult.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Find your characters\u2019 motivations<\/strong>, desires, and best- and worst-case scenarios, and ask yourself what could happen next. You might be pleasantly surprised.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2PBcm2U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-22367\" title=\"On a Wing and a Prayer: A gargoyle novella by Kay Keppler\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"On a Wing and a Prayer: A gargoyle novella by Kay Keppler\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><a title=\"Kay Keppler\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaykeppler.com\/\">Kay Keppler<\/a> is an author <em><a title=\"Zero Gravity Outcasts\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1rqW2wW\">Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, <em><a title=\"Betting on Hope\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1l42nc4\">Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>, <em><a title=\"Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1pEPjjq\">Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013<em><a title=\"Angel\u2019s Kiss\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1nylmgE\">Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em> and <em>Outsource It<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>She lives in northern California. Contact her here at Writer\u2019s Fun Zone in the comments below, or at <a title=\"kaykeppler@yahoo.com\" href=\"mailto:kaykeppler@yahoo.com\">kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a> to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>More popular articles by Kay Keppler on Writer&#8217;s Fun Zone:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/12\/developing-your-voice-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Developing Your Voice<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/18\/lift-your-story-with-character-archetypes-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lift Your Story with Character Archetypes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/16\/revealing-backstory-through-nonverbal-communication-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Revealing Backstory through Nonverbal Communication<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/14\/make-em-laugh-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Make \u2019Em Laugh<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If plot stymies you, as it does many people, you might be able to stimulate some ideas by thinking about your characters and what is likely to happen to a person like that. Ask yourself these questions. By novelist and editor, Kay Kappler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1029,75,1340,1472,1502],"class_list":["post-23079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-character-development","tag-fiction","tag-kay-keppler","tag-plot","tag-story-writing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Building Plot in Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If plot stymies you, as it does many people, you might be able to stimulate some ideas by thinking about your characters and what is likely to happen to a person like that. Ask yourself these questions. By novelist and editor, Kay Kappler.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/26\/building-plot-in-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building Plot in Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If plot stymies you, as it does many people, you might be able to stimulate some ideas by thinking about your characters and what is likely to happen to a person like that. Ask yourself these questions. 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