I must confess, I don’t have a lot of experience with writing plot, but I do have a fair amount of experience editing plot! In this short post, I want to give three tips to both writers and editors about what to look for when it comes to plot development. This is a good starting point for writers looking to improve their novels and for editors looking for a place to start developmental edits.
First, an easy way to work on plot development is by dividing the issues into two groups: things to fix and things to strengthen.
Things to Fix
- Consistency
- Plot holes
- Repetition
- Shifting POW
- Shifting tenses
Things to Strengthen
- Voice
- Dialogue
- Plot
- Characters
- Conflict
Another great tip I heard from Lisa Mangum at a conference is to document your reaction to the story. If it’s not the reaction that you want, or that you expect, you’ve come across a patch of the story that is a good candidate for revisions.
One final tip for creating, revising, and editing plot is to reverse outline each chapter. Look for these things:
- Who is the POV character?
- What new information is learned?
- What actions are taken?
- How does the chapter move the plot forward?
- Does the content in the chapter justify its place in the novel?
There’s so much more that goes into plot development, but this is a good place to start when you don’t quite know where to begin! Stay tuned for more in depth posts on these points later, but feel free to ask any questions that may come!