The 5 Ps of Writing: Plot

Today, we release the penultimate episode of our special miniseries of The Novelry on Writing to celebrate our groundbreaking writing prize, The Next Big Story. These bonus podcast episodes will help you make sure your entry stands out by exploring the five elements that make the story great. They are:

1. Person
2. Problem
3. Place
4. Plot
5. Prose

We hope you can enjoy these episodes while walking the dog, at the gym, driving to the grocery store, or wherever you can find the time. Remember, story ideas can come to you at any time and in any place. Be ready to grab hold of them when they do!

The Next Big Story offers a grand prize of $100,000 for just three pages from the beginning of a novel. Yes, really!

So, what should you focus on in those pages? Don’t worry, we’re here to help. This transcript from another special episode of The Novelry on Writing podcast sees editor Tash Barsby and author and writing coach Heather Webb explore the secrets of Plot...

TASH BARSBY: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Plot episode of the 5 Ps podcast. My name is Tash Barsby. I’m one of the editors here at The Novelry. I predominantly work on crime and thriller fiction, but I love all types of commercial fiction and book club and upmarket fiction as well.

HEATHER WEBB: And I’m Heather Webb. I’m one of the writing coaches at The Novelry. I work predominantly with historical fiction, women’s fiction, Up Lit, romance, contemporary fiction—sky’s the limit, really. My door’s always open to new writers. I am also the author of 11 novels. My 11th, coming out next year, is called The Hope Keeper.

Plot = what is happening in the story

HW: We are going to be talking to you about one of the 5 Ps, which is Plot. When I think of plot, it works in conjunction with character motivations and goals.

So, once I’ve figured out what my main character really is yearning for, then I construct the plot around that and challenge her with these actions happening outside of her that trigger her to change. I think about what would be some of the most difficult things this particular character could go through that would force her or him to change who they are and become a better version of themselves by the end of the book.

TB: Yeah, absolutely. I would say the plot is basically what is happening in the story. You’ll open the novel with your character, they’re living their life as best they can, then something happens that kind of changes everything for them, which is what we call the inciting incident. The plot is basically the challenges that your character has to overcome off the back of that inciting incident. It’s the journey they go through that means they go from who they were at the beginning of the novel to the person they’ve become by the end. And that kind of change is facilitated by the plot.

HW: I also think plot is something that works in conjunction with the stakes.

TB: Definitely.

HW: Because you don’t just want one series of actions after another that don’t have something at risk for the main character. The higher you can drive the stakes over time, the more exciting or tense the book will be, and the more tightly plotted the book will be. So I like to link the two.

TB: Yeah, and quite a good way of looking at it is:

• You’ve got this character.
• What are they doing today that is going to upset their status quo?
• Then what happens after that?

At each stage, ask yourself as the author:

What can I do to this character to lift those stakes and just keep pushing it? And what if this happens?

The plot is basically the challenges that your character has to overcome off the back of that inciting incident. It’s the journey they go through that means they go from who they were at the beginning of the novel to the person they’ve become by the end. And that kind of change is facilitated by the plot.
—Tash Barsby

Finding the emotional space to be mean to our characters

HW: I think what you’re trying to say is, we want to torture our characters. Or we must torture them!

TB: We must!

HW: Actually, sometimes I don’t want to, if I know it’s a really hard thing for a person to go through. And putting a character that I love through it can be difficult. Sometimes I’ll even come back and have to write a scene later because I’m not in the emotional space to be able to work on that piece. But that’s all part of raising those stakes.

TB: That’s the beauty of fiction. Even though the characters do feel very real, at the end of the day, they do just exist inside your head. And so you can be as mean as you like, because it’s not actually hurting anyone—even though it may feel like it.

Kickstarting plot with the inciting incident

TB: So, in terms of how writers can get the plot into the opening of their novel and really kickstart it right from the beginning, that’s where the inciting incident is the real key. The inciting incident is basically this moment that changes everything for your main character. And you want to get that in as early as you can, because that’s what really kickstarts the story.

A story is all about change. We need to have a little bit of detail about what your character is doing in their current day, so that we can understand why the change is important. But getting that moment in, ideally into your first opening pages, will really allow you to get that pace in right from the get-go and allow you to bring your plot right into the opening pages.

