NaNoWriMo: You Need a Plan Part III – What’s Your Story?
This week, we’re going to tackle the basics of your story structure. I say basics because when I work with clients, this part alone can take weeks to nail down if we were to do all the pieces, including feedback. If you’re starting NaNoWriMo on November 1, you don’t have that kind of time. Hence, this quick-and-dirty introduction to figuring out the major story milestones you need to hit, which will at least give you some goalposts to work towards as you write your first 50K words. Keep in mind that 50K is on the very low end for novels. You can do a Google search for a rough guide to industry standard lengths; there will be variations from site to site, but they will give you ballpark figures to adhere to. The point is, you might still have quite a bit of writing to go even after you hit the 50K word mark. Keep that in mind as we talk about the story milestones below.
Basic Story Structure follows a format that has been time-tested over thousands of years of storytelling, long before novels were a thing. It’s been refined since then, but the framework below gives you a general introduction to the major story milestones and where they sit. (Note: there are a lot of different systems out there that talk about story structure in various ways. Some of them have a lot more beats. Some have different names for the various milestones. If you know about one and feel it fits your needs, go for it. This is a good starting point though, if you’re unfamiliar with it.)
These are the goals you will be working toward with each section:
The Setup – the ordinary world; the Protagonist’s early attempts to reach their story goal or avoid the story problem
The Inciting Incident/The First Plot Point – about 25% in. This is also known as the “point of no return.” Something has happened – new information, new dangers or obstacles, and the Protagonist must act and react in new ways. (Note: these can actually be separate things, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll put them together here. I could write a whole post on these, and I probably will someday.)
The Midpoint – about 50% in. The point where everything the Protagonist or reader thinks they know changes. The stakes are amped up. The Protagonist’s goal may change, as they realize their original goal was too small or is unobtainable in light of this new information. If they’ve been primarily reacting to outward circumstances, now is when they need to shift to a plan of action.
The Second Plot Point – about 75% in. Final point where new information enters the story. Possible final plot twist, catapulting the protagonist into the Climax.
The Climax – The big scene where the final confrontation between Hero and Villain takes place.
The Resolution – What happens as a result of the climax, for the inner and outer worlds of the Protagonist.
The thing to remember is that The Action Arc (what happens in the story) must be tied to the Character Arc of Change (how it affects the Protagonist - what they do at each stage to try to solve the problem set by the story, and how they change as a result). Every scene needs to interweave these. This is how your story builds in a satisfying way. Try to at least build these major scenes before you write. Having goals to hit will help tremendously as you work through the story. You won’t be tied up in the middle, wondering what happens next, or forgetting about character development entirely in your excitement to write a really action-packed scene. For each scene above, write what happens (the plot or Action Arc) and what it means for the Protagonist (the Emotional Arc – how they react or what they do as a result of what happens in the plot). This can be a short two sentences worth of info, or you can go deeper, really teasing it out.
Again, I stress that this is basic preparation. You can go into a lot more detail – and some people do. Some people feel stifled by knowing too much before they start. But this is enough to get you started on a strong first draft, which is really what NaNoWriMo is all about.
Finally, you may need to do some Worldbuilding. This is especially the case if you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi, although it’s also a consideration with historical novels, or other novels that need some background research. You don’t have to have it all nailed down at the beginning (you can get lost in all the fun details and never write the book). You should figure out the basics, however, such as any magical “rules” (who can use it? How? Why? When?); any technology (or lack thereof) that will affect the story; any flora, fauna, or other geographical information you will need if it’s relevant, etc. Keep in mind you can change it as the story evolves, but any changes you make must have internal consistency, i.e., if only women can use magic in your story, you can’t have a man suddenly be able to use it with no explanation – that would be a major point of your story! If you get stuck while writing, write TK (editor speak for “to come”) and just keep writing. You won’t have time in the race to 50K to do much else.
If you want to try doing this in a workshop setting, with feedback, there’s still time to sign up for my NaNoWriMo Preptober Extravaganza Workshop. Two hours of leading you through a basic Inside Outline process to write these crucial scenes. Details and registration info are on the Courses page.
