36. Plot Redux

YOUR Novel!

My dad has always been one of my alpha readers. He’s a speed reader. For him it’s all about story. My third draft is all about plot, and as I rewrite, I try to see what I’ve written “through my dad’s eyes.” 

On this rewrite, I read quickly and try to catch where my plot falls apart or confuses or becomes boring.

Many readers are like my father. They read only for story. They don’t care about beautiful words or the deep delving into the character’s inner child. They want a STORY and they want that story to hold together and pull them along. It’s all about the ride.

If you elect to do this draft (and I hope you do!), read your manuscript quickly and jot notes as you go. If at some point you find yourself bored or confused, be absolutely assured that your reader will be bored or confused at that very same place. After you’ve read through quickly, review your notes and rewrite those segments of the plot that sag or confuse.

Here are a few areas that are worth checking twice:

1. Did you lay out the protagonist’s main problem (something big and potentially soul-flaying) within the first chapter?

2. Do feel the story carry you along and pull you in?

3. Does the protagonist tackle the main problem actively? Passivity is the death knell of any novel.

4. Does the protagonist solve the problem by the end of the novel? (Sometimes the problem destroys the protagonist. That’s the classic definition of a tragedy and is a legitimate “solution”, but not one that most readers appreciate.)

5. Does the climax come at the optimal point in the novel? The optimal point? Nearly at the end. Once the problem is solved, you’ll lose your reader if you go on and on and….  Well, you’ve read books like that. Be sure YOUR Novel isn’t one of them!

Assignment for the week: Take time for a quick read and plot intensive rewrite! Don’t be discouraged if this takes you a while. I almost always take a month or more on this draft.

Blessings!

Sue