Becoming publishable
What is a Plot?
The plot is the action in the story. If you don't have a plot, you don't have a story. I’ve read many stories written by young authors that really don’t have anything at all happening, and then they wonder why no one wants to read their story. Read this, for example:
“Karen’s mother asked her to go to the store. She said okay. She went to the store and got the milk. There was another girl her age buying milk too, but Karen is shy and didn’t talk to her. She went home.
Okay, so things did happen, but did anything happen that got you really excited? This could have turned into a good story if something interesting had happened. Let’s think about that other girl in the milk aisle. What could happen there? Karen could have grabbed a glass container of milk, dropped it on the floor, and splattered the girl, who turned out to be the most popular girl in school. The girl got so mad she spread mean rumors about Karen at school the next day. Karen decides to get even…and you have a plot!
Plots have to matter. If the problem your hero is solving doesn’t really matter, no one will care. The more the problem matters, the more worried readers will be and the more they will pay attention. Look at the problems below. Which ones are important enough to turn into a story?
- Jake wants a cat. His dad is allergic to cats. Jake is disappointed, but a turtle would be just as good. He wonders if he can talk his father into a turtle. He really wants a pet.
- Alexander isn’t going to be allowed to play football this year unless he keeps his grades up. He’s really talented and might be able to make the high school team his freshman year if he can play on the travel league this year and gain experience.
- Marcie wishes she had a blue dress. It seems like most of the girls are wearing blue this year, but she doesn’t have anything in that color.
- Clarissa’s mother is extremely ill and there isn’t enough money to pay for her care.
- The school bully just moved in next door to Paul.
Let’s think about it.
Number 1: This isn’t that important, since he will be happy with a different kind of pet. However, if you were writing a story for a young child, you could probably add to it and make it a story. For instance, he might try cooking up crazy plans for talking his father into a pet. Or, he might be planning to be a veterinarian and feel it’s important for his career. Unless you’re very creative, this is probably only a story for young children.
Number 2: This can be turned into a story. Alexander’s whole career might be at stake!
Number 3: There probably isn’t much of a story here. It won’t matter much if Marcie doesn’t get a blue dress. Chances are she will have a perfectly good life anyway.
Number 4: This is the most serious problem of all. You could probably write an entire novel on this problem, by showing how Clarissa tries to help her family get money, and perhaps also showing how she grows up from the challenges of having a mother who is ill.
Number 5: This can be serious. It’s pretty scary to have a bully in the neighborhood. This one can be a book too, if you create enough problems.
Now you try.
Think of five problems a person your age or younger could have that are serious enough to turn into a story or a book. Remember that the bigger the problem, the more room you need to solve it. Wanting to pass a test is a little problem, and should be handled in the length of a short story. But wanting to make the football team might be big enough to fill a book if there are enough problems to solve.
Most books have plots and subplots. Subplots are smaller plots that are inside the story. They often turn out to be connected by the end of the book. For instance, Rosemary is having trouble fitting into her new town. Throughout the book, while she’s trying to fix this problem, she is also trying to help her little sister Katelyn get accepted into a drama club. Katelyn has a disability and the leaders of the club don’t understand disabilities. These seem like two different plots, but at the end of the book, they connect. Rosemary volunteers to help with the club if they will let Katelyn in. She meets another volunteer who becomes a friend and together they work out a plan to get Katelyn accepted by the other children. By the time the book ends, Rosemary has a friend and a volunteer job and feels at home. The two plots came together and the subplot became part of the solution of the main plot.
Using a subplot can add interest to your story. When one plot is a little slow, the other one can help get things going. Usually though, only books have subplots. A short story doesn’t have room for two plots.
Why not take one of the five ideas you created and try turning it into a story? If you need help, use my story plotter to get you started.