What to include in the first three pages

HW: In the first three pages, a few of the things I would want would be:

An amazing opening line

HW: That’s a great hook. That’s either something really indicative of who your character is in their voice, or somehow setting the stage, but something that really grabs us right off the bat.

Introduce your protagonist

HW: We want to meet your character almost immediately, your main character. And name them! We want to know what their name is because we’re going to immediately attach to the first character that shows up on the page. So, bring that main character in right away.

Where and when are we?

HW: We need a bit of world-building and context. If you drop us in the middle of a story, that’s great—except we have to know where we are in space and time. You want to bring your reader, paint a picture for them, so you can bring them along with you through the story.

Starting the engine of your story

HW: Main character, context, great hook, and go right into that inciting incident, which I like to think of as a spark plug. It’s kind of what starts the engine. It’s the moment that the main character’s life changes forever and sets them off on this journey. And the journey is over the course of the book.

So, those are the things you definitely want to get in your opening. And the inciting incident doesn’t always come in the first three pages, but certainly in the first chapter. And like Tash said, I do think the sooner you can bring it in, the better. Because that’s when the excitement starts happening.

We want to meet your character almost immediately, your main character. And name them! We want to know what their name is because we’re going to immediately attach to the first character that shows up on the page.
—Heather Webb

TB: Yeah, exactly. And when you’re thinking about how to follow on from that, I like to think of the inciting incident as the first domino to fall. Then, the way that you build the plot after that is just: what’s the next domino that’s going to fall? What’s the next one? It’s always thinking about what sort of action point, or a decision that the character makes because of Domino One, is going to allow that change to keep rolling, and for the story to keep developing and moving forward.

A supporting subplot

HW: One other thing I would love to touch upon is subplots, because I think—

TB: I was just about to say that, actually. You stole the words right out of my mouth!

HW: We’re on the same wavelength! So, you have your main plot: the A-plot, the main thread. Usually, somewhere around the middle, things start to slow down. You’ve got a lot of setup, there’s the inciting incident, and a turning point somewhere around the end of Act One.

But you get to the middle of the book, and things slow down a lot, usually. This is a good point to do:

• A major reveal of some kind
• A surprise
• A change of worldview
• And/or bring in a subplot

A B-plot is sort of a secondary chain of events that’s happening with the main character, and probably a secondary character as well. Or if you have multiple main characters, this is a good point where they’re sort of intersecting. And it can really help add more action, more tension, and keep things moving.

TB: Yeah, absolutely. I like to think of it as: the central plot is the main thread that your reader is reading to find out, and it’s what the hook of your novel is most likely to be, whereas the subplots are there to help complicate that character’s journey and give extra layers and extra depth to the narrative.

It means you’ve got the opportunity to really make the most of your entire cast of characters and give them a chance to shine, while still making sure they are supporting your main character and your main plot as well.

HW: I love that. So, those are some basic tenets for plot and how to get started. We hope some of this information was helpful to you, and we wish you success on the contest!

TB: Good luck, everyone. We can’t wait to read your entries!

The central plot is the main thread that your reader is reading to find out, and it’s what the hook of your novel is most likely to be, whereas the subplots are there to help complicate that character’s journey and give extra layers and extra depth to the narrative.
—Tash Barsby

Don’t forget to enter The Next Big Story

You could bring your wildest writing dreams to life by entering our prize competition to find The Next Big Story.

All you need to do is submit the first three pages (no more than 1,500 words) of a work of fiction for an entry fee of $15. Eight shortlisted entries—chosen by our judging panel, which includes Tayari Jones, Emma Roberts, Julia Quinn, Yann Martel, and Carley Fortune—will win the full support of The Novelry with access to The Finished Novel Course. Plus, one winner will take home a life-changing $100,000 (£75,000 for U.K. entrants)! Find out more at the prize page. Entries close on July 31!

Closing words

[Louise Dean] Thank you for joining us today. We are so pleased to have you along for the writing journey, and we hope to see you on another episode of The Novelry on Writing. From first draft to finished manuscript, at The Novelry you’ll enjoy one-to-one coaching from bestselling authors, live writing classes with award-winning authors and literary agents, and you’ll work with a publishing editor all the way for submission to literary agents toward a publishing deal.

All writers learn from other writers, even the greats. Write your novel in good company. Join us at The Novelry.

We’ll show you how to start, coax your story into shape, and cheer you on to type The End.

